Time Warner testing usage-based billing

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Hmm, kinda sucks, but I guess it's only fair, right?

[Chernabog]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Hmm, kinda sucks, but I guess it's only fair, right?

Not fair at all. It costs Time Warner next to zero for people that go over TW's imposed limit. This is just a way for TW to eke every last penny out of their customers.

Currently I annoyed with them because I paid a cable bill for two months in full on 12/29. Zero balance on the account. January bill comes, and has an extra charge for a late fee, back-date posted 12/22. How obnoxious is that?!? And yes, there was a late fee on the December bill too. So basically they charged double late fees. But who the hell wants to sit on the phone for an hour with their billing? Might as well pay it.

And don't get me started on how they upgraded our DVR, but made us pay for the cable to connect it to the television.

Or how they told us it was $10 extra a month to send us Hi-Def, but failed to mention that it was an additional $10 to RECEIVE the hi-def signal they were sending.

If our dog-hating landlord didn't also hate satellite dishes, there's no way we'd have Time Warner for anything.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Chernabog

Not fair at all. It costs Time Warner next to zero for people that go over TW's imposed limit. This is just a way for TW to eke every last penny out of their customers.

If a small percentage of users are causing network demands to outpace their infrastructure, then it can cost them quite a bit, either in the cost of upgrading the network or in the cost of losing customers due to poor network performance. If, as they are stating, they are trying to curb only the heaviest of users (i.e. which would pretty much be people who have their computers doing nothing but downloading movies all day), it makes perfect sense. I don't necessarily have faith that that's all it will effect, but I can certainly see practical business reasons to do it.

Currently I annoyed with them because I paid a cable bill for two months in full on 12/29. Zero balance on the account. January bill comes, and has an extra charge for a late fee, back-date posted 12/22. How obnoxious is that?!? And yes, there was a late fee on the December bill too. So basically they charged double late fees. But who the hell wants to sit on the phone for an hour with their billing? Might as well pay it.

Have you tried? As I posted elsewhere, my most reason CS experience with Time Warner was a 180 degree turnaround from their sh*ttiness of the past.

[Chernabog]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I don't necessarily have faith that that's all it will effect, but I can certainly see practical business reasons to do it.

Yeah, and that "extra" -- is it actually COSTING them money, or simply eating a little into their profits (I have a hunch it's the latter).

And what's to stop them from arbitrarily doing the following:

TW Exec 1: "Well, the top 5% of people on the at-home cable service are eating into our profits by excessive bandwidth."

TW Exec 2: "Oh, so we're going to charge the top 5% some usage charges?"

TW Exec 1: "Um, you must be new here. We're going to charge the top 20% for these "excessive bandwidth" charges, and tell people we're only charging the top 5%, because nobody's really watching us and the people at home won't know either".

TW Exec 2: "Muahahahaha!"

TW Exec 1: "Muahahahaha!"

(Sorry I picture them like the green aliens in the Simpsons).

Have you tried? As I posted elsewhere, my most reason CS experience with Time Warner was a 180 degree turnaround from their sh*ttiness of the past.

In all honesty I haven't. The last time I tried to contact them was 2 weeks ago (15 minutes on hold), to ask a question about and then pay the bill to begin with, and THEN they charged me a double late fee. So no, it isn't worth my time.