During the winter, on Saturday morning, we woke to a cold house. The A/C-Heating company came right out and in an hour, a $155 control panel was replaced and we were back in business. Labor was $142... What?!!! Yes, on Saturday and Sunday labor is charged at Time and a Half. So the $95 became $142. Hmmm... When I go to Walmart for an oil change on Saturday, I don't get charged time and a half for labor... nor at the hospital, or the Insurance Company.
We just received a notice from Comcast... with new fees. See below.
In case you can't read the fine print, EVERY home visit by a Technician will result in a basic charge of $60 even if the problem is in the equipment (which they charge you rental for) or any connectivity. That charge is in addition to a charge of $20 to $60 for specific services such as new outlets or additional equipment.... PLUS... an additional $60/hourly charge, if the work takes longer.
AND these charges do not include any:
applicable taxes, franchise fees, FCC fees, Regulatory Recovery fees, Public Access Fees, or other applicable charges.
Also extra charges for: Installations more than 125 feet from a box, or that require in-wall wiring, or dropped ceilings, basements, or crawl spaces...
Reactivation Fees where no in home service is required $15.
BTW... Comcast in my town offers only High Speed internet access up to 20MBS, but has a little clause in the advertising that says this is not guaranteed. In my case, the speed often drops to 1 or 2 MBS. Also there is no other Internet access from any source... ie. AT&T or anywhere else, except dial up.
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But it doesn't stop there. DirecTV also has some interesting charges for the equipment you are "renting"... I get "rental charges" for equipment that I bought myself many years back, and they will chege me $120 per unit it I don't return them. In addition to that, if something goes wrong with the receivers, unless I pay some extra crazy "maintenance charge" to insure the equipment each month, then I will have to pay a minimum service charge for a technical visit.
It's even worse, if one puts in new DirecTV service, and decides to cancel.
Here are some parts, not all of the agreement:
And, if you cancel?
The title of the thread included "Monopolies"...
In our case, for Comcast, Definitely a Monopoly. They were allowed to buy out the original cable provider, with no attention at all to the laws forbidding monopolies. The same "buy-out" to create monopolies has occurred time and again across the country, and I can't remember the last time a buy-out or merger has been denied. The list is too long to post here.
While not monopolies (a now vaugue term) the oil companies have created an effective monopoly, by collusion or maybe coincidental? price increases.
Hmmm...
now I have to open a letter from my electricity provider... maybe not until tomorrow.
What we need is De-regulation.
Yes... I do understand... Free Enterprise is in our best interest.
We just received a notice from Comcast... with new fees. See below.
In case you can't read the fine print, EVERY home visit by a Technician will result in a basic charge of $60 even if the problem is in the equipment (which they charge you rental for) or any connectivity. That charge is in addition to a charge of $20 to $60 for specific services such as new outlets or additional equipment.... PLUS... an additional $60/hourly charge, if the work takes longer.
AND these charges do not include any:
applicable taxes, franchise fees, FCC fees, Regulatory Recovery fees, Public Access Fees, or other applicable charges.
Also extra charges for: Installations more than 125 feet from a box, or that require in-wall wiring, or dropped ceilings, basements, or crawl spaces...
Reactivation Fees where no in home service is required $15.
BTW... Comcast in my town offers only High Speed internet access up to 20MBS, but has a little clause in the advertising that says this is not guaranteed. In my case, the speed often drops to 1 or 2 MBS. Also there is no other Internet access from any source... ie. AT&T or anywhere else, except dial up.
............................................................
But it doesn't stop there. DirecTV also has some interesting charges for the equipment you are "renting"... I get "rental charges" for equipment that I bought myself many years back, and they will chege me $120 per unit it I don't return them. In addition to that, if something goes wrong with the receivers, unless I pay some extra crazy "maintenance charge" to insure the equipment each month, then I will have to pay a minimum service charge for a technical visit.
It's even worse, if one puts in new DirecTV service, and decides to cancel.
Here are some parts, not all of the agreement:
PROGRAMMING AGREEMENT AND TERMS. To keep costs down for you, we provide dishes and standard installation at reduced or no cost. In exchange, we ask that you remain a customer for a specified period of time. Specifically, you agree that, within 30 days of getting DIRECTV equipment (either provided to you or installed professionally), you will activate your Receiver(s)/Genie Mini Clients(s) and subscribe to a base level of programming, valued at $29.99/mo. or above, which may consist of a DIRECTV base programming package (English or Spanish language); OR a qualifying international language a la carte service bundled with either BASIC CHOICE or PREFERRED CHOICE. If you do not activate each DIRECTV Receiver/Genie Mini Client, you agree that DIRECTV or the authorized retailer from whom you obtained the equipment may charge you $150 per Receiver/Genie Mini Client as liquidated damages. You agree to continuously maintain the minimum level of programming with us as follows: new customers: 24 consecutive months; existing customers: 24 consecutive months for DVR, HD and/or HD DVR Receivers and any Genie Mini Clients, or 12 consecutive months for standard Receivers. If you selected a Genie HD DVR, you agree to pay a monthly Advanced Receiver Service fee ($25/mo.). If you selected an HD Receiver, you agree to pay a monthly Advanced Receiver-HD fee ($10/mo.). If you selected a DVR Receiver, you agree to pay a monthly Advanced Receiver-DVR fee ($10/mo.). If you selected a TiVo® HD DVR from DIRECTV (except for model HR10-250), you agree to pay a monthly Advanced Receiver Service fee ($25/mo.) and a monthly TiVo fee ($5/mo.). THIS AGREEMENT TO MAINTAIN PROGRAMMING IS SEPARATE AND DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER YOU MAY HAVE MADE WITH DIRECTV AND IS FULLY ENFORCEABLE UNDER THESE TERMS.
And, if you cancel?
and it goes on and on for more pages of "legal" than a small novel. http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/legal/equipment_lease_addendumEARLY CANCELLATION FEE (ECF). If you do not maintain your base level of programming for the full term, we will charge you an early cancellation fee.
The maximum fee is $480 for new customers, $480 for existing customers with DVR, HD and/or HD DVR Receivers, or $240 for existing customers with only
standard Receivers. We prorate the fee, so for each month you’ve fulfilled your programming term agreement, we deduct $20 from the fee (i.e., if you have fulfilled 14 months of a 24-month agreement, your ECF would be $480 - $20 x 14, or $200). We reserve the right to charge this fee to the credit or debit card you have on file with us. We do not charge an ECF if you decide to cancel your DVR Service or HD Access early, so long as you maintain the base level of programming. However, upon cancellation of DVR Service and/or HD Access, you are required to return the equipment used in connection with these services to DIRECTV as described in Part Two below.
The title of the thread included "Monopolies"...
In our case, for Comcast, Definitely a Monopoly. They were allowed to buy out the original cable provider, with no attention at all to the laws forbidding monopolies. The same "buy-out" to create monopolies has occurred time and again across the country, and I can't remember the last time a buy-out or merger has been denied. The list is too long to post here.
While not monopolies (a now vaugue term) the oil companies have created an effective monopoly, by collusion or maybe coincidental? price increases.
Hmmm...
now I have to open a letter from my electricity provider... maybe not until tomorrow.
What we need is De-regulation.
Yes... I do understand... Free Enterprise is in our best interest.
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