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story category Customer Battles Time Warner Overages
But lives in one of AT&T metered trial markets, limiting options
09:28AM Wednesday Jun 17 2009 by Karl Bode
tags: legal · competition · business · bandwidth · cable · consumers · caps · RoadRunner Cable
Tipped by Dampier See Profile
Stop The Cap has an interesting report on one Texas resident's experience with Time Warner Cable's now temporarily suspended plan to impose very low caps and high per-gigabyte overages. The dedicated user, surprised by a Time Warner Cable bill rife with $73.00 in "additional usage" charges and other fees, takes his case to the Better Business Bureau and engages in a lengthy (if unfruitful) letter writing conversation with Time Warner Cable -- who make it clear metered billing and whining about capacity is still higher on the agenda than DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades. The user ultimately canceled in disgust at Time Warner Cable's treatment of a customer, but unfortunately for him he resides in a market where AT&T is also conducting metered billing trials.

Related:
  1. Time Warner Cable 'Delays' Texas Metered Billing
  2. Time Warner Cable: Let's Not Talk About Net Neutrality
  3. Time Warner Caps Go from Ugly To Invisible
  4. Google Versus Time Warner Cable
  5. Lawmaker Unveils Anti-Metered Billing Law
  6. Real Consumer Group Takes Aim At Fake Ones
  7. Pittsburgh, Verizon Haggling Over FiOS
  8. What Network Neutrality Is REALLY About
Forums » Customer Battles Time Warner Overages
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Post a:

DivineDark

join:2001-08-30
Oklahoma City, OK
clubs:

1 edit

move along nothing to see here

There is no collusion to raise prices of data between ISP's or sms between wireless carriers. *cough bullshit.
JSRoman
Premium
join:2005-03-10
Callahan, FL

How long will that exempt last?

"Still to Come: Mark takes his battle to AT&T and gets an upper level AT&T retention agent to mark his account “exempt” from Internet Overcharging fees and penalties. Perhaps you can, too!"
--
»www.seabee.navy.mil

maartena
Stacked.
Premium
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA
·RoadRunner Cable

Corporate Greed!



More corporate greed, exactly what we need right now Time Warner Cable!

I don't know if anyone from TWC actually reads this, but ask yourself why Comcast with the 250 Gb cap didn't get so much negative press attention.....
--
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME

Re: Corporate Greed!

Comcast didn't get as much attention, as they 'currently' have a decent cap. AT&T/TimeWarner do not.

quote:
The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death.
Because AT&T/TWC have set rediculously low caps, the average consumer is 'jumping' out of the boiling water. Comcast has set their rates to be reasonable enough that it may take a few years, and customers will get used to it (hence boiled frog).
--
Canada = Hollywood North
sonicmerlin

join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

Re: Corporate Greed!

Seriously though, caps don't manage network congestion, which occurs during periods of peak usage during the evening. Caps don't make any sense. At the very least even if their network was troubled and they had no money (both of which are not true) Comcast should allow unlimited usage after 10 PM.
k1ll3rdr4g0n

join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL

Confusion?

Perhaps I am just reading his bill wrong?
But, it says his previous balance was $57.66. His next bill will be $50.79.
Is he complaining that he has to pay less?
»stopthecap.com/wp-content/upload···bill.jpg

And upon skimming through the article:
quote:
Instead of his old service priced at $44.95 a month for unlimited use.
I am pretty sure every broadband ISP pulled "unlimited" from their advertising years ago - so if he believed it was unlimited I think he was being misled.

And if this is a "new" service, then why is there a previous balance?
Has he not read any news about ISPs implementing caps?

Anyone care to clarify?

beck
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-29
On The Road
·AllureHost
·Qwest.net
·Verizon BroadbandA..

Re: Confusion?

said by k1ll3rdr4g0n See Profile :

Perhaps I am just reading his bill wrong?
But, it says his previous balance was $57.66. His next bill will be $50.79.

Anyone care to clarify?
Look at it carefully. The previous balance was NEGATIVE. So they had a credit balance. Otherwise how could 73 + 30 + 5 be 50?
--
Some people are like slinkies - not really good for much.
But they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
k1ll3rdr4g0n

join:2005-03-19
Homer Glen, IL

Re: Confusion?

said by beck See Profile :

said by k1ll3rdr4g0n See Profile :

Perhaps I am just reading his bill wrong?
But, it says his previous balance was $57.66. His next bill will be $50.79.

Anyone care to clarify?
Look at it carefully. The previous balance was NEGATIVE. So they had a credit balance. Otherwise how could 73 + 30 + 5 be 50?
Ahh ok that makes sense, thanks for clarifying that.

Wizeguy

join:2008-08-23
Safety Harbor, FL

"I am pretty sure every broadband ISP pulled "unlimited" from their advertising years ago - so if he believed it was unlimited I think he was being misled."

I pay 44.95 a month for unlimited high speed broadband from AOL it runs through my Brighthouse TV cable connection. I never even ever checked Road Runner which is Brighthouse's high speed cable. When I sign off I get a messge that say's you have been online for XXX minutes your plan is for unlimited.

