Time Warner Cable Sneaks In Higher Fees To Customers

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The sad part is that Time Warner gets away with this because most people won't even notice that they are being gouged for an extra $5.26 per month on their bill. :(

Over the holidays, the cable giant, now in the process of merging with its even larger rival Comcast, quietly jacked up its monthly modem-lease fee to $8 from $5.99. That's an increase of nearly 34%. And as if that wasn't a big-enough kick in the pants for customers, Time Warner also has added a $2.75 monthly charge for sports channels — regardless of whether you watch them — and boosted its monthly charge for local channels to $2.75 from $2.25.
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I haven't rented a modem in 15 years (just buy'em when needed)...surprising that people still do that. (Don't even need a modem these days.)
 
This isn't anything new! They were doing this to me 3 years ago, I remember when I cancelled service from them, they told me just take the equipment to the nearest TWC store and they will take your modem and refund you for this month of service that you have not used, but paid for in advance, i'm like cool...So I take it to the TWC store, they take my equipment and instead of me walking out with some money for service I haven't used, I HAD TO PAY! I just had enough of TWC and their fees and other bullshit. I've been very happy with Verizon FIOS .
 
Paying modem fee is just inexcusable. Motorola SB6141 or Motorola SB6181. A twelve month to eighteen month investment for these two modems and will fix all kinds of headaches from instability to lousy internet connections.
 
When the modem rental fee was $3.99, it was not worth buying a modem. When they increased it to $5.99, I bought a Motorola Surfboard SB6121 for $69 plus tax. I will not pay the modem fee any more and I will not get phone or TV service at all, I have better things to spend my money on. (Like computer hardware upgrades. :D)
 
I would notice a consistent $5+ on my bill. The cell companies over the years have taught me well.
 
Very glad I got away from TWC. Google Fiber FTW. had a good laugh when they emailed me a promo "It's a great time to come back to TWC"...ahahahahaha...no.
 
felt said:
This isn't anything new! They were doing this to me 3 years ago, I remember when I cancelled service from them, they told me just take the equipment to the nearest TWC store and they will take your modem and refund you for this month of service that you have not used, but paid for in advance, i'm like cool...So I take it to the TWC store, they take my equipment and instead of me walking out with some money for service I haven't used, I HAD TO PAY! I just had enough of TWC and their fees and other bullshit. I've been very happy with Verizon FIOS .
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I'd suggest doing some bean-counting on your final bill. When I cancelled earlier this year, they ran my services for 2 more weeks after I had it cancelled and returned the equipment and had planned on keeping the money, until I pointed out to them that they billed me for that time. Of course, they started with the rationale that 2 weeks later was the soonest they could get a tech out to my house to disconnect it, but they eventually relented and saw that as their problem :). Four to six weeks later, a check arrived....
 
If you guys recall from a recent thread, they were already charging Sugar Land (Houston area) users $10 a month for a modem lease fee, even if you didn't use their modem. I had switched it out for my parents like a year ago, told comcast who activated my new modem, and turned in the old modem which I have a receipt for. Luckily I have all the documentation, because they never removed the modem lease fee.

So after arguing with manager's and getting passed around over several weeks, I have gotten a full refund, something they said their system wouldn't allow them to do. So they got I think $180 credit on their bill... supposedly, we'll see if that's true.

Pretty insane.
 
If people would just get over their Internet addiction and cut off service completely (instead of just paying some other company for dumb fees) this would probably start to change. The problem isn't the companies, its the people who are willingly throwing themselves into communications bills they don't need and really don't use for anything beneficial to them.
 
WaltC said:
I haven't rented a modem in 15 years (just buy'em when needed)...surprising that people still do that. (Don't even need a modem these days.)
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2 or so years ago Comcast stated charging me a modem fee for a modem that I had purchased 8 years ago. After a long back and forth I got them to remove the rental fee and refund me the rental charges they tacked on however months later the internet service price increased nearly the same price as the rental fee that they had removed.
 
Fark_Maniac said:
Very glad I got away from TWC. Google Fiber FTW. had a good laugh when they emailed me a promo "It's a great time to come back to TWC"...ahahahahaha...no.
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Ah, see, they weren't lying. It's just that they meant it's a great time for THEM for you to come back. :D

It's so ridiculous that the merger was allowed :( but it doesn't surprise me.
 
Ducman69 said:
If you guys recall from a recent thread, they were already charging Sugar Land (Houston area) users $10 a month for a modem lease fee, even if you didn't use their modem. I had switched it out for my parents like a year ago, told comcast who activated my new modem, and turned in the old modem which I have a receipt for. Luckily I have all the documentation, because they never removed the modem lease fee.

So after arguing with manager's and getting passed around over several weeks, I have gotten a full refund, something they said their system wouldn't allow them to do. So they got I think $180 credit on their bill... supposedly, we'll see if that's true.

Pretty insane.
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Charter charges you whether you use their modem or not. They tell you that the modem rental is "free". I tried to tell one of their reps that nothing is free, the cost of the modem is included in the monthly fee for the service, it's just not a line item. He would not let go of the notion that it was free no matter what I tried. So, now I am paying for their modem while using my own.
 
