5 ms·

I'm probably missing some details, but what exactly makes this a scam? I completely agree that charging some fee like $7/month (how Comcast does it where I live

by 67726e 14y ago

I'm probably missing some details, but what exactly makes this a scam? I completely agree that charging some fee like $7/month (how Comcast does it where I live) is absurd, but how is it a scam? One can always buy his/her own modem and not have this fee. At what point does the consumer need to be responsible for his/her own decisions?

ceejayoz 14y ago
They get these things for probably $20 wholesale, and they often sit in peoples' basements for 5+ years. Meanwhile, rate hikes in many areas are regulated by state/local governments, so it certainly looks like a way to raise revenue without triggering government reviews.
AJ007 14y ago
The story seems light on details, I am guessing by your post you didn't really read it, but it seems to me like the way they added the fees break specific consumer protection laws. If I am already in a contract, and the company alters the price on me during that contract period, how was I capable of making a decision? The right answer is that the other side broke the contract and voided it, but if it was through a "confusing notice of the fee in a junk mail postcard they’ll throw in the garbage" then I may have missed the window to politely exit the contract. Then again, if I went to all of the trouble waiting for a cable man to show up and install my new cable, only to have the price altered a few months later, they have not only wasted my time but also set themselves up for a potential run in with the FTC by advertising something as $XXX a year which really turns out to be $YYY a year. Price differences are often what make a consumer choose one service over another so it most certainly matters in that regards.
- Karunamon 14y ago
  >confusing notice of the fee in a junk mail postcard <post type="devils-advocate"> There's nothing "confusing" about the wording on the postcard. If you get something that's very clearly from your cable company and you chuck it in the trash, you are (and should be) responsible for the consequences of not reading it. It could be a bill, a disconnect notice, or any number of things. That's not even getting into the fact that it's a backdoor rate raise, but cmon. There's nothing sneaky about it as far as the customer is concerned.
  - mikeash 14y ago
    I think I should only be held responsible for not reading mail from the cable company if the cable company refrains from sending me junk mail advertisements for their service. I get a couple of pieces of junk mail a month from Comcast telling me how I should totally sign up with them. I never get legitimate mail from them (electronic billing), so I'm pretty well trained to ignore their stuff. I guess they don't correlate their subscriber database with their advertising database.
  - krickle 14y ago
    Are you kidding? I would never expect important information of any sort to come in the form of a postcard.
  - crazcarl 14y ago
    What if it got lost in the mail and never delivered? Is the reciever responsible for that? It seems like if they are amending your contract, the sender should at least need proof that the reciever got the notice and has agreed (snail mail with signature required, phone call, email with link to website, etc..)
    - Karunamon 14y ago
      >What if it got lost in the mail and never delivered? Is the reciever responsible for that? What happens if a bill gets lost in the mail and never delivered?
      - jetti 14y ago
        The bill isn't a legally binding contract.
        Karunamon 14y ago
        The contract generally says something about failure to pay bills on time...
  - greyboy 14y ago
wjamesg 14y ago
In my experience, one can not always buy his/her own modem. I was required to rent one for a Comcast Business Class internet account, specifically informed that I could not provide my own modem.
- illuminate 14y ago
  http://arrisi.com/consumer/_docs/ARRIS_Modems_Comcast_Xfinity_Best_Buy.pdf http://arrisi.com/consumer/_docs/ARRIS_Modems_Comcast_Xfinit... It seems if you push enough, they'll give up the model/brand that they support and provision.

by 67726e 14y ago

ceejayoz 14y ago

They get these things for probably $20 wholesale, and they often sit in peoples' basements for 5+ years. Meanwhile, rate hikes in many areas are regulated by state/local governments, so it certainly looks like a way to raise revenue without triggering government reviews.

AJ007 14y ago

The story seems light on details, I am guessing by your post you didn't really read it, but it seems to me like the way they added the fees break specific consumer protection laws. If I am already in a contract, and the company alters the price on me during that contract period, how was I capable of making a decision? The right answer is that the other side broke the contract and voided it, but if it was through a "confusing notice of the fee in a junk mail postcard they’ll throw in the garbage" then I may have missed the window to politely exit the contract. Then again, if I went to all of the trouble waiting for a cable man to show up and install my new cable, only to have the price altered a few months later, they have not only wasted my time but also set themselves up for a potential run in with the FTC by advertising something as $XXX a year which really turns out to be $YYY a year. Price differences are often what make a consumer choose one service over another so it most certainly matters in that regards.

Karunamon 14y ago
>confusing notice of the fee in a junk mail postcard <post type="devils-advocate"> There's nothing "confusing" about the wording on the postcard. If you get something that's very clearly from your cable company and you chuck it in the trash, you are (and should be) responsible for the consequences of not reading it. It could be a bill, a disconnect notice, or any number of things. That's not even getting into the fact that it's a backdoor rate raise, but cmon. There's nothing sneaky about it as far as the customer is concerned.
- mikeash 14y ago
  I think I should only be held responsible for not reading mail from the cable company if the cable company refrains from sending me junk mail advertisements for their service. I get a couple of pieces of junk mail a month from Comcast telling me how I should totally sign up with them. I never get legitimate mail from them (electronic billing), so I'm pretty well trained to ignore their stuff. I guess they don't correlate their subscriber database with their advertising database.
- krickle 14y ago
  Are you kidding? I would never expect important information of any sort to come in the form of a postcard.
- crazcarl 14y ago
  What if it got lost in the mail and never delivered? Is the reciever responsible for that? It seems like if they are amending your contract, the sender should at least need proof that the reciever got the notice and has agreed (snail mail with signature required, phone call, email with link to website, etc..)
  - Karunamon 14y ago
    >What if it got lost in the mail and never delivered? Is the reciever responsible for that? What happens if a bill gets lost in the mail and never delivered?
    - jetti 14y ago
      The bill isn't a legally binding contract.
      - Karunamon 14y ago
        The contract generally says something about failure to pay bills on time...
- greyboy 14y ago

wjamesg 14y ago

In my experience, one can not always buy his/her own modem. I was required to rent one for a Comcast Business Class internet account, specifically informed that I could not provide my own modem.

illuminate 14y ago
http://arrisi.com/consumer/_docs/ARRIS_Modems_Comcast_Xfinity_Best_Buy.pdf http://arrisi.com/consumer/_docs/ARRIS_Modems_Comcast_Xfinit... It seems if you push enough, they'll give up the model/brand that they support and provision.