Will Charter Price Lock Customers See New Fee? Charter says yes, billing insert says no... Tipped by zed260 
As we were the first to report the other day, Charter Communications has decided to add a new $1 " Broadcast TV Surcharge" to user bills, in order to offset the cost of network affiliates demanding higher carriage rates. Despite being simply the cost of doing business, the company is tacking the fee below the line to keep the advertised rate the same. Worse perhaps, Charter tells Stop The Cap that "Charter Price Guarantee" and contract customers (who are supposed to have their rates locked) will also see the hike: A Charter representative we contacted claimed the company will impose the fee on all customers, including those on contract, because of a clause in the terms and conditions which says, "The guaranteed price does not include the cost of installation and equipment, any applicable franchise fees, taxes or late fees, or costs for other ancillary services that you may order." Except one user e-mails us their latest bill with a notification of the new fee, and it claims contract customers and price guarantee customers won't be impacted -- at least until their contract is up. We've reached out to Charter to clear this up but have a feeling Charter misspoke, given that promising customers a fixed rate -- then imposing a rate hike disguised as a below the line fee would be valuable fodder for class action attorneys. Burying the cost of business in below the line fees so they can jack up consumer bills (but leave advertised rates the same) is bad enough.
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 | | Knowing Charter... They have something in ultra fine print for those "rate locked" users that state they can add fees but not change the actual rate. That sounds just like something Charter would do.
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Does Microsoft mean small and squishy? | |
|  Romney2012Defeat Obama 2012-Chg we can believe inPremium
join:2002-03-03
USA
kudos:4 |  Real cost = advertised rate x 1.2
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| Reviews:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| nothing but sleazy bottom feeders Sadley this is just another example of the condiiton of totays industry. CXOs getting bigger and bigger "rewards" while the customers get Bent over the table. The varuious entities and people whao are supposed to be protecting us are either paid off to ignore this tactic or they don't have the "sack" to do anything.
Hopefully some other sharp lawyer will latch onto this sleazy tactic and clean their clocks and amybe weven help the consumer.
These cretins would be the first to piss in their pants with outrage if I were to sell them a system that they required an dcould not get anywhere else then tack on "ancillary " charges on their support contract after they paid to install it and put it into production. I'd dearly love to say thto them those are ancillary charges and if you don't want to pay then pound sand because you aren't getting support. then you | |
|  morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | Change in contract = exit contract This is very easy. If Charter has added a new fee to contract consumers those consumers can exit their contract without penalty. Wireless companies do this once every few years and anyone that wants out at that point can get out.
The problem is that there aren't many decent alternatives for those of us that want more TV than Roku and a high speed line can provide but the basic HD package is overkill. We need some option. | |
|  | zed260Premium
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN
kudos:1 Reviews:
 ·Charter
| Re: Change in contract = exit contract said by morbo:This is very easy. If Charter has added a new fee to contract consumers those consumers can exit their contract without penalty. Wireless companies do this once every few years and anyone that wants out at that point can get out. The problem is that there aren't many decent alternatives for those of us that want more TV than Roku and a high speed line can provide but the basic HD package is overkill. We need some option. »connect.charter.com/landing/disc···179.html
The guaranteed price does not include the cost of installation and equipment, any applicable franchise fees, taxes or late fees, or costs for other ancillary services that you may order. that part makes it possable for them to do this without contract change | |
| | | morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | Re: Change in contract = exit contract The new fee is not installation, equipment, franchise fees, tax or late fees. It's also not any ancillary service fee. It's a change to the contract (for those on set prices) and any Charter customer in a contract that is charged this new fee can exit without penalty. | |
| | | | | | Re: Change in contract = exit contract Even though all that you guys are saying seem correct and this new charge is more of an increase in programming cost and not any FEE or TAX, i just got my bill and it says i will see the increase next moth. I have the 24mo price lock and am about one year in.
