Comcast wants to charge me $26 to move cable internet and $27-43 to move cable TV from our current location to our new place. Stupid Monopoly.
Options:
- Shut up an pay you stupid subscriber.
- Change to DSL, use MSN (shudder), get reduced rates for first 6 months plus no activation.
- Change to DSL, use local ISP(DSLNW, S1, get first month free, pay for 3 months and avoid startup fees.
- Get 56k and pay for per month web hosting – loose some freedom, gain some advantages.
- Call White House, FTC and ask how de-regulation has improved our lives.
Any tips?
DSL Only is another good local DSL ISP. That is the route I would go!
You know, I hate acknowledging this, but I actually use MSN DSL. Only because they bought out my local provider when I was in Eugene. My service has been excellent with a couple of minor exceptions (once their Portland router went down for a day, once I forgot my modem username and password after reformatting my hard drive). Now that it all works, I don´t want to bother switching to something more befitting my cyber-savvy self. I´m a sucker to inertia.
Or you do the manly thing: You cancel with Comcast. Then you wait two weeks. Then you call them back and you say, “Yeah, I’d like to startup a cable account.” And they ask you if you’re a previous customer and you tell them yes. Then they say, “Well then we’re going to have to screw you with this fee.” And you shoot back with, “What’s that you just said? Did you just say that MSN will give me 3 free months of DSL with no activation fees because I think that’s what you just said!” And they’ll say, “Let’s just never mind that fee, then, and get you hooked up.” Pacifism only works in societies without cable.
Michelle did the manly thing and called and talked them down to $25 for moving both. I can live with that. Qwest and Verizon scare the crap out of me.
We had the deal going on out here where you got the first six months for $20 per month and then it jumped up to $50 a month after that. Patty and LB and our house both jumped on it. After the six months was up, Pat called in to cancel claiming that they just didn’t have the cash to pay $50 for an internet connection. They dropped it to $30 just to keep them around. I would think with how insanely slow the connection is in Bellingham these days they wouldn’t be that hurting for business. Who knows.
They’re still making a killing off the deal. They’ve capped bandwidth so you’re getting less and paying more for service.
Comcast’s deals all say they’re not applicable if you’ve had service with them in the last 6 months. But that’s just the fine print. Who knows?