• McBinary@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    79
    ·
    1 year ago

    How about we just scrap the ISP instead and start over with a company that can list what they are charging for? This isn’t hard. Either it’s a legitimate fee or it’s not. I have a feeling they just don’t want to disclose that they have been ripping people off for a few extra bucks every bill for the last decade.

    • rambaroo@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      47
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      That’s exactly what this is. They obviously have software that calculates the fees, so claiming they can’t tell us why is bullshit when they clearly know why already.

      • Billiam@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        19
        ·
        1 year ago

        They don’t want customers to know how much of the fees are “non-mandatory,” i.e. what is imposed by the ISP but not required by law.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s what it is. They don’t want people to know what extra fees they’re tacking on. Of course they can list what they’re charging for. Is their accounting so bad they don’t know who they’re charging for what? I seriously doubt it. This is as easy as a spreadsheet output.

      • valkyre09@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 year ago

        If they’re so unsure what they’re charging people, perhaps it might be worth looking into their reported earnings and tax paid.

  • Tygr@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    68
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    As a mortgage lender, welcome to the full transparency world. The only people that complain about it are the people that have a lot to hide.

    When they say “too hard” I hear “will cut into our profits.”

      • MisterChief@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        1 year ago

        I agree with the sentiment of your concern as it is a shit load of info. Only part I would disagree with is that nobody explains it. Depends on your realtor of course but mid-pandemic lockdowns my realtor sat down with my wife and I and went page by page, all printed out, and explained everything. Stopped periodically to see what questions we had, and even light heartily quizzed us. He showed us where he was making money, where the bank makes money, what was likely to happen the moment we signed with the mortgage (sold to a different lender), and where our risks were.

        It was a lot. And I don’t look forward to it. But in a day and age where anything can be searched online at your fingertips due diligence is expected by both parties and I felt comfortable going into the closing feeling we had covered most everything.

      • beebarfbadger@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        Fun fact: one of the big plusses of the EU was a unified consumer protection law that gives customers extensive rights to fight back against malicious hidden clauses they didn’t have to expect if they weren’t explained to them explicitly. Was a surprisingly pro-consumer legislation, that.

  • Saryn@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    25
    ·
    1 year ago

    They just don’t want people to look at their bills and see:

    C-Suite 3rd Yacht Fund: $2.39
    Monopoly Maintenence Fee: $5.25
    Lobby/Bribe Fee: $3.16

    • Im14abeer
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Well, I see an opportunity for consolation right here!

      Monopoly maintenance/lobbying (bribes): $8.41

      I bet those business geniuses can find all kinds of ways to “reduce fees”. That is the number of fees, not the total dollar amount of fees.

  • FoxBJK
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    23
    ·
    1 year ago

    Why am I paying all this money then? I mean, assuming we wanna believe this bullshit premise. Your computers can’t itemize a bill!?

    • phorq@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      Seriously, if you couldn’t even be bothered to write it down then it couldn’t have been something worth being billed for

    • anonionfinelyminced@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I have an FSA card (essentially a pre-paid credit card for paying medical expenses). Only medical expenses, though. Band-aids? Prescriptions? Doctor office co-pay? All fine. Buy a candy bar or a carton of milk at the pharmacy? Nope. And if it’s audited I have to be ready to provide proof that EVERY PENNY that left that account was used for medical expenses.

      If I have that burden with my limited resources, I’m sure the poor widdle ISPs can scrape together some kind of BS explanation for where all that money goes.

  • Monkey With A Shell@lemmy.socdojo.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    22
    ·
    1 year ago

    Local ISP here I actually had to search on third praty sites to get any idea what their business tier costs since their site refused to say. When they’re allowed to hide things to a point where you need to go through several pages to know what upload speed and data caps they offer it’s obvious they’re looking to screw with people. Top tier was about $150/month for 6tb originally, then during the covid years it got bumped to 8tb because reasons, bow the standard top tier is about $130 with a 3tb cap. Make up your mind people, are you charging for the speed or the volume?

  • Zima@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    1 year ago

    I have a better solution. If it’s too much work to list it then it’s not worth charging it.

  • AttackBunny@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    20
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I have to itemize every invoice, for ever customer. Sometimes 100+ items long, and it’s rarely the same, customer to customer. I’m pretty sure they can figure out how to do it too.

  • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    1 year ago

    I just wish they’d crack down on introductory pricing and the whole “threaten cancellation to get a discount” model. Of all the other services I can think of they’re the only ones (I’m including cable TV since ISPs usually do both) that explicitly give new customers a better deal. I’ve actually known other companies to lower your bill the longer you have their service.

    • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I spent 30 minutes in a chat with Comcast support trying to get the introductory rate after explicitly asking at the beginning if they could do that for me as an existing customer and the rep stating “yes.” 30 minutes later they told me those rates are only for new customers. I then stated that I could go down to the store and cancel my service then sign up under my wife’s name to get the discount and the rep told me that’d be the only way to get the lower pricing.

    • Im14abeer
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Sirius/XM would like a little recognition in this regard.

  • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    1 year ago

    That’s some real chutzpah to tell the FCC they’re charging so many bullshit fees they can’t even keep track of them.

  • Poob@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    1 year ago

    If Comcast hates it, it must be the best solution. In fact, I think we America should run all laws by Comcast executives