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gballer
@reyrey.net

gballer

Anon

So

who will be checking these so called meters to make sure they are acurate and customers arent getting hosed?
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Each individual customer before they pay their bill?

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

said by openbox9:

Each individual customer before they pay their bill?

How would a consumer know if what the meter says is correct?

My parents and friends would not have even the SLIGHTEST clue how much they use per month

SpaethCo
Digital Plumber
MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN

SpaethCo

MVM

said by Bill Neilson:

How would a consumer know if what the meter says is correct?

Most people couldn't estimate how many kilowatt hours their air conditioner uses in the summer, but they know when their bill is off.
said by Bill Neilson:

My parents and friends would not have even the SLIGHTEST clue how much they use per month

I bet they'd figure it out if they had a financial incentive to do so.
nmlobo
join:2002-11-02
Yorktown, VA

nmlobo to Bill Neilson

Member

to Bill Neilson
How does anyone know if what their electric, gas, or water meter reads is correct? They have to accept the word of the company, right?
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to Bill Neilson

Premium Member

to Bill Neilson
said by Bill Neilson:

How would a consumer know if what the meter says is correct?

A consumer could always implement their own method of monitoring bandwidth usage and assume some responsibility.
said by Bill Neilson:

My parents and friends would not have even the SLIGHTEST clue how much they use per month

I bet if they start paying by the byte, they might be interested in learning about their usage

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson to SpaethCo

Premium Member

to SpaethCo
said by SpaethCo:

Most people couldn't estimate how many kilowatt hours their air conditioner uses in the summer, but they know when their bill is off.

I am not sure what exactly this point means anything other than how absurd it is to expect consumers to know whether their bill is correct or not.

said by Bill Neilson:

My parents and friends would not have even the SLIGHTEST clue how much they use per month

I bet they'd figure it out if they had a financial incentive to do so.

Ah, so on top of the bill we pay for the over-priced, under-performing service....we are now being told that the company has little to no incentive to actually bill consumers correctly because frankly, it is the consumers fault for not GUESSING correctly whether their bill is correct or not?

Is that it?
Bill Neilson

Bill Neilson to openbox9

Premium Member

to openbox9
said by openbox9:

A consumer could always implement their own method of monitoring bandwidth usage and assume some responsibility.

So the consumer must accept responsibility for the unreliable, incorrect meter that the ISP's forced on them?

I mean, the stupidity in that logic is really astounding

SpaethCo
Digital Plumber
MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN

SpaethCo to Bill Neilson

MVM

to Bill Neilson
said by Bill Neilson:

said by SpaethCo:

said by Bill Neilson:

My parents and friends would not have even the SLIGHTEST clue how much they use per month

I bet they'd figure it out if they had a financial incentive to do so.

Ah, so on top of the bill we pay for the over-priced, under-performing service....we are now being told that the company has little to no incentive to actually bill consumers correctly because frankly, it is the consumers fault for not GUESSING correctly whether their bill is correct or not?

Is that it?

That's one possible way of completely misinterpreting what I said, yes.

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

said by SpaethCo:

That's one possible way of completely misinterpreting what I said, yes.

What exactly did I misinterpret?
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to Bill Neilson

Premium Member

to Bill Neilson
No, the consumer needs to assume responsibility for their actions. If the action is moving bits around on a metered connection, then it is in their best interest to know what they're doing. If they're ignorant of what a bit is, then they might want to educate themselves a little.
said by Bill Neilson:

I mean, the stupidity in that logic is really astounding

I'm honestly dumbfounded that you are unwilling to accept that numerous mechanisms exist for consumers to monitor their bandwidth usage.

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

said by openbox9:

I'm honestly dumbfounded that you are unwilling to accept that numerous mechanisms exist for consumers to monitor their bandwidth usage.

I am dumbfounded that you ignore the fact that the ISP's are simply shoving out meters that have little to no reliability and then passing off the reliability to the consumers....And this idea of the consumer needing to spend time or money on DOUBLE CHECKING the data....again, is a level of stupidity that astounds me. YOU are not stupid...the logic is
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

said by Bill Neilson:

I am dumbfounded that you ignore the fact that the ISP's are simply shoving out meters that have little to no reliability and then passing off the reliability to the consumers....

I'm not ignoring that at all, and in fact I'm suggesting that consumers need to assume some responsibility for their actions given the questionable accuracy of these meters.

Blunt truth...nobody is going to take care of you except for you. Unfortunately, I'm continuously reminded of this simple little lesson.
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os

Member

So Cox should just be able to make up whatever charges they want and bill you with no oversight?

I'm not excusing stupid customers, but there's tons of those who use the internet and can't tell you the difference between MB and Mb.

Close to you, Verizon will be laughing all the way to the bank when Cox catches people in this trap. With their lower speed plans, they will get people in overage fees. And FiOS installs will go through the roof.

In areas of competition, send Cox a message. CANCEL! Run away as fast as you can! Hit them the only place it can hurt, their wallet. You can't nickel and dime the customers you ran away to other companies.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

said by Os:

So Cox should just be able to make up whatever charges they want and bill you with no oversight?

Do you not look at your bill before paying it?
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os

Member

Ever heard of AutoPay? Why do you think so many companies push that?

It's because stupid customers will just write the check or pay the credit card interest and never notice anything different.

ISP's can't have it both ways. They can't have meters and not be regulated. Of course, regulation is the evil word in this country, unless they're regulations bought and paid for by the industries themselves.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

said by Os:

Ever heard of AutoPay? Why do you think so many companies push that?

Yes, and I use it in several situations. I also review my bills at least a week prior to payments being pulled.