Comcast Got Me Fired Over Billing Complaint: Calif. Man

Conal O'Rourke lost his job with PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Comcast client
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 8, 2014 1:48 PM CDT
Comcast Got Me Fired Over Billing Complaint: Calif. Man
This Feb. 11, 2011, file photo shows the Comcast logo on one of the company's vehicles in Pittsburgh.   (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Even Conal O'Rourke knows his story might sound convoluted. But the California man hopes documentation and an in-person interview provided to Ars Technica will help prove that Comcast had something to do with him losing his job at PriceWaterhouseCoopers after a lengthy battle with the cable company over billing and service issues. O'Rourke has hired a lawyer and has issued an Oct. 14 ultimatum to Comcast—a PWC consulting services client—that requests "a full retraction and apology, his re-employment with his former employer, and $100,312.50." His lengthy timeline begins in 2012, when he says he moved to the Golden State and signed up for Internet and TV with Comcast—and everything started going wrong almost immediately. Among O'Rourke's numerous allegations: late bills; charges for and shipments of equipment he didn't order; not receiving the right promotional items; "unworkable" Internet speed; and not hearing back from Comcast employees when he tried to resolve issues. They never even got his name right on the bill, he adds.

But the worst repercussion, according to O'Rourke, was getting fired from his job after he started calling Comcast's controller's office. He says via a letter written by his attorney that he was called in to a PWC partner's office and told that Comcast, a "very valuable" client, "was very angry as a result of Mr. O'Rourke’s complaints, and that Mr. O'Rourke was not to speak with anyone from Comcast." O'Rourke alleges after that meeting that he endured a PWC internal investigation and then was fired on Feb. 18. His attorney's letter says O'Rourke was "shocked, humiliated, and ashamed based on the unjustified loss of his job. He sought counseling and was prescribed medication to address his emotional distress." He now has AT&T service at home, and is threatening to sue Comcast if the company does not comply with his demands. (Follow the entire Ars Technica timeline for further details.)

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