CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
1 edit | reply to TheOtherPete
Re: End of Reg Fee = Higher Reg Compliance Fee???
said by TheOtherPete  :said by CylonRed :same for taxes/fees at airports for airplane tickets - fees are added or increased with no notice or opportunity to pay it or not. I buy my airline tickets ahead of time online - all fees and taxes are listed before I confirm that they can charge my credit card for whatever the total amount is. I have never shown up at the airport with paid tickets and been asked to pay additional fees or taxes. Apparently I live in a different world then you (or at least use different airlines & airports). That is up to you - if you want to fly any where you have to agree (by buying the ticket) to ANY and ALL fees and ANY and ALL increases to those fees - it is not really a choice if that is the only way you need to get somewhere. They simply increase the fees and never have to disclose it anywhere and never ask you first BEFORE they put the fee on - they just tack it on...
Again - companies can change fees and prices anytime they want - they can even give you a small portion for the same price anytime they want - with the consumer having no vote on it before it happens. That to me is REAL explicit approval - asking for consumer approval before buying and offering the same product without the increased prices/fees...
--
Brian
"Some people are like Slinkies...
Not really good for anything......
But they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." |
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TheOtherPete
join:2001-06-28
Boyds, MD
| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed :They covered that in their TOS: Pricing Guarantee:
In the event that Speakeasy's pricing increases, your monthly recurring charge will remain at the price set during order placement or special billing agreement for 12 months following your Activation Date. Additionally, if your account is invoiced quarterly, semi-annually or annually, you will receive your set monthly recurring charge until the end of the current payment period. This does not include new orders under the same name and/or location or new orders associated with a service relocation, nor orders for service changes that may be required if the desired service is not available due to technical or other reasons. Price changes for different packages at the same speeds, technologies, and throughput level are not included; one-time charges, applicable state and federal taxes, and promotional pricing are excluded. This guarantee only applies to the recurring broadband service charges. I'm not sure what the above quote proves except that Speakeasy is not allowed to raise my rates during the 12-months which they are effectively doing with this increased "Regulatory Compliance Fee"
I agree that they are allowed to pass through any additional state and federal taxes that they incur but as far as I can tell this "Regulatory Compliance Fee" increase is not based on any state or federal tax increase - it is nothing less then a backdoor price increase to boost their own profits. |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
1 edit | Read the last sentence of the paragraph..... RCF will not be included in the "broadband service charges" thereby making the RCF excuded from the guarantee.
Look - if it is illegal then start a classaction lawsuit against the entire industry - I am sure a ton of lawyers would jump at the chance if there was anything illegal about it - my guess is no lawyers think it is illegal or illegal enough to even bother. |
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houstontarge
Target
join:2005-01-08
Houston, TX | reply to bjcatlin
Seems like we not the only ones upset with these backdoor tactics...
»Bell South Backs Out Bogus Fee |
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jcricket
join:2002-08-30
Seattle, WA
| reply to bjcatlin
For the life of me I can't understand what's happened to Speakeasy. I'm not saying they've always been a perfect corporate citizen, but this really takes the cake.
Adding bogus fees at the point when a fee they merely "passed on" to the government goes away is nothing but screwing over their customers. Sure, Speakeasy's within its rights to charge each customer more, but doing so in an underhanded way that make it appear a tax or government fee is involves is something I expect from Qwest or Verizon (i.e. a near-monopoloy)
One of the prime selling points of dealing with a third-party, non-monopoly company is that they know you can switch to other providers, so they won't do things like this. Now I'm starting to wonder why we all just don't just switch to Qwest. What's the difference anymore? |
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artisticcheese
join:2004-11-09
Carrollton, TX | They probably would not get a kick in the a** like Verizon and BellSouth did (»FCC Chief 'Furious' Over New DSL Fees) |
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claudeo
join:2000-02-23
Redmond, WA
| reply to jcricket
said by jcricket :For the life of me I can't understand what's happened to Speakeasy. I'm not saying they've always been a perfect corporate citizen, but this really takes the cake. How about giving the man a piece of your mind:
Mike Apgar
CEO, SPEAKEASY.net
email) speakeasy-ceo at speakeasy.net |
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wcweaver
Premium
join:2002-02-22
Fort Myers, FL
clubs:
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
 ·Comcast
 ·Embarq
| reply to CylonRed
Bottom line is if the government drops a fee, a provider should drop their monthly charge by the same amount. If they don't, then they are putting money that went into the government's pocket and putting it in their own pocket.
And also, their administrative costs should actually drop becaue this is one less item they have to keep track of and pay to the government.
