MARCH 1, 2010 ADDENDUM: About two days after posting my unhappy account of this experience I got a call from a Comcast customer service person who assured me, "We are going to fix this, we are going to get you your Netbook computer." And sure enough, it arrived about a week later. I wish I could say it happened as a result of the more than one dozen calls I made to Comcast about this over several months. But unfortunately, I can't say that. What I can say is that after I made this post (below) and copied it into online complaints I filed with the BBB, FCC, FTC, my local cable authority and several online complaint forums, the company called, apologized, and delivered the Dell Netbook computer I was promised when I signed up. So perhaps, on reflection, it might not be fair to call this a "scam" as I did in my original post -- since I can now confirm receipt of the computer. Maybe it was just a very badly mismanaged promotion. Your mileage may vary.

Original post as made February 18, 2010:

Comcast "Triple Play" Bundled Service Netbook Scam

Well, I wondered if this had only happened to me -- but try Googling "Comcast Netbook Scam" and you'll see story after story like the one I will tell here. In August, 2009, I signed up for what Comcast called its "Triple Play" bundled cable, internet and telephone promotion, with an advertised price of $139.00 a month and which was also supposed to include a "free" Dell netbook computer with a two-year contract, which I agreed to.

The only problem(s): They never delivered the "free" computer.

And the actual price -- the one they charged me -- is really $151.84 a month, plus taxes -- not $139.99.

It's not a huge amount of money. But $151.84 a month is in fact the real monthly price I was billed after you add in all the bogus fees Comcast tacks on to the bill ("regulatory recovery fee," "modem lease fee," etc.), none of which can be avoided or are required by any government agency.

So no free computer. And the advertised price is not the real price. Other than that, square deal.

Amazing that a company as large as Comcast could think it can get away with such a thing.

Maybe they can? Maybe they have?