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CenturyLink Hikes Sneaky 'Internet Cost Recovery' Fee

One of the most misleading practices in the broadband industry is the tactic of adding sneaky, below the line fees to artificially keep the advertised rate the same. It's effectively a form of false advertising, in that consumers sign up for one rate, then wind up paying significantly more after an ISP saddles their bills with various nonsensical fees. Many of these fees, like the "regulatory recovery fee" or broadcast TV fee are simply the cost of doing business, and are not government mandated despite being designed to sound like it.

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Given that regulators have turned a blind eye to this practice for fifteen years (longer if you're talking about POTS), many companies don't even try very hard when trying to make up such fees.

Case in point is CenturyLink, who for a few years now has been charging its customers something called an "Internet cost recovery fee." This is the explanation for the fee CenturyLink provides over at the CenturyLink website:

quote:
This fee helps defray costs associated with building and maintaining CenturyLink's High-Speed Internet broadband network, as well as the costs of expanding network capacity to support the continued increase in customers' average broadband consumption.
The problem is...that's what the rest of your bill is for. Again, all CenturyLink is doing is using a misleading fee to artificially keep advertised rates low(er). Were regulators doing their jobs this wouldn't be allowed. But since they're not, CenturyLink is notifying users that it plans to double the fee to $4 starting this month. Not only do such fees let ISPs falsely advertise a lower rate, it lets them falsely claim that they haven't technically hiked their broadband prices in "x" years.

Such fees also aren't included when calculating international broadband price comparisons, meaning that rankings that suggest that Americans pay more for broadband than most developed countries -- are actually probably low-balling the estimate.

Most recommended from 40 comments



telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

21 recommendations

telcodad

MVM

Not much better than car dealers

When I purchased my current car, the dealer tried charging me a $500 "Internet fee" along with all the other miscellaneous ones.

I asked "isn't that just part of the cost of doing business these days?" "Are you going to charge me an "Electricity Fee" for providing lighting for your showroom also?"

He then quickly agreed to drop that fee to make the sale.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

16 recommendations

maartena

Premium Member

The pint example...

When I go to the pub and order a pint of beer, I do not get a bill present to me that says:

- Pint of beer: $4.
- Liquor License Recovery Fee: $1.
- Local Zoning Ordinance Recovery Fee: $0.50
- Glass Washing Fee: $1.
- Brewery Delivery Recovery Fee: $0.50

NO.

When I order a pint, and ask for the bill, it will say:

- Pint of beer: $7.

This is because the bar takes all of his costs into account and adjusts the price of the pint of beer so that he makes a profit. Would you still go to a bar that advertises: BEER: $4!! - And then when you come in and order a pint, it ends up costing you $7?

That is completely FALSE advertising, and it needs to stop. I understand they may have to advertise a separate price for bringing your own modem vs renting a modem, but all these bullshit fees need to stop. Advertise a price and STICK to that price, don't bullshit your customers by adding fees later.

If the fees are beyond your control, just add them to the cost of the product. Depending on where you are, bars need to pay a fee to the city to be allowed to serve alcohol, and in other parts they may need to pay a little more because they somehow exist in a no-bar zoning area but got grandfathered in, etc.... these are fees beyond control of the bar, because the city imposes them. A good businessman will just up the price of beer to match his costs, and not add bullshit fees.
Papageno
join:2011-01-26
Portland, OR

8 recommendations

Papageno

Member

Where the heck is the federal government?

This kind of crap should be illegal, and relevant federal agencies should have the power to stop it.

GLEanon
@comcast.net

4 recommendations

GLEanon

Anon

Dear Cox ;)

Sorry that my payment this month is $4 less than usual, but I've instituted an "Internet Cost Recovery Fee Recovery Fee" (to help defray the costs associated with paying you for Internet service). Given that a customer's consumption doesn't actually cost you anything over and above simply providing a connection to the Internet, you're welcome to forego any planned upgrades to my connectivity.
jmiller
join:2013-06-25
Minneapolis, MN

2 recommendations

jmiller

Member

One reason I dumped them

As much as I dislike Comcast, I switched back to them because not considering promotional rates, Comcast is $4-5 cheaper, yet gives me about double the downstream speed and quadruple the upstream. What's wrong with this picture Centurylink?