I was wondering if I could upgrade to faster speed, and the company’s web site was not helpful. So I called them up.
Me: “I have 1.5mbps service. Can you sell me something faster”
Rep: “Actually, we now offer 2mbps for less than you’re paying now. You’re currently paying $64.95/mo for 1.5mpbs, I can switch you to 2mbps for $42.95/mo”
Me: “Really? When was this change made? Why wasn’t I notified?”
Rep: “I don’t know, sir. Would you like to make the change?”
And of course I switched over – 33% more bandwidth for $25 less per month. And I wasn’t abusive to the rep – not her policy, she just answers the phone.
But – jeezus: At some indeterminate point in the past few months, my provider dropped prices for anyone new, and kept them high for me until I noticed. For (almost) the same service.
I doubt I’ll pursue this, but it seems like this should be actionable for me – “please give me the price difference I’ve been paying since you changed your policy and didn’t notify me.”
Am I wrong to be upset about this? Should the company be liable for screwing current customer’s pricing?
I don’t know the answer, but I’d be interested in finding out - almost exactly the same thing happened to me with Adelphia. It went something like this:
Me: Eek! My (cable+Internet) bill suddenly increased by $25 this month!
(I call Adelphia)
Me: Hello, my bill seems to have increased by $25 all of a sudden.
Adelphia: No it hasn’t.
Me: Yes it has - it’s been the same, down to the cent, for the last year, and suddenly it’s $25 higher.
A: No it isn’t.
Me: (feeling like I’m in the “Argument” sketch…) Look, until now, every month, my bill was x…now it’s x + $25…can’t you see that?
A: (long pause) Yes, you’re right. We discontinued the discount plan you were on and the computer switched you to a more expensive one.
Me: Without my consent?
A: Yes.
Me: I don’t want to pay it.
A: OK, we can put you on another plan for (some amount slightly less than I’ve ever paid)
Me: What do I lose?
A: Nothing…in fact you get a bunch of extra channels on top of what you have now.
Me: What’s the catch?
A: Well, after a year it reverts to the higher amount…
Me: Which I’m paying now?
A: Yes.
Me: So if I hadn’t called, you’d have happily continued billing me $25, for fewer channels?
A: I guess so.
I’d guess the answer would involve determining whether we were buying the “same” product as before, but paying a different price than other customers. Dunno if that’s impermissable – obviously people buying cars pay different prices every day, but I think that everyone who shops for cars knows this. You and I (certainly me) were in the position of not being provided with necessary information to know we were getting a worse deal than other customers, which for me is the crux of the problem: the companies were hiding thier pricing from us.
Last August, my bill dropped by about $20. No change in service - they just got a better price out of the LEC (the entity that handles the wiring and equipment) so they simply passed the savings on to their customers.
If you’re in their service area (California’s LATA 1), I highly recommend you give them a look.
Doesn’t this sort of thing go on all the time with cell phone plans? I mean, how many times have you signed up for a cellular plan thinking it was a “great” deal, only to see an ad for an even better one two weeks later? I remember my Dad - who had a cell phone back when it was still a “luxury” thing - had some kind of 50 minutes for $99/month plan. By the time his contract was almost over, I had gotten a 300 minutes for $30/month plan. At my begging, he called BellSloth and tried to get a new plan. They were less than helpful, which is why he’s been a Cingular customer for about 6 years now.
Rex, I agree that the cases seem similar. However, cell phone customers typically sign a long term agreement to pay a certain price for service. At the end of that time, they may switch to another plan or another provider. I’m not using a service plan.
The salient difference for me is twofold: Cell phone service is extremely competitive and pricing plans and pricing information is widely available. In my case, I’m working with a monopoly (there’s no other cable company or other provider that offers high-speed internet in my area), and pricing information is not available at all – look at the link to the Charter web site, above: there’s no price or plans or really any information available on the site regarding internet connections. New or current customers must call to find out what’s available and for how much. If I hadn’t called, I would have continued to be charged a higher rate for lower service than any new customer.