It is a hidden rate increase no matter how they hide it and it borders on theft because they are trying to disguise the rate increase as something else that is bogus.
If they want a rate increase then be upfront about it and call it a rate increase. |
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TheOtherPete
join:2001-06-28
Boyds, MD | Bellsouth and Verizon have announced they are dropping this bogus fee hike - time for Speakeasy to follow their lead! |
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xerxes3642
join:2006-02-24
Saint Charles, MO | reply to claudeo
cable has done the same thing with franchise fees. They are a cost of using government rights-of-way, however, they are put on a seperate line-item and not figured into the advertised price. |
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King P
Don't blame me. I voted for Ron Paul
Premium
join:2004-11-17
Inman, SC | reply to claudeo
Claudeo,
Mike isn't running Speakeasy anymore. Bruce Chatterley is, but the email is still the same.
--
Forget 'em, Support the Indies.
»www.ind-music.com |
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miball10
@speakeasy.net
| I just called Speakeasy about this and they couldn't give me a straight answer, the gentleman passed my info onto accounting. I shoulded him the DSLreports article. They are supposed to be getting back to me about this fee & if they will be dropping it. I would suggest that everyone call in an inquire about it. If Verizon is dropping the fee, so should Speakeasy! |
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artisticcheese
join:2004-11-09
Carrollton, TX | Verizon had FCC inquiry coming in and FCC does not care about Speakeasy so there is no big guy outthere pressuring them to do so except for their own customers. This is just another reason for me to switch to FIOS at the end of my contract. |
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jcricket
join:2002-08-30
Seattle, WA
| reply to miball10
I sent an email to the CEO, for whatever it's worth. I agree, this is a bogus fee, along with many of the other "compliance recovery" and "tax recovery" fees. I understand that Speakeasy incurs many costs, some related to compliance with local and state government regulations. But unless those dollars are 100% passed directly on to another entity, they shouldn't be listed separately as line items.
Just another hidden rate increase is definitely right.
There's probably about $5 on every bill that's basically Speakeasy not being able to justify increasing the actual cost of their service so finding a sneaky way to do it but make it look like the government is at fault. |
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nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy
| reply to bjcatlin
Wonder whatever happened to SpeakEasy reps monitoring this forum? They've been oddly silent on this. So, we're getting dicked with bogus fees AND SpeakEasy is no longer providing assistance through these forums? Sounds like it's time to start looking. I'm month-to-month now, any way. I was going to wait for FIOS and hope that SE would resell, but now, I think I may as well look at one of Cox's SOHO offerings. More bandwidth than I have with SE and about the same price.
-tom
--
"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficial. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding." -Louis D Brandeis |
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Fragmaster
join:2001-03-05
Abingdon, MD
| reply to bjcatlin
I have been with Speakeasy for over 5 years and I am looking at other providers now. My bill has actually gone up since these new "fees" were added to my bill. I have yet to see a speakeasy rep post here since Adam left. If this is the way they are going to do business its time to end our relationship. |
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djpiazza
join:2001-03-19
Caldwell, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Speakeasy
| reply to miball10
Add another voice to the growing list. I am a long time customer and really feel shafted on this one. If you want to raise your monthly fee, than raise it. But hiding a price increase in a restructured "Regulatory compliance fee" is outrageous. You have the nerve to say in your e-mail that you our saving us money by dropping our fees by 1%. That is an outright lie. The government eliminated a tax, lowering my bill and you added a new fee, than bundled with other fees to hide it. That's called an increase, not a savings. Yes, my bill may be slightly lower, but it is no thanks to Speakeasy.
Drop this fee like the rest.
Adam? Any comment on this? |
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djpiazza
join:2001-03-19
Caldwell, NJ
1 edit | reply to Fragmaster
Did I miss something, When did Adam leave?
**UPDATE**
Never mind, I just did a search and saw Adam left. What a shame. Ok than,
Lawrence how about a comment from you. Are you monitoring these boards or not? |
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claudeo
join:2000-02-23
Redmond, WA
| reply to King P
said by King P :Claudeo, Mike isn't running Speakeasy anymore. Bruce Chatterley is, but the email is still the same. Right you are. I'm just a little slow sometimes...  |
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drmorley
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-20
Park Ridge, IL
clubs:
| reply to djpiazza
After nearly five years with Speakeasy I canceled my service this past June and went with SBC. My biggest beef with Speakeasy all those years was the bogus "taxes" they insisted were necessary.
My wife still uses Speakeasy at her office and I'm going to inquire about getting these taxes removed. If they won't then I'll take our business elsewhere. It's that easy. |
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