So this time next month we will see if we do get it. I am not sure how they can do it to us price lock customers. The funny thing is over the year i have had this price lock, my monthly bill seems to change offten by a few cents. It is now about $3 less then when i started so this 0.84 cents will not be more then when it started. | |
| | | | | morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | Re: Change in contract = exit contract said by mmainprize: I am not sure how they can do it to us price lock customers. Legally, they have no foot to stand on. However, like wireless companies, they will try to convince you that you have no right to exit the contract. Be persistent if you want to leave. | |
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| | | axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC | Yeah, they may as well change to $1 plan with "fees" for recovering employee costs, capital investment recovery fee, competitive pressure surcharge, etc. | |
| | | | | | | Re: Change in contract = exit contract said by axus:Yeah, they may as well change to $1 plan with "fees" for recovering employee costs, capital investment recovery fee, competitive pressure surcharge, etc. LMAO, I can see it already, Then dish would come out with a $0.99 Palan. | |
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| |  P NessYou'Ve Forgotten 9-11 AlreadyPremium
join:2001-08-29
way way out | said by zed260:said by morbo:This is very easy. If Charter has added a new fee to contract consumers those consumers can exit their contract without penalty. Wireless companies do this once every few years and anyone that wants out at that point can get out. The problem is that there aren't many decent alternatives for those of us that want more TV than Roku and a high speed line can provide but the basic HD package is overkill. We need some option. » connect.charter.com/landing/disc···179.htmlThe guaranteed price does not include the cost of installation and equipment, any applicable franchise fees, taxes or late fees, or costs for other ancillary services that you may order. that part makes it possable for them to do this without contract change its also going to be very easy to prove that in the past charter has taken this "extra cost" and always put it in the basic cost of the package and not as an extra line item.
this is going to be an easy slam dunk for a class action lawsuit...but of course the lawyers will get 50 million dollars and the cable customers will get a 2 dollar coupon.
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 RexterYeeHaw
join:2002-11-17
cloud 9 | Charter customers, you got punked! Ahah! Charter customers, you were lied to, and now you are getting punked! You're lied too, cheated, and screwed,, well only a little bit. Well have fun with that!
To: Charter. You may have every legal right to do this, but the fact is you lied. You punk your customers, they will remember.
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Don't forget Barack loves you. The Federal Government is the answer. | |
| DampierPhillip M Dampier
join:2003-03-23
Rochester, NY | Charter Says One Thing, the Bill Says Another This particular issue really concerned me when we were working on this story which is why I called Charter this morning to ask them specifically whether or not these fees would apply to Price Lock customers. I was told absolutely yes and even pointed to the statement in their terms and conditions explaining why. I found it unreasonable and said so.
Am I surprised Charter gave us inaccurate information? Not at all. The representative I spoke with admitted they had just been briefed on the issue, but evidently not well enough.
Just last week, on another story about Time Warner hiking DVR rates, it took a total of eight phone calls to confirm the story in three different upstate New York cities, all because we had gotten conflicting answers from reps who should have known better.
We're considering starting to make multiple verification calls if only to reduce the odds of getting wrong information. When in doubt, we always believe the bill on these matters because that is what ultimately confronts the subscriber.
We've updated the story accordingly, and some of our readers have successfully used some of our tips to get far lower prices on their Charter service by negotiating with them, negating the impact of the fee altogether.
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Phillip M. Dampier
Editor, Stop the Cap!
»stopthecap.com | |
| SlyLoK
join:2007-10-19
Sugar Grove, VA | Its about time to.. Pass a law stating that listed prices must include taxes and fees because this is just getting ridiculous. | |
| | | | Re: Its about time to.. won't happen here in the US. | |
| | | SlyLoK
join:2007-10-19
Sugar Grove, VA | Re: Its about time to.. Sad but true.
Competition cant exist with the current setup. | |
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| | Charter "Broadcast TV Surcharge" - See my chat with Charter Scott: I heard that charter decided to add a new fee to user bills for "broadcast tv surcharge" even for customers that have locked in rates.