Ducman69 said:
If you guys recall from a recent thread, they were already charging Sugar Land (Houston area) users $10 a month for a modem lease fee, even if you didn't use their modem. I had switched it out for my parents like a year ago, told comcast who activated my new modem, and turned in the old modem which I have a receipt for. Luckily I have all the documentation, because they never removed the modem lease fee.

So after arguing with manager's and getting passed around over several weeks, I have gotten a full refund, something they said their system wouldn't allow them to do. So they got I think $180 credit on their bill... supposedly, we'll see if that's true.

Pretty insane.
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This was very similar to my experience. However months later they added the modem charge into the hsi price for me instead of a separate modem and hsi its 1 line.
 
Ducman69 said:
So they got I think $180 credit on their bill... supposedly, we'll see if that's true.

Pretty insane.
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That credit will windle down reallllly quick, like in less than 24 hours it will be 99 cents lol
 
Eulogy said:
Wait, what? Did I miss something? I thought this was still under review and placed on hold? :confused:
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I guess it's possible they could say no still, but doesn't seem to be the case. Not sure why they would be working to meet certain obligations regarding the merger if it's not going through.

One really crazy thing is that Worcester, MA said they would never let Comcast in... a few weeks later, they announced that Comcast was coming in, and that it was somehow one of the pre-requirements of the merger. For some reason in order for these two companies to merge, they first had to meet the requirement of stealing Worcester, MA from Charter... Because they aren't allowed to get larger without first... getting larger?

The whole thing makes no GD sense.
 
dandragonrage said:
The whole thing makes no GD sense.
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It's like children pestering their parents for something until they finally relent. Instead of pestering, they are throwing money.

"Money, well timed and properly applied, can accomplish anything."

-Barry's mother
Barry Lyndon
 
dandragonrage said:
I guess it's possible they could say no still, but doesn't seem to be the case. Not sure why they would be working to meet certain obligations regarding the merger if it's not going through.

One really crazy thing is that Worcester, MA said they would never let Comcast in... a few weeks later, they announced that Comcast was coming in, and that it was somehow one of the pre-requirements of the merger. For some reason in order for these two companies to merge, they first had to meet the requirement of stealing Worcester, MA from Charter... Because they aren't allowed to get larger without first... getting larger?

The whole thing makes no GD sense.
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They're complying with obligations because that's what the shareholders of both companies required of them in the approval of the merger back in the fall. Comcast stated it would move to comply with all the stipulations required of the same types of mergers over the past 12 years in order to position themselves better for the approval of the merger.

The merger review clock with the FCC doesn't start ticking again until 12 JAN based on a letter over on the FCC's website. It stated that TWC failed to produce something like 40,000 documents based on improper claims of attorney-client privilege and other reasons.
 
Damn it, guess I get to call and bitch again. I have my own modem but sure enough the sports garbage is on there. Unless they plan on having an eSports channel with all the league and starcraft tournaments I'm not paying for garbage I don't watch.

Actually I think it's just time to cut the cord. I don't remember the last time I actually cared what was not already on Netflix/Prime.
 
WaltC said:
I haven't rented a modem in 15 years (just buy'em when needed)...surprising that people still do that. (Don't even need a modem these days.)
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some don't get the choice believe it or not. i used to have DSL through bell years ago (canada) and had a monthly modem rental fee. so i started to inquire about buying my own modem...first i was told what a horrible idea that was since i would receive no support what so ever (BS!) and then get this - i was told i can use my own, return the rental but would still be charged the rental fee for 'tax purposes'.....riiight. that's about the time i ditched them.
 
In Cincinnati, I have no other option as the local phone company will not service my neighborhood which is a bad part of town. I will have to pay attention to my bill as my business class contract just finished.
 
The majority of people simply don't notice the price increases or even if they did notice, they don't have any idea they can purchase their own modems. TWC simply raises the fee because they know they will make more money even if a small number of people notice and buy their modems. Modem rental is turning into an idiot fee and the cable companies are happy to take your money.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
If people would just get over their Internet addiction and cut off service completely (instead of just paying some other company for dumb fees) this would probably start to change. The problem isn't the companies, its the people who are willingly throwing themselves into communications bills they don't need and really don't use for anything beneficial to them.
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Except you know, job searching, research, online classes, etc...Don't be quick to judge others how they use the internet.
 
Hey these are fees, so its okay.. now say public utility and tax... my GOD! anger all around.
 
If I wasn't scheduled to get Google Fiber in the spring/summer, I would purchase my own modem. But at this point, it isn't worth me buying my own.
 
Somethings I've noticed as of recent years

1) Equipment rental fees, yeah they used to give it to you for free for signing up for 12-24 months, now they still require you to do that but they charge you a monthly fee for using that modem. Fine print in the ads of course so there's no class action lawsuit on the horizon for misleading pricing.

2) Fine I'll buy my own modem, then they tell you that you get ZERO customer support at all if you don't use their modem. So they're basically selling you a customer support plan. Now here would be a great class action case if they argue that they've got top customer support.

