Weekly Update 03/21/26 – 03/27/26 (Xfinity Billing Issues, Internet Outages, Dental Treatment Decisions)

This weekly update covers ongoing issues with my Xfinity internet service, including repeated disconnections caused by billing errors, as well as a dental consultation that resulted in decisions about upcoming procedures. As part of my ongoing Weekly Update series, this post documents both the technical and personal challenges encountered during the week.

Things are going well.

The biggest thing this week has been a ridiculous battle I have been going through with Xfinity. A few weeks ago, I needed to upgrade my internet service to an unlimited data plan. The plan I was on had a limit of 1.2 TB per month, and I had gone over that limit two months in a row. So I needed an unlimited plan.

I checked around, thinking about changing providers from Xfinity to something else, perhaps back to CenturyLink. What I found out shocked me. Back in the 1990s, I had a choice for high-speed internet: either Comcast (Xfinity) or CenturyLink. Things have changed. CenturyLink is no longer an option for a wired connection. There are several options for a 5G connection, but only Xfinity offers a wired internet connection in my area. With a wired connection, the speed is faster, about 500 Mbps, compared to maybe 100 Mbps with 5G, and it is more secure. Starlink might be an option, but it is not as fast as cable or fiber optic. There is no fiber optic provider in my area yet, though I hope there will be soon. So Xfinity is my only real option.

I upgraded my plan with Xfinity and switched my phone service to them because the monthly rate was slightly lower, and they offered a free phone plan for one year. To get these discounts, I had to set up automatic payments from my checking account. No problem, I did that.

On the 18th, Xfinity attempted to charge my checking account for my monthly bill. On the 21st, I received an email stating there was a problem with my payment. When I checked my account, I saw that I had entered my checking account number incorrectly. I corrected the information and authorized them to charge the new account. They did. I could see the amount deducted from my checking account, and at no time did they mention that my service would be disconnected.

On Tuesday the 24th, at about 10 AM, I was getting ready for an important meeting when I heard my iPhone announce that it had connected to my Wi-Fi. The only reason it would do that is if the connection had dropped and reestablished. I checked my laptop and found I had no internet access. I set my phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, but the speed was awful, less than 1 Mbps, unusable for what I needed.

I contacted Xfinity and was told I had not paid my bill. I pointed out that I had paid it on Saturday. They responded that the payment had been returned. I needed access, so I agreed to pay the bill again, thinking I could sort it out later, and my service was restored.

On Wednesday the 25th, at about 10 AM, the same thing happened again. I contacted Xfinity and was told I had not paid my bill. When I pointed out that I had paid on Saturday and Tuesday, they told me those payments had been refused, despite my banking app not showing them as refused. To get back online, I had to make a third payment to be paid in advance.

Wednesday afternoon, I contacted Xfinity corporate to complain and to make sure they would not disconnect me again on Thursday. They explained that the issue was not with the payments I made on Saturday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. It was the payment attempted on the 18th to the incorrect account number. Their system automatically resubmitted the charge, and since the account number was still wrong, it failed and my account was shut off without warning.

They told me that since I was now paid in advance, the problem would be resolved and nothing more was needed. I pointed out that when my service was disconnected that morning, I was already paid in advance, but they still insisted everything was resolved.

Thursday at about 10 AM, the same thing happened again. I called and had everything turned back on. That afternoon I did not have time to call and complain again, so I waited until Friday.

Friday at about 10 AM, nothing happened. I will be keeping an eye on my account to make sure they apply the correct discounts, and I hope everything is now settled. I am hoping that AT&T will soon offer fiber optic internet in my area.

The reason I did not have time to deal with Xfinity on Thursday afternoon was that I had a dental appointment and a consultation with an endodontist about three teeth my dentist thought might need root canals.

When I got to the office, they did a CT scan of my mouth and charged me $250.00 for it, which was not covered by insurance. I then met with the endodontist and was told that two of the teeth definitely needed root canals, and the third might need one. We could try doing a normal filling on it.

I reviewed the findings and discussed options. We decided to proceed with one root canal, one filling, and remove the third tooth since it had no opposing tooth. I was upset that the endodontist never looked at the CT scan.

So next month I will be having some dental work done.

— Odell Sneeden Hathaway III

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Weekly Update 03/14/26 – 03/20/26