Bait and Switch...

[eclark1894]

I am just STUNNNED!!!! I got a call from my cable company a few minutes ago. Now all this time, I have been on the internet with basic internet and I've been pretty happy with it. Two things happen. You may all remember that I just recovered from congested heart failure. Spent three weeks in the hospital. As a result of that, my nephew came to live with me, ostensibly to make the hospital feel better about sending me home again. They didn't want me to be home alone in case I had a relapse. So anyway, my nephew wanted to get some cable tv. I wasn't for or against it, but I was pretty happy with just the basic cable. Still the cable company was having a promotional sale called a Triple Play where I could get cable, Internet and phone service for $29.00 a month, each. Basically, $90 bucks a month. I was paying $78 just for the basic internet per month. I had no use for the phone service, but that was supposed to be the only way to get the promotional price, so I called them up and told them to come and install everything and they did. So the call I just got was them tell me that I owed them a little over $300 for the service. I haven't even had it a full month yet! To say I was upset is putting it mildly. I think they tacked on every fee they could find, and when they ran out, they just said, what the hell, add some more! I'm through. I'm not even using the phone service, and half the channels I don't even watch, which was part of the reason I didn't have cable for tv in the first place. I'm calling them back this afternoon when I get home and I'm going to dump the cable TV and phone service and see if they can put me back on just the basic internet.

 

[Miss B]

Geeze, they must have one hell of an installation fee!

 

[Alisa]

Yikes! Hope you can get it sorted out, Earl.

 

[daywalker03]

Earl, that stinks worse than having to be in the hospital. The sad thing is that they could charge a third of what they do and still be raking in money hand over fist.

 

[eclark1894]

Apparently, they do monitor calls for quality.. or something like that. A few minutes after I hung up with the woman on the phone. I get another call from the company asking me if I'd like to take a small survey about my customer service.... I hung up.

 

[Miss B]

Oh, a lot of companies do those survey calls. I usually hang up as well.

 

[jonrea]

That really sucks dude hope you get it sorted.

 

[seachnasaigh]

Have you seen an itemized statement? What accounts for that $300?

Did you or your nephew watch a lot of pay-per-view shows?

 

[eclark1894]

Have you seen an itemized statement? What accounts for that $300?

Did you or your nephew watch a lot of pay-per-view shows?

I certainly haven't. I haven't seen an itemized bill, but supposedly part of it includes the fact that they're billing me a month in advance. I haven't even had the service a month yet and they're claiming I'm past due.

 

[Miss B]

Oh that s*cks big time. I can't see how a company can bill in advance if they haven't a clue how you're going to be using their service. ~sheesh~

 

[Bonnie2001]

Sounds like they just mugged you Earl. A $300 shock like that so soon after leaving hospital can't be good for your heart!

Did they rope you into a 12 month contract as well?

 

[eclark1894]

Well, I spoke to someone there. I was all set to pull the trigger and cut the cord except for the internet which I still want and need, but we went over my bill and after tossing out a bunch of stuff which frankly I still theink they padded my bill with like the Dvr boxes, 2 tiers od channels I didn't ask for and never watch. Some of those are music channels, btw. basically radio on tv. So anyway, they get their deluxe boxes back, and switch me out with standard cable boxes and basic cable, plus I keep the wi-fi, so I can get the ROKU and Firestick, if I want. I still have to pay the $334.93, but once I return the equipment, they'll give me credit for the next bill. So while I'm not happy, I can at least live with the new price per month... for now.

Bonnie, yeah, they did, but since I was going for the promotional package anyway, I was okay with it... for now.

 

[Terre]

Sounds like you need to keep a very close eye on them. I wouldn't blame you if you make changes after the contract is up.

 

[daywalker03]

Sounds like you need to keep a very close eye on them. I wouldn't blame you if you make changes after the contract is up.

Oh, believe me; they will not like him wanting to go back to just using one service of theirs, but he has every right to do so once the contract is up.

 

[McGyver]

If you think that is bad, just wait until the ISPs and the FCC kills Net Neutrality.
What you mentioned is nothing new, most cable companies have been using hidden fees and bogus charges to inflate customer's bills...
It's a big game to see who notices and fights back... People who don't, get ripped off and people who do and fight it sometimes get the advertised price or they get handed a "too bad, we are the only game in town bro" line.
Being that most major cable companies are also Internet Service Providers and are actively fighting to kill net neutrality, one can only imagine what shenanigans they have planned when they get their way.
One amazing thing happened the other day...
A federal judge threw out Comcast's request to throw out a lawsuit charging them with misleading advertisement, and fraudulent fees... Although the problem is nationwide, Comcast did manage to get the suit narrowed down to only California residents.
Comcast Fails To Shut Down Customer Lawsuit Over ‘Broadcast TV’ & ‘Regional Sports’ Fees

 

[RAMWolff]

With all your heart stuff you certainly do not need this sort of stress. That's a mess. I hope you can get is sorted.

In my area I had the opportunity to up my bandwidth to double the speed with my internet service provider, Sonic. So I get a note from them that the installation fee was going to be around $100.00. I was floored. I thought I was a good customer, sent them allot of business and asked why they were charging so much. Their attitude was everyone pays the same install fee regardless. The guy comes out and realizes he's going to have to run a whole new line and I just decided to back out. Luckily they wrote me and told me there were no charges for the visit. WHEW.

