So internet service providers don’t give a shit about long time customers. My company finally is offering new customers a gigbit line for 79.99 USD. We have had there internet and cable for 11 years. After the first two years they raised the price to the normal amount. So, for someone that has been with them for a decade, the offer us a price of 340 USD for a gigabit. The alternative is to get ATT or Spectrum which would ask you to be locked in on a 2 year contract to keep the lower price for that time. Then you deal with throttling if you use upwards of 300gb of data a month.
I don’t feel the need to switch, as I am on a service that doesnt throttle after a certain amount has been used. But the prices are ridiculous.
IMO:
Quit the service then re-register for it. If that fails try to register with different name and using a different card (that you obviously own). If that fails then register the service using a friends name (using their permission of course) and then either try to use your card, or if that fails, ask friend to pay for it and just pay them back. This method works a lot easier if you live with your GF/BF or wifey/hubby.
Its shitty as hell, i agree, but theres ways around that.
Either that or get on the phone and tear them a new one until they comply with the prices
I used to be able to renegotiate my cable internet service to get the latest promotional pricing when it was Time Warner. They had multiple plans, including a basic plan for $15/mo. When Spectrum took over, they killed all the plans except one (even the faster and more expensive plans). This created a system where it was take it or leave it. And since they knew at best you could switch to AT&T/Verizon/Frontier DSL at 768Kbps/6Mbps for more money, that they had you by the balls. Now they let you cancel service and give no fucks.
Unfortunately, those teaser rates are always going to be offered to new customers to get them to switch from other ISPs. This isn’t limited to the telecom business either. Insurance companies do this too. Unfortunately this is how some companies have chosen to do business, so that is the what consumers have to deal with.
Working for a local ISP, I can say that while we do offer gigabit connections to anyone that really wants them, these speeds are geared toward businesses. We are building out at a rapid rate and our base packages are fast and reasonable. We care about our customers a great deal and would love to give everyone gigabit connections at sub-$100 a month rates. However, as fast as technology is progressing and coming down in price, these connections still cost us money in infrastructure costs. As things progress, the speeds will increase without increasing costs to the customer.
As far as customer service goes, the big ISPs don’t care at all. I’ve dealt with them on a personal and professional level. In one case, a big ISP just abandoned a big chunk of area because the shitty copper they had in the area was falling apart and they didn’t want to upgrade or fix. We stepped in and couldn’t hook people up fast enough. They didn’t work with us or give any smooth transition to customers, just threw up their hands and walked away.
