Speaking of Cablemas

[T.J.]

Cablemas is swapping out old digital boxes for new ones. If you have more than one, they will only swap out your "principal" box.

Just take the old one, the power cord and the remote and they give you a new one in the box. If you go to the office on Chichen Itza, line up along the left side of the line to pay your bill. You do NOT need to take a number. I was there about 20-25 minutes today. Two guys working the desk. The first one accepts your old box and hands you off to the other guy who gives you the new one. It's not quite that simple. Be sure to bring a copy of your bill and a photo ID.

They have a new channel line up, somewhat different from the current one. The new channels begin at 102. I have not hooked mine up yet. Curious if 284 and 286 will come up. Of course they told me they would but my money is that it will take a call or a visit to activate them. Any takers?

I ran into V there who was establishing new service and they set an appointment for tomorrow morning. Same bet applies to the extent that I think they will not make it in the morning. Ja Ja.

[Susan in Cancun]

TJ,

Did channels 284 and 286 show up on your new cable box or was it an ordeal to get those channels again?

Susan

[Life_N_Cancun]

Just a FYI... if you change your old digital box for the new HD ones.. you'll be charged an extra 99 pesos starting in the next months for the HD service... so it's not a "free" upgrade..... according to the fine print on the back of my cable bill anyway...

[T.J.]

Susan,
I need to go there tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder. I do NOT have 284 and 286 with the new box. Calling is a joke. I have gotten been unable to get anything but busy signal after numerous attempts.

And the remote really sucks. It is NOT universal like the other one so now I have one that does nothing but turn on the tv, one for dvd, one for Sling Box and this damn new POS that Life just says is costing me $99 a month more.

[V]

What are 284 and 286, folks?

When I signed up for the service, I contracted for "Paquete Plus" because it was the only way to get BBC and CNN International, I was told (the brouchure indicated likewise). I choose this package at a cost of about 85 pesos/month eventhough every other offering on it was useless to me. However, from the moment it was installed all I got on the two channels I was interested in, 651, and 656, was a message that there was no signal.

I called, next day, to the sales rep, who said she'd take care of it. When there was no action, I submitted a complaint through the email system on their website: there has been no action, nor reply to that, either.

I hate having to go into their office, but that will have to be the next step, with Profeca after that, if necessary.

[Gringation]

Originally Posted by V

I hate having to go into their office, but that will have to be the next step, with Profeca after that, if necessary.

V - I've been able to fix issues with them over the phone. I couldn't get through to customer service (wtf?), so I would always connect to the "technical problems" people and they took care of things pretty quickly.

[Susan in Cancun]

V,

Channel 284 is ABC and 286 is NBC. Both channels are from Miami so I can get US news and see all of my favorite TV shows when they first air....unlike waiting years, in some cases, to see them here. I can't remember how much extra the channels are each month, but they were a hassle to get (thanks again for helping me get them, TJ!) and nobody at Cablemas seems to know about these mysterious channels. It was totally worth the hassle though.

[elleboogs]

Ohhhh those are the channels I want!

When hubby called they told him the channels were/are not available in Cancun. WTH. So, are they??? If so, hooooow???!!!!

[Life_N_Cancun]

When I very first got my cable box years ago, I remember watching the tech flip through lots of US channels which got me excited, then after he left I realized I couldn't get to any of them.. and later found out that Cablemas isn't licensed to rebroadcast them.. so while they do have access to many other channels you have to really persuade someone to configure your box to access them since they are not officially offered... several of us ex-pats bitched & moaned a while back that when purchasing the "international package" we should get those channels and for a while they we giving into the demands and adding them if you bothered them about it enough, but that was some time ago so finding anyone cooperative at the office today might be a real challenge.

[T.J.]

Went there today to have them turn back on 284 and 286 which I have had since about 2007. Had them the day I swapped my box until I hooked up the new one.

Today , after I got a tiny bit loud with the gal I started out with, Juan, with whom I have had 3 pleasant transactions, told me that they no longer were licensed to broadcast those channels, EXCEPT in the Hotel Zone. Customers who have 284 and 286 will be disconnected on Feb 15 or 16. Customers who swap boxes before then will not be able to connect with the crappy new box, with no display for clock or channel and the most basic remote in history. My remote for the bedroom fan is more technically advanced. Then another agent joined us (I now had control of 3 of the 7 on duty agents) and she said that "management" was working with the providers to see if they could offer the service to customers downtown. All this makes ZERO sense unless the can provide certain signals to commercial clients and not to residential clients.

Please contact me my PM if you have Cablemas service and either have or want ABC and NBC in English. My most recent cost is $14.15 per month x the two channels. There may be strength in numbers and I am happy to be the ringleader. Tell your friends and neighbors who may be interested. Ask friends if they have or want this service. Even Cablemas might respond favorably if they can see revenue that can be captured.

