Canadian cable operator Cogeco was supposed to start billing customers in June after they implemented a new metered billing model. However, as we noted last week, many users found Cogeco's meters didn't accurately reflect usage. Customers have complained that Cogeco's daily usage portal seems broken, and that automatic warning e-mail alerts don't match the portal. Cogeco reached out to us to note that they're working on the problems, while at the same time downplaying the breadth of the issues.

"Cogeco is confident that their high speed customers have an accurate means of gauging their on-line consumption and that their invoicing reflects the consumption displayed on the customer usage measurement tool provided by the company," Cogeco's Marie Carrier tells us. Carrier insists regular performance checks indicate that their tracking system is accurate, and "the vast majority of customers are satisfied with their consumption tracking and rates."

"However, anomalies can occur in the best of software applications – and we are addressing those mentioned in Broadband Reports," she says. "In those specific instances, customer tracking tools, which are normally scheduled for daily updates, lagged behind actual usage and related email alerts," notes Carrier.

We asked Cogeco what customers should do if an e-mail alert contradicts the company's online usage-tracking portal, and were told that customers should rely on the portal numbers. The user consumption web page is updated once a day not long after midnight, generating an e-mail alert. When asked if Cogeco was planning a consumption meter that notified users in real time, we were told "it is not in our plan for the short term."

The company did confirm that they wouldn't start billing customers until the company has "completed any required fine tuning of the metering and notification tools." "We regret any inconvenience," says Carrier, "and assure our customers that they will not be billed for usage that does not appear on their customer tracking tool." Consumers will certainly be happy to know they won't be billed for services they didn't use. If you're a Cogeco customer feel free to drop us a line and let us know how Cogeco is doing.