I've had Comcast service more than once, and I'm with them now. In the past, I left them for AT&T DSL because the price/speed ratio was sensible enough to make it worth switching. When I called Comcast to cancel service, I didn't run into anything like this. The rep did try to convince me to stay, but after I explained that I didn't need 12Mbps (the max Comcast offered at that time in my area) they capitulated and canceled the service. It was maybe a three minute conversation at most.

I ended up going back to Comcast a few years ago, when they advertised 25Mbps for the price I was paying for 6Mbps on DSL, so it made sense to go back. Now I wonder, if I were to try to cancel today, would I get the same hassle as this guy? I'm betting so; they are probably trying to retain as many customers as possible leading up to the upcoming merger.