In talking by phone to two friends from the board we think it best to wait until a few days after Feb. 15 and follow up with Cablemas and ask our friends who have not yet swapped out their boxes what happened on this date.

I might also go down and try to get the right person who will simply turn on this signal to get me to shut up. It is every one for themselves but you can bet I will report in.

[rawkus]

Now I can see why friends refer to them as "Cablemenos"...

[V]

It looks to me like Cablemas may be having technical problems with their new equipment, converter?, that is used with the premium packages. They have assured me that CNN International and BBC should be coming in on my set, with the Paquete Plus, but they're not, and two technicians haven't been able to make it happen, yet. They said they'd return, Sat, to try it again.

[CancunMole]

When we were looking for TV coverage back in the fall of 2007 we were told that there was no cable available on our Calle in the Hotel Zone. So we went with Dish Network and have all the US channels.

Thank God for Hodamayo, he's the best!!

Oh, and we only need one 'clicker'.

[V]

Is anyone currently receiving BBC or CNN Internationanl via Cablemas' digital service? I'm asking because, after four visits from their technical staff, I was told that Cablemas was having trouble delivering this service, at this time....

I live in SM4

[Susan in Cancun]

V,

I don't usually watch CNN Int'l so can't help you with that, but I watched BBC (channel 208, I think) last night and have watched it quite a bit recently. It's working fine for me. However, my 2 US channels went out briefly a couple of times last week, while all other channels were unaffected.

[V]

Thanks, Susan. I think they said that just so I (and others like me) would shut up, for a while! I'll see them on Monday, for the last time. After that, I'm filing with Profeca.

[Life_N_Cancun]

I assume you mean Profec"O", V.. and good luck with that... I doubt giagantic companies like Cablemas are going to worry about it and at most you'll get a few hundred pesos refund which probably wont even justify your time spent.. but by all means let us know what happens... I think it's more of a take it or leave it thing.. just like Telmex, CFE, and Aguakan....

I do find it curious that they would have problems sending channels to certain areas while other areas are fine.. which would make me think they have a defective batch of cable boxes or something of that nature that won't accept programming of certain frequency ranges or a defective repeater, but I honestly have only a limited understanding of how they have the local cable system distributed so it could be anything.

[T.J.]

Life and V,

I beg to differ. A few months ago I had an issue with a CFE bill that lost a few hundred pesos of credit as I had paid a couple of months in advance. Oddly, when they ran my charges and credits on an addinig machine, their figures were in agreement with mine. Agent Pastor kept telling me that the credit would properly appear on the next bill. After two more bills, 4 months, it did not.

After numerous trips to CFE, and even speaking with a supervisor behind the "iron curtain" and threatening to go to Profeco if the situation was not corrected immediately. She called in another behind the wall person who said to return in two weeks and it would be fixed. Two weeks later I returned and the account was still off. I prepared my complaint and made copies of all relevant documents. By this time I heard that CFE had so many complaints with Profeco that a single person was assigned to nothing but CFE.

I went back to CFE and told the same guy, Pastor, that I would either walk out of his office with the proper credit on my bill, restoring my account to its correct balance, or a cash refund, or I was on the way at that very moment to Profeco, and showed him my neatly organized file. Amazingly, my account was suddenly restored to its correct balance.

Now I just deal with paying the exact amount rather than trying to pay a set amount and eat up the credits over time.

SO, TO V, I SUGGEST GIVING THEM A DROP DEAD DATE, ASSURING THEM THAT IF THE CHANNELS ARE NOT INSTALLED, HE WILL GO DIRECTLY TO PROFECO WITH HIS COMPLAINT. IT MIGHT EVEN HELP TO LET THEM KNOW OF YOUR PREVIOUS WORK AS AN ATTORNEY.

Good luck.

[V]

I don't know how much of this sorry tale to tell, but after five technical visits, and two visits to the office, and still not having BBC or CNN International, I decided to go, again, and make a final gesture (expecting to ask to be cut back to basic cable, internet and telephone service, as I was disgusted with the result of having the digital service). What happened, instead, was a surprise: the girl I spoke with said these two channels were never part of the package I had been sold (Paquete Plus), though both the sales agent, and the brochure said they were.

Seems like she was the only one in the place who'd gotten the word. She said those two channels would be on, along with the rest of the "International Package," by the time I got home. She was right, and they've been on ever since....

Having grown weary from dealing with them, I may just leave well enough alone, with my expensive, new service (total is just around 900 pesos/month)- and enjoy the channels I'd waited a month to see, along with a whole bunch I never had any thought of seeing.

[T.J.]

As V knows, essentially the same thing happened to me but with the International Package. I was getting none of the channels after having them for years, including CNN International and BBC, although I am mainly a Fox guy. So Juan, who is now like my best friend, decided to use the service code that was used for my old box before I traded it in for the HD box that is really a piece of crap. Loe and behold, all of the Int'l Pkg stations came back along with CNN and BBC which they had now figured was part of the Int'l Pkg. This only took 5 trips, switching out a box, etc. Maddening.