TTD Straissan : Yes. That is correct. The locked rates are for the services that are included on the locked promotion. Taxes and fees are not part of the locked promotion we have.
TTD Straissan : Broadcast TV Surcharge
Federal law allows local U.S. broadcast television stations (i.e., affiliates of networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, etc.) to negotiate with cable and satellite providers in order to obtain “consent” to carry their broadcast signals (Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992).
As a direct result of local broadcast, or “network-affiliated,” TV stations increasing the rates to Charter to distribute their signals to our customers, we will be passing those charges on as a Broadcast TV Surcharge, in the Taxes and Fees section of the billing statement. These local TV signals were historically made available to Charter at no cost, or low cost. However, in recent years the prices demanded by local broadcast TV stations have necessitated that we pass these costs on to customers.
This surcharge displays in the Taxes and Fees section of the bill statement.
Scott: when will this be on my bill?
TTD Straissan : Expected increase will be around October 1, 2010 on some areas. | |
| |  BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
1 edit | Re: Charter "Broadcast TV Surcharge" - See my chat with Charter So in thern words Charter could "lower" prices by $10 a month but then add in a $25 "BS fee". And still say they have this awesomly low price? No to mention charge price lock customers this new $25 fee. So basically what is the pint of agreeing to any kind of "price lock guarantee" if at any time Charter can legally raise your rates by calling any increase a "fee"?
Shit like this might explain why from Qtr 1 2009 to Qtr 2 2010 Charter lost an average 60,000 customers per qtr. Or a total of 6% of their customer base. They'll be luck if in 10 years their half the size they are now which is 1/3 less than what they were just a few years ago. | |
| | DampierPhillip M Dampier
join:2003-03-23
Rochester, NY | Yes, this is more or less the same thing I got. A Charter social media rep wrote in our comment section that they were going to review this whole matter with their reps.
It's "good" to know I wasn't the only one getting the bad info. | |
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Reviews:
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FiOS
| it's your money, use it when you want to yes, you can cancel your contract if they change the terms of the contract (ie, charge more) without penalty. this also means it's your choice to cancel cable-tv over this. the runaway train of the price hikes in basic cable service cause it to be of lesser and lesser value each rate hike. OTA broadcast channels want their share of the runaway money train... as long as cable companies are charging for service they PASS THE COST along to YOU, unless you choose NOT TO BUY.
Just remember the good ole' words of JG Wentworth, it's your money, use it when you need to. Any (entry-level) triple play costing more than $100 inclusive of set-top box rentals, taxes & feees (aka bottom line price) is a RIP-OFF. | |
| | | Burying cost of business "Burying the cost of business in below the line fees so they can jack up consumer bills (but leave advertised rates the same)..."
This has been happening in TV commercials for years and no one seems to care about that either.
...$19.99 for a piece of crap plus $19.99 for shipping & handling. Call within the next 30 minutes and we'll give you a second piece of crap for just the cost of shipping & handling...
Uggh........
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I walk upon this Earth by the power of my own two legs. | |
|  jaaPremium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
kudos:2 | This is the right approach Let the customers see the impact of higher carriage rates. | |
| | BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Re: This is the right approach said by jaa:Let the customers see the impact of higher carriage rates. No it's not it's false advertisement. I guess all networks and cable channels are supposed to just let the cable companies have their stuff for FREE. A cable company shoud just be able to make millions or billions from a network or channel and give that network or channel ZERO compensation? | |
| | | budone
join:2002-09-07
Coopersville, MI
1 edit | Re: This is the right approach Last week when I looked, Charters own website Q&A on this matter states it will not be added to those under a price locked contract until that contract expires.
It seems to be missing now. | |
| | | | slimtim
join:2002-12-12
Coldwater, MI | Re: This is the right approach said by budone:Last week when I looked, Charters own website Q&A on this matter states it will not be added to those under a price locked contract until that contract expires. It seems to be missing now. budone,
Maybe the "WayBack" Machine would have the old page archived? (Google Cache too?) | |
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