Flibbetigibbet

@lmco.com

from:
Ray422 See Profile

Collusion

Funny how the cable/telco duopoly in this case just (completely by coincidence) happened to pick the same city to "test" metered billing, isn't it?
Mr Matt

join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
·Comcast
·Embarq

ISP's need price performance regulation.

The broadband parasites will not stop trying to find new ways to gouge customers until the government regulates the Broadband ISP's. Regulation should also include a provision to make it illegal to levy undisclosed charges such as the central office connection charge, the landline parasites charge.

Flibbetigibbet

@lmco.com


from:
KrK See Profile

Re: ISP's need price performance regulation.

There's a much simpler solution. Just seperate ownership of the lines and hubs from ownership of internet services. Spin off the physical plant into a new company, and mandate that they have to sell bandwidth at published rates to all service providers. Problem sovled.
bjbrock

join:2002-10-28
Mcalester, OK

Re: ISP's need price performance regulation.

Either way it is going to require government intervention to get the job done.

These companies want you to check your e-mail and do some light surfing. They want to eventually deliver any content you want and prevent you from getting it elsewhere.

The government must step in or the Internet will become useless due to the increased cost of bandwidth. This isn't something that might happen. It is a sure deal. Forget using the Internet.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest

Re: ISP's need price performance regulation.

What they really want is the Internet to be like the pay video market. They sell you all the crap they want to sell, and you "consume" it. You do NOT get it from anywhere else or someone else's. They want you a spoonfed little consumer paying them for the crap they shovel, and they want you to have little choice in the matter.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
me1212

join:2008-11-20
Pleasant Hill, MO

Solution is competition.

We need more competition mono/duopolies don't work very well. If an ISP came along and offered an uncapped 20/4 and up do you think tw or att be testing metered billing there? I don't think so.

Hpower
Roflmao

join:2000-06-08
Glendale, CA

Re: Solution is competition.

Exactly. We need more competition. I hope dslextreme will do something good. Always has been a great ISP from personal experience.
--
The Internet is about to go down....it is actually.
sonicmerlin

join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

Re: Solution is competition.

I thought DSLExtreme's lines come from Verizon....

Pizz
Hi

join:2000-10-27
Astoria, NY
·Verizon Online DSL
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: Solution is competition.

said by sonicmerlin See Profile :

I thought DSLExtreme's lines come from Verizon....
and ATT, it depends on the area.
--
The more you talk, the less you listen.
elray

join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA
·SONIC.NET
·RoadRunner Cable
·Verizon Online DSL

said by sonicmerlin See Profile :

I thought DSLExtreme's lines come from Verizon....
DSLExtreme serves both Verizon and AT&T franchise areas.
patcat88

join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

said by Hpower See Profile :

Exactly. We need more competition. I hope dslextreme will do something good. Always has been a great ISP from personal experience.
I think Beaumont doesn't have DSLExtreme. Beaumont looks like 100% suburban, 100% detached 1 family homes. Not many subdivisions (strange) from a map, but a grid. 3 DSL lite SBC COs there. Better than one, but with the low density, I would say maybe 20% at most can get CLEC DSL, everyone else is on AT&T RTs that no CLECs have access to.

looking

@rr.com
I agree but the problem is that an ISP cannot "just come along" since those monopolies are created and maintained by government policies in the first place.
hottboiinnc
ME

join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

1 edit

LMAO!

The BBB? WTF! They won't do shit!

And ATT won't have any neg press as long as they keep doing what the Gov't wants them to do. NSA!

Also he was NEVER charged the "one time fees"!

major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA
clubs:

BBB Is A Joke

First off, the BBB is a bought and paid for whore of business. Taking a problem to them results in lip service only. The guy in Texas would have gotten much greater satisfaction had he taken the problem to some other consumer-focused group such as The Consumerist.

jadebangle
Premium
join:2007-05-22
Olathe, KS
·SureWest Internet
·AT&T Yahoo
·Comcast

Re: BBB Is A Joke

said by major marco See Profile :

First off, the BBB is a bought and paid for whore of business. Taking a problem to them results in lip service only. The guy in Texas would have gotten much greater satisfaction had he taken the problem to some other consumer-focused group such as The Consumerist.
or maybe here
in rant,rave,praise forum

sivran
Long Live The Suite
Premium
join:2003-09-15
Arlington, TX
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable

I donno, when I complained to the BBB about Comcast, I got a call from Comcast within a day or two asking how high I wanted them to jump. I got a couple months credit, and more importantly, my problem fixed. (and fixed for good, too, as I never again had trouble with Comcast. Then RR came....)
--
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon profitable cause...
hottboiinnc
ME

join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH
·Time Warner Cable
·buckeye cable

Re: BBB Is A Joke

And all the business has to do is threaten the BBB and all those reports on the website go bye bye.

the BBB does not have legal foot to stand on when they start to publish information such as that. They decided to post MY company's information. They posted my HOME address as my mailing address which is WRONG. They failed to do anything about it and gave me a C- rating because I contacted them about my information. One quick call to a lawyer and my information was REMOVED. Any business owner that has common sense can make that happen.

Also if you pay their "member fee" all of your complaints are marked as "resolved" regardless of the out come, and the business gets an A+ or A- in their ratings.

Tell me they're not bought and paid for.
Forums » Customer Battles Time Warner Overages


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