Jason Grimes

I returned the call to Jason Grimes. Mr. Grimes was a bit gruff, but seemed somewhat interested and concerned. He requested all the relevant information:

• Date of incident
• Police report number
  
• Contact person with the police
• Damage claim number with Comcast
  
• Dollar estimate of the damage
• What I want from them

Mr. Grimes explained that they can't take any action without an investigation of their own. I acknowledged, but also assured him that I expected them to rectify the situation and that I would not drop the matter.

Mr Grimes provided his contact information as follows:
301-836-9394 (office)
240-855-3077 (mobile)

Mark Allen Gets the Message

Jason Grimes left me a voice mail on behalf of Mark Allen, and provided a callback number: 301-836-9394.

Nearly 4 weeks in, and my first call back from someone at Comcast!

Raising the Stakes with Mark Allen

I'm pissed now.

I try Mark Allen's number again, and get his voice mail. Again. This time I leave a message with the following points:

1) Although the damage estimate is relatively small (under $1500.00), I expect them to pay for it since their vehicle was responsible.
2) Police are backlogged, of course, but they indicated to me that they'd begin their investigation shortly. I promised Mr. Allen that I would be providing his name and phone number to the police, as well as the damage claim number I submitted to Marlene on March 30.
3) Michele (my wife -- a public relations professional) and I would be pushing a local news organization to do a story on service vehicles causing damage in the district, and he could expect a call requesting his statement.
4) I will be suing in small claims court, and plan to name him as defendant in small claims court.

None of that is a bluff, although it certainly remains to be seen whether we can orchestrate any effective PR pressure.

Stephanie Wilkins

I've yet to hear back from anyone about the "damage claim" I submitted to Marlene three weeks ago. In fact, I've yet to receive a single call from anyone at Comcast, despite their assurances.

I followed up on the damage claim, calling the number that Harold gave me for Stephanie Wilkins: 301-625-3500. The attendant there was able to provide me with her direct number.

Stephanie Wilkins: 202-635-5529

I reached her voice mail, and I left a very detailed message about the situation, including my concern that I have never received a call back.

Back to the Damage Claim

OK, Mr. Allen had seemed helpful at first, but that is starting to look like a dead end. Back to the customer service number and the damage claim submitted by Marlene.

Today I spoke to Harold, at (202)-635-5100 x-7941. When I complained that nobody had ever called me back regarding my damage claim, he informed me that the ticket had been modified to indicate that I had never reported the incident to the police, so Comcast would not pursue it. I corrected that immediately, and provided the police report number.

He asked what I wanted in terms of resolution. Easy:

I want to fax the repair estimate and receive a check for the full cost of the repair. He agreed to forward the issue to Stephanie Wilkins, who he said handles claims in DC, and said I could expect to hear from her soon. He provided this number for Ms. Wilkins: 301-625-3500

Dodging My Calls?

Repeated attempts to reach Mark Allen over the past two weeks all went to voice mail. Hmm... maybe I should try calling him from a different number...

Officer Allison Jones, First District Police

I called the First District Police substation, and spoke to Detective Freeman. He transferred me to officer Allison Jones, who handles hit-and-run cases.

Allison Jones' direct line: 202-698-0515

She said the backlog of cases means they generally won't even see the case for about 30 days. When they begin investigation late April or early May, they will contact me for any additional information.

Wow. Bummer. 4+ weeks before they even start.