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Today I got my usual email notification from Optimum saying "Your statement is now ready to view online." A subsequent line in the email also says "Make sure to read the Optimum Updates section on page 2 of your PDF bill for the most up-to-date news about your account, services, and rates."
I looked in my Trash mail folder to see if previous online-statement email notifications contained that particular line; they all do, but to be honest this is the first time I'd noticed it.
I confess that all the other times I'd viewed my bill online, I simply looked at the "Bill with Details" version which is the default when one logs in and clicks View My Bill. In order to see the same complete bill that people who get paper copies do, you need to click on the separate link that says "Save or print this bill (PDF)"
My guess is that most people don't bother with, or even notice, that extra available step.
So I did it and generated a PDF and sure enough, on page 2 of 6 there's this:
While we work hard to minimize the impact on you, pricing adjustments will be made to select Optimum rates, effective with your February bill. There will be no more than a $14.50 increase to your current monthly rate. Current rates can be found in the 'Account Details' section and new pricing is on the last page of this bill. If you are on a promotional rate, pricing for that rate won't change until the promotion ends.
Now, my guess is (and I won't know for sure until next month's bill is generated) that their claim of "there will be no more than a $14.50 increase to your current monthly rate" means to your rate for each service. In other words, that instead of my Optimum 100 internet increasing by $25, it will go up "only" $14.50 AND that instead of my Economy tv tier increasing by $20, it will go up $14.50. In other words -- and again this is only my guess which I hope I am wrong on but don't think I am -- my total bill will increase by $29 ($14.50 x 2 rate products) rather than $45. Because if they actually meant "there will be no more than a $14.50 increase in your monthly bill", they would have said so.
I do have FIOS in the area, and they are always sending me promo stuff. The last time I called them - years ago - they gave me a baseline price which was low, but after all the taxes it came in pretty close to what I was paying Optimum . At that time, many people I know were complaining about Verizon's customer service, their techs never showing up on time , etc., etc.
That, of course, was before Altice cannibalized Cablevision.
If they cannot bring that $40 increase down to $10/month, ( I will give them an opportunity when the bill goes up in February), this thirty-two year customer will be gone in a Long Island Minute.
FIOS is a night and day difference. I think these days the fees are about equal: to put it in perspective, I have Triple Play: Fios Gigabit Connection, Fios TV Preferred HD and Fios Digital Voice US+11 Countries
Bundle Price $89.99. My taxes and fees are $21.44 including sports network surcharge, etc. So figured you would pay $110 for this bundle plus cable boxes and router rent (I own mine, and I have Tivo for cable).
I want to bet you that's cheaper than Optimum, much better service and better quality. Google 'Fios Triple Play' and price it out.
I loved fios when I had it.
And I also loved being able to use the 2 as leverage against each other.
Where I am now we got Cablevision and that's it. I have no options. That's why I'm trying to figure out how to chisel my service down to only what I NEED and save money but their rates and plans are set up as "gotcha" no matter what.
I loved fios when I had it.
And I also loved being able to use the 2 as leverage against each other.
Where I am now we got Cablevision and that's it. I have no options. That's why I'm trying to figure out how to chisel my service down to only what I NEED and save money but their rates and plans are set up as "gotcha" no matter what.
FioS is the best
Pricey, but you get what you pay for
Cant even remember the last time I needed a service call
__________________
"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
FWIW. My only choice is Comcast (direct TV really not an option for internet) and every Feb like a right of passage we are increased. This time it is $1 for the box, remote went from18 cents to 40 cents, regional broadcast fee up $4, regional sports up 45 cents and so it goes. The best part is that you can't opt out of many of the items they upped the prices on.
Now, my guess is (and I won't know for sure until next month's bill is generated) that their claim of "there will be no more than a $14.50 increase to your current monthly rate" means to your rate for each service. In other words, that instead of my Optimum 100 internet increasing by $25, it will go up "only" $14.50 AND that instead of my Economy tv tier increasing by $20, it will go up $14.50. In other words -- and again this is only my guess which I hope I am wrong on but don't think I am -- my total bill will increase by $29 ($14.50 x 2 rate products) rather than $45. Because if they actually meant "there will be no more than a $14.50 increase in your monthly bill", they would have said so.
When I called last week , the customer service person was pretty explicit that two of my three services would increase by $20 each, plus tax.
But who knows .. their customer service has gone down the toilet.
I had issues with Fios boxes dying and they wanted to charge me to come to my house to prove it wasn't my own error. So I dumped them for Optimum and saved money, as they wouldn't lower their rate.
Of course, as soon as I dumped them, they called me begging to come back at a lower rate. I'm really tired of this kind of garbage. Dealing with the same thing with Geico. They jacked up my rates for no reason, they spend god knows how much on advertising (like, every commercial break on every medium has a Geico add) just to land new customers and give them lower rates. They are next on the dump list.
They both do it.
When I left Cable for Fios they were relentless, like sharks with blood in the water.
Cold calling at my house, robocalls, and enough junk mail to fill a 5 gallon pail every week.
This went on the entire time I was with fios.
When I went back to cable, fios would send me please come back letters every so often. Nothing like the basically and pretty much harassment I was getting from cable.
As annoying as it was at the time, in hindsight I miss the competition. The only game in town here is cable.
I had issues with Fios boxes dying and they wanted to charge me to come to my house to prove it wasn't my own error. So I dumped them for Optimum and saved money, as they wouldn't lower their rate.
Just FYI, Optimum