Cable Firms to FTC: We Shouldn’t Have to Let Users Cancel Service With a Click
Cable Firms to FTC: We Shouldn’t Have to Let Users Cancel Service With a Click
Customers may “misunderstand the consequences of canceling,” cable lobby says.
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“Three out of four of the cable and broadband customers who called to cancel end up retaining some or all service after speaking with an agent.”
Because threatening to leave is the only way to get a half-decent price?
This only proves they don't let you cancel without some trickery
The point is that it's extremely common practice to call your ISP and tell them you're cancelling so they'll send you to Retentions and you can get a few more months at "50% off" (a reasonable price). This would be included in those "3/4 people stay", but those were never actually going to cancel anyway, they only say they are so they don't have to pay the insanely inflated sticker price.
i've worked at a call center years ago on the retentions dep. of some mobile internet provider. after learning of such trickery, i'll fucking tell everyone that will listen "hey mate, you've got a internet/telephone/cable tv subscription? are you in the "fidelity" period? (yeah that shit is a thing here...) ok so listen, AS SOON AS a second passes from the end of the period, this is how you get the actual decent price for service..."
some people had to stop me on my track several times because i was repeating myself to them (forgot who i'd already told about it) because i must make sure everyone knows
been doing it all these years
Yep that’s Comcast. You have to call annually and threaten to cancel to get a semi reasonable price for cable and/or internet.
I've been with all three major Canadian ISPs and it's the same everywhere. Like clockwork, once a year you call them. You could say "I'm looking to cancel" but at this point they all know why you're calling, don't waste anyone's time, just ask "hey could you please transfer me to Retention" and they'll be glad not to have go through the song and dance. Retention picks up, immediately offers you a bad deal because it's protocol, you reject it because you never take the first deal, they offer you a better deal, you take it, job done. Easier than changing, cancelling, or paying for something, by far.
this is the way
Yep same shit with Comcast. I'm very pleased to no longer be a customer.
If a company does that, they are teaching customers that the original piece is too high and that you can always haggle for a lower one. Is this really what they wanted? Sounds like this could hurt your business.
I think they know the original price is bad but also that there's a significant chunk of people who either don't care or will forget to call in about a price reduction. They've probably figured out a fairly reliable figure as to what percent of their customers will or won't haggle and run revenue projections off of that.
This also proves that they are deliberately screwing you on a price they have no trouble lowering to keep your business. Only to overcharge you again as time goes by.
I have never gotten a better price by threatening to cancel. I was instead told to cancel and signup again in a year or two so I could qualify for "new customer" pricing. There is no reward for loyalty with Telcos.
I imagine it depends on the availability of viable competition in the area. In many areas of the US, there is only one ISP available to customers, so when people threaten to cancel, they know that most of them are bluffing.
I doubt they have those metrics verified by an unbiased and qualified party.
Hanging up in frustration and anguish counts as "retaining service".