So from my story to yours, it must be like an installation fee but then were is that all those other charges coming from. You should call them up and ask what the hell is going on.

 

[robert952]

Just now catching up on this thread. About 2-3 years ago I 'cut the cord'. Dropped my bill from nearly $290 monthly to $55. I get my internet access from Spectrum (nee Time Warner) using Earthlink as my ISP. That's all the cable company bills me. My ISP bill is a 'promo price'. So, once a year I call Earthlink, complain, threaten to change service, and they 'find' another promo price I 'qualify' for. Typically handled with one person on the phone. Well worth the 20 minutes or so on the phone or it would go to $90 for the same service levels. (And I avoid the PITA of changing all those places that use email as the log-in.)

I bought my own modem and router - no rental fee - depending on what you get, around $175.00 US one time purchase. My advice look at 100 mbps units. Yes, 300 mbps on the horizon, but do you really need that speed? I have LAN cables running to Tivo and PS3 and of course computer. No problems with Netflix, computer and 2-4 wireless devices running at the same time.

I replaced my 'cable channels' with a DTV antenna (about $75 for a '75-mile' indoor device by Terk). We get about 30-40 channels; about 3/4 not watched - but they are free.

Now, so I don't sound like I am blowing smoke, I do pay Netflix (upper tier so I can run three wireless devices anywhere - and with my business travel a "nice to have"). DW pays the bills, but I think it's like $50 a month. We pay Tivo about $25. (I'll look at alternatives when the hard drive in the Tivo box dies. Tivo bill will never change until I change service.)

Still, I run under $150 per month for my 'TV entertainment' budget line item.

(We get Amazon Prime, but we didn't buy Prime ($99 pr year) for the TV offer - hence not in my TV budget. They - IMHO - have a lot of overlap with Netflix. Each has unique offers. A lot of 'pay for view' offerings at Prime which is 'free' - OK, included - with Netflix. However, with Prime, you get what you pay for - literally. That part I like. But if you watch a lot of movies, you can run up quite a bill.)

I know a long thread. But as pointed out by others, the cable companies charge way more than they should. As long as cable companies have a 'monopoly' in cities and since they are treated as a 'utility' like power and water, consumers will still pay outlandish pricing. So, I have become an advocate of 'cutting the cord'.

 

[Darryl]

Just now catching up on this thread. About 2-3 years ago I 'cut the cord'. Dropped my bill from nearly $290 monthly to $55. I get my internet access from Spectrum (nee Time Warner) using Earthlink as my ISP. That's all the cable company bills me. My ISP bill is a 'promo price'. So, once a year I call Earthlink, complain, threaten to change service, and they 'find' another promo price I 'qualify' for. Typically handled with one person on the phone. Well worth the 20 minutes or so on the phone or it would go to $90 for the same service levels. (And I avoid the PITA of changing all those places that use email as the log-in.)

I bought my own modem and router - no rental fee - depending on what you get, around $175.00 US one time purchase. My advice look at 100 mbps units. Yes, 300 mbps on the horizon, but do you really need that speed? I have LAN cables running to Tivo and PS3 and of course computer. No problems with Netflix, computer and 2-4 wireless devices running at the same time.

I replaced my 'cable channels' with a DTV antenna (about $75 for a '75-mile' indoor device by Terk). We get about 30-40 channels; about 3/4 not watched - but they are free.

Now, so I don't sound like I am blowing smoke, I do pay Netflix (upper tier so I can run three wireless devices anywhere - and with my business travel a "nice to have"). DW pays the bills, but I think it's like $50 a month. We pay Tivo about $25. (I'll look at alternatives when the hard drive in the Tivo box dies. Tivo bill will never change until I change service.)

Still, I run under $150 per month for my 'TV entertainment' budget line item.

(We get Amazon Prime, but we didn't buy Prime ($99 pr year) for the TV offer - hence not in my TV budget. They - IMHO - have a lot of overlap with Netflix. Each has unique offers. A lot of 'pay for view' offerings at Prime which is 'free' - OK, included - with Netflix. However, with Prime, you get what you pay for - literally. That part I like. But if you watch a lot of movies, you can run up quite a bill.)

I know a long thread. But as pointed out by others, the cable companies charge way more than they should. As long as cable companies have a 'monopoly' in cities and since they are treated as a 'utility' like power and water, consumers will still pay outlandish pricing. So, I have become an advocate of 'cutting the cord'.

Odd you should mention this as I'm planning to cut my cable service on Tuesday. That's payday and I plan to get an antenna to pickup whatever channels possible. The lady at the local electronics store has a $120 outdoor mounted antenna they recommend. Don't know the brand. I'd rather do indoor, what model is the one you have? Also Spectrum has been bugging me to switch from TW. I've hesitated because they can't tell me whether I can keep my Earthlink account. I assume that they do since they do in your area. Should have thought to call Earthlink directly to find out.

 

[Carrie58]

Ummm Darryl I don't know where you are but in North Carolina Spectrum bought out/merged with Time Warner so they are now the same thing .

 

[Miss B]

From what I understand, that's true all over Carrie.