I am told that NBC and ABC should be part of either the existing Int'l Pkg (as they have been for years for about $14 per month each) or of a new Int'l Pkg that will be put together, by the end of June. Stay tuned.

[Susan in Cancun]

V, I only got the Int'l Package because I had to, in order to have the 2 US channels I wanted (channels 284 and 286). Well, as it turns out, I watch more shows on the Int'l Package channels than I do on the basic plan or my US channels. go figure. I'm very pleased with that package and hope you'll come to love it as well.

[T.J.]

Susan,
As V and I discovered, the new box has CNN and BBC as part of the Int'l pkg on the new box, yet they are shown on their brochures as being in the Plus Pkg.

I lost 284 and 286, at least for the moment, and they tell me you will too before the end of this month. Well, not you by name but those who have not swapped out the old box for the new one.

And BBC and CNN Int'l now appear in the 600's on the new box, 651 and 656 I believe but I am too lazy to go check.

[Susan in Cancun]

TJ,

So, what's the deal?? Should I trade out my box so there's no major issue with 284 and 286 down the road?


Susan

[T.J.]

Susan,

As long as it works, keep the old box. The new one sucks.

1. The remote is not universal so you must turn the TV on and off with the TV remote.
2. The new one does not show the time. How often do you use your current box for a clock.
3. The new one does not show the channel you are viewing.
4. The Guide on the new one sucks. You can barely read the information.

So, to answer your question, no, no, no. I am told that at some point your old box will be obsolete and not work. I would wait till then.

Had I known then what I know now I would still be using my old box, getting 284 and 286 and not be aggraveted by 1-4 above.

[Susan in Cancun]

Thanks for the info, TJ. So, what is the reason why you don't, and the rest of us won't, have 284 and 286 and when Cablemas says "temporarily", how long do you suppose that means?

[T.J.]

Susan, the reason is that when I switched to the new box, it automaticlly did not activate 284 & 286. I have begged them to activate those channels on the box but they will not.

Not sure where you got "temporarily" from but I know one of the supervisors who told me, as I said a couple of my posts back: "I am told that NBC and ABC should be part of either the existing Int'l Pkg (as they have been for years for about $14 per month each) or of a new Int'l Pkg that will be put together, by the end of June." The way it was explained is that mgt was negotiating with the providers for the rights to rebroadcast these channels. Furhter, they are trying to package a group of English language channels that they can sell to the fairly large English speaking population.

Time will tell.

[V]

The new boxes don't look very substantial: how long they will hold up under use remains to be seen. Mine "froze" today, much as a computer does at times: I disconnected it from the power for a few seconds, then reconnected it and it once again began functioning as before. Never had that with the older model.

[V]

I guess this company must be drowning in its own success, as they just can't seem to provide the service they promise.

With us, it's ended up that the CNN-BBC service we have included in the international package is "sin signal" more often than not. We, like others, have recently lost channel 43, American Network, from the basic package. Universal, which is supposed to be part of the digital package is "sin signal" much of the time, and we have to turn off the digital converter and go to the basic package to get it.

Finally, and most annoying perhaps, is that the digital box interferes with the basic cable service when it's turned off! We have to turn the digital box on, then off, which solves the problem for a few minutes at a time. (Probably the first hint that the digital box is beginning to go: I commented on its apparent flimsy construction, earlier).

What a bad joke this all is.... I may just cut the service back to internet and telephone, and look elsewhere for the cable package we would like to have.

[T.J.]

I urge everyone having discomfort with Cablemas to go to their office and complain. If you can get to Juan, the guy at the near end of the long desk, he assures me that he registers every complaint. He gets a weekly visit from me. Like V, I am thinking of other alternaties for my TV and Internet service. Enough is Enough as S.A. (identity hidden) said after 35 years of marriage.

This ABC/NBC thing is ridiculous as some people still get these channels but then they evaporate, WITHOUT NOTICE, when you trade in your old box.

The new box sucks - Overheats, No clock, No channel indicator, Guide is useless without a seeing eye dog. If I got it right there is a new parent company and a policy change is going to cause the perfectly fine boxes to be obsolete while they cram these terrible boxes down our throats.

Probably they will raise prices on their crappy service too.

[T.J.]

V and others:

American Network is currently showing on 233 in English. Not sure what it was with the new box before it disappeared from V's TV.

I think I will find something to complain about and go over there on Tuesday and raise hell. I can always vent about 284 and 286 being stolen from me AND MANY OTHERS. THE LIST IS GROWING. I just heard from a poster by PM that he or she swapped boxes and these two channels vanished without explanation. Oh how we wish we had not honored the invitation to come down and trade for the new high tech boxes that are really just cheap POS.