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A Prime Example of Misleading Fees and 'Cable Bill Bloat'

Bruce Kushnick laments how cable promotional offers can very quickly become costly, illustrating how his $90 Time Warner Cable Promotional bundle quickly ballooned to $190.77. Most readers will quickly and correctly state that this is how promotional offers work.

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I agree -- if Kushnick doesn't want that level of shock he should cut the cord or threaten to quit to negotiate better rates.

Still, Kushnick makes the point that he never actually got to pay that $90 a month because his bill was immediately laden with all manner of misleading fees. He also correctly notes that many companies intentionally obscure what your price will be after the promotion ends.

I think Kushnick's graphic (left) does a nice job highlighting bill bloat -- like the completely made-up $0.69 "regulatory recovery fee," or the relatively-new and similarly misleading $2.25 "broadcast TV fee," both of which put ordinary business costs below the line to help misrepresent the advertised price.

It's those misleading below the line fees that are consumer enemy number one, and as I've noted for years it's something regulators simply couldn't care less about. The advertised price simply never is the actual price in this industry, and that should be considered false advertising and aggressively anti-consumer by regulators.

Most recommended from 60 comments


pawpaw
join:2004-05-05
Asheville, NC

6 recommendations

pawpaw

Member

Agree

I wanted to sign up for Uverse. But I could absolutely not get a firm answer on what my bottom-line bill would be. The representative said that she was unable to give that information, because it depended on local taxes, fees and other variables. So then, how are you able to bill me?

Insist on everything in writing up front. This is my habit now, from phone companies to repairmen, auto shops, travel and (gasp) doctors and hospitals. And if any of them ask to see my licence, I demand theirs first.

Oh, and I am still with Charter internet, as a cord-cutter. Charter has improved.
gene32
join:2004-05-03
Reynoldsburg, OH

2 recommendations

gene32

Member

Cut. the. cord.

I recently cut the cord and went internet only. Cable companies will continue to bend you all over the barrel until you've had enough and switch to internet only. I realize that cutting the cord isn't for everyone and so does your cable company. Complaining to your bought and paid for government representatives will accomplish jack sh*t. The only thing companies understand is money. You have to be prepared to sacrifice a little convenience to get your point across. Just think how much better the world would be if large groups of people could organize and sacrifice a little bit from time to time.

If 50% of all airline passengers stopping flying for a month or two (or however long is needed) and would come together and let it be know we're sick and tired of watching TSA goons molest our children and the elderly, that department would no longer exist and we could go back to some sanity when it comes to air travel. (But sheep love their false sense of security they get while their children are molested.)

If large chunks of people would cancel their cell service because what we pay is outrageous compared to what people pay in other countries, we'd get cheaper bills but the sheep love being able to chat on facepage when they're out camping or looking up news on the kardashians when they should be spending time with their children or conversing with friends.

And us cord cutters will be leading the way, as our numbers grow, in helping to bring down cable prices and maybe return TV to what it use to be........ informative shows, documentaries about space exploration, the history of our world.......... not wall to wall "reality" tv shows. I mean really, bring up your TV guide listing and look at any channel (other then local stuff (ABC, CBS, Fox, CW, NBC)) and notice how every. single. channel. has nothing but "reality" TV shows? Apparently this is what you sheep want since you keep subscribing to cable TV and keep paying those ever increasing bills.

When is enough, enough?