Hell even my ISP (sonic.net) switched over, the cheap chinese piece of shit modem they sent me year ago died, called them up they tell me that they now lease modems, fuck that shit, at least they were kind enough to say as long as they are ADSL2+ compliant any would work. But again no customer service
 
In both houses that I signed up for TWC service in 2008 and 2010, I was not "allowed" to bring my own modem because they provided them for free and would "never" charge a rental fee. In 2012, they decided it was time to charge a rental fee of $4. Of course, I went and bought a modem to avoid paying the fee, but it took over 3 hours on the phone (and 10 different reps) to get it activated. I find it astonishing how quickly and significantly they have raised that fee.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
If people would just get over their Internet addiction and cut off service completely (instead of just paying some other company for dumb fees) this would probably start to change. The problem isn't the companies, its the people who are willingly throwing themselves into communications bills they don't need and really don't use for anything beneficial to them.
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Cmustang87 said:
Except you know, job searching, research, online classes, etc...Don't be quick to judge others how they use the internet.
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Was about to say, my job is online based, no internet no job. Training, articles et cetera et cetera..

Staying in touch with Family around the world...list goes on and on.

I check Facebook once or twice a week lately..

And ironic, you post this to a forum...on the internet...
 
snowcrash said:
Paying modem fee is just inexcusable. Motorola SB6141 or Motorola SB6181. A twelve month to eighteen month investment for these two modems and will fix all kinds of headaches from instability to lousy internet connections.
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Except when the cable company then suddenly claims the modem you bought from the local big-box or from Amazon is actually a modem you are renting and begins billing you for it with late charge for back dating several months.

I have to go through this BS at least twice a year with Comcast.
 
Teenyman45 said:
Except when the cable company then suddenly claims the modem you bought from the local big-box or from Amazon is actually a modem you are renting and begins billing you for it with late charge for back dating several months.

I have to go through this BS at least twice a year with Comcast.
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Verizon just pulled that on me with my own router. Then when I moved last month they informed me that they no longer allow customers to use their own routers at all.

These corps are just terrible.
 
David_Schroth said:
In both houses that I signed up for TWC service in 2008 and 2010, I was not "allowed" to bring my own modem because they provided them for free and would "never" charge a rental fee. In 2012, they decided it was time to charge a rental fee of $4. Of course, I went and bought a modem to avoid paying the fee, but it took over 3 hours on the phone (and 10 different reps) to get it activated. I find it astonishing how quickly and significantly they have raised that fee.
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The fee started at $2 in some areas, which was pretty disappointing to about all seven people that noticed :D

The local TWC office was very recently still handing out super cheap Ubee DOCSIS 2.0 modems that could be purchased for less than a the cost of a single month's rental fee:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ambit-Cable-Modem-U10C018-/261713019189

Really disappointing to think a lot of these are likely still in use and people will be paying $8/month for outdated modems. These were not even on TWC's list of approved cable modems for people to purchase on their own.
 
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Looks like the Comcast "cancer" has taken hold over at Time Warner. Just saw on my Comcast bill that the modem fee has gone up too. I'm not getting any more value or extra features out of this increase in price so they're just basically reaching into my pocket and taking my money.
 
Glad i just bought an SB6121... Gave a whopping 10 bucks for it. Now i just need to get it changed out.
 
Charter raised my internet bill by $5 per month. They did give me a notice on my paper bill which was a couple paragraphs explaining it. I didn't even notice it until i noticed the new price this month. It was $54.99 now $59.99 for 65 mb internet.
 
Oh and this is yet another reason to exploit any and all loopholes in "new customer pricing"

I cancel and order "new" service after every promo to stick it to them. It's a pain but worth it. They're an anti-competitive cancer that needs to be broken up.

"We here at Comcast care about our customers, that's why after any 12 month "promo" period for new customers, we're going to jack your rate and squeeze you for every box rental and other idiot fee that we can think of. Oh, and we're going to monitor your account routinely to see if there are other ways that we can jack you. Thanks for being a Comcast customer, stuuuuupid!"

Screw Comcast.
 
I also read an article maybe last week or so about a guy who signed up with a "12-month promo" that Comcast claimed didn't exist at all a couple months later (i.e. way before 12 months were up). Good thing for that guy that he recorded the calls, but why are companies able to get away with this stuff? The problem should not be dropped if they just give him the promo he was promised. They should be fined or something for doing it in the first place. Especially since we all know that this guy is one of many who have been screwed in this way. He just had the sense to record his calls.
 
amdgamer said:
In Cincinnati, I have no other option as the local phone company will not service my neighborhood which is a bad part of town. I will have to pay attention to my bill as my business class contract just finished.
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Cincy Bell is no better than TWC. When they started charging for "wireless networking" I returned their router. Every few months they would start charging me for it and I would waive my receipt in their faces. Finally, they insisted that I had to pay the fee even if I didn't have the equipment. I wrote a letter to the CEO of the company, demanded they remove the charges or I would go to the PUC of Ohio, and canceled my service.
 
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