WTF Stories of the Week

[Moonliner]

Unless you suspect some type of phishing scam, it's probably just a wrong number. Why not text back and let them know so this dude does not miss his friends party?

[Ghoulish Delight]

The "Hey friend" has me a little suspicious.

[Betty]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

The "Hey friend" has me a little suspicious.

Don't go. They will steal your kidney or something.

[lashbear]

Originally Posted by Betty

Don't go. They will steal your kidney or something.

Visible Betty Mojo !!!!!!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Holy fvck I'm in the midst of the most infuriating online chat with Time Warner regarding pricing.

To set it up, they have 6 tiers of internet service, priced per month. On the selection page where the tiers are listed with prices, they lowest two tiers explicitly say "For 12 Months", while the other 4 do not. I could not tell from anything on the page what that meant. Did the lower ones have a contract and the others did not? Were the others not guaranteed for a year? What?

So I got on chat. Here is what happened:

Mack>Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable Ecommerce Online Ordering Service, my name is Mack. How can I help you today?

Greg_>Hi. I had a question about monthly pricing for internet service. I notice that for Turbo and higher, the prices do not say "for 12 months". Does that indicate that for those tiers, the prices listed are not promotional?

Mack>I'm glad that you contact us today, I'd be more than happy to assist you with your concern about our promotional pricing.

Mack>All our packages are priced for only 12 months it's because it is not a contract for some lock in period.

Greg_>So if i understand you correctly, if i get standard Broadband or Lite, it's a 12 month contract at that price. But if I get Turbo or higher, the price is still only good for 12 months, but I wouldn't be under contract

Mack>It's a 12 month promo price and after a year, the price may change but it will still depend if there will be increse for the next year's offer.

Greg_>I'm still a little confused by your answer. Is there a difference between the terms of standard Broadband vs. Turbo

Mack>Sorry for the confusion Greg, What I mean is, We have no contract or lock in period, and Yes the difference between Standard and Turbo is their speed 10mbps for Standard then 15 for Turbo.

Greg_>But in terms of the period of promotional pricing, there is no difference?

Mack>Yes.

Mack)>Meaning the price after 12 moths is still the same.

[Up to this point, I can see how the questions might have been a little vague. But the next question SHOULD have gotten the answer I need]

Greg_>My question is, why do some service levels say "For 12 months" while others do not?

Mack>with the one that says its for 12 months, there will be a possibility for the price to change.

Greg_>So if I get one that doesn't say, "For 12 months", the price won't change?

Mack>Yes.

Greg_>Okay, that answers my question.

Greg_>actually, I'd like to ask one more clarifying question, just to be 100% sure I understand

Mack>Sure.

Greg_>If I get Turbo with PowerBoost, for how long am I guaranteed to pay $39.99/month?

[No response for 6 minutes]

Mack>I apologize for the delay.

Mack>It will be a promotional price and after 12 months there is a possiblity to change the price.

Greg_>okay, that brings me back to my previous question. What is the DIFFERENCE between the ones that say "For 12 months" and the ones that don't?

[another 6 minute pause]

Mac>If you are getting Road Runner Broadband Turbo Plus it's priced for 12 months meaning price may change after, and you will be notified about it.

Greg_>And if I'm getting standard Broadband or Lite?

[4 minutes]

Mack>They have two different speed which is 10mbps forstandard then 782kbps for lite.

[oh yeah, THAT right there was the moment I just about lost it]

Greg_>I'm not asking about speed. I'm asking about PRICING and what the "For 12 months" means!

Greg_>What is the DIFFERENCE between the service levels that say "For 12 months" and the ones that don't?

Greg_>As far as I can tell, for any of them, the price is good fo 12 months, then after 12 months the price may change. Correct?

Mack>That is correct.

Greg_>then WHY do some of them say "For 12 months" and some do not?

[4 minutes]

Mack>This is because our packages are not locked in for just 12 months or so. They are all without a contract that you can either keep or continue regardless the price may or may not change.

Greg_>that makes no sense

I then asked whether disconnecting and reconnecting would get me a different person to chat with. To which "Mack" replied that if I disconnect my service I'd have to pay fees to reconnect it. And when I explained that I meant disconnect from chat and wanted to know if there was someone else there I could talk to instead of him, he said, "If you disconnect from chat, you'll have to log back in."

Spectacular. Absolutely spectacular.

I'm currently 2nd in queue for a new chat, let's see if anyone can answer a question with a straight forward fvcking answer.

[katiesue]

Is it possible what he's trying to say is that the two listed as "for 12 months" are an actual contract in which you as the consumer would have to pay a fee to drop the service before the end of the 12 months but there will be no price increase. And in the rest Time Warner is guaranteeing no price increase for 12 months but since it's not a contract you as the consumer could drop the service at any time without penalty?

[Ghoulish Delight]

No, that much was clear, none of them are contracted.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Okay, finally got a straight answer (though not without a little bit more confusion first).

The ones that say "For 12 months", the rate is locked in for 12 months. The others, the rate can change at any time.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Which, btw, completely contradicts what Mack said when I explicitly asked that question.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Wow. I can see why you're confused. Were confused. How's a person supposed to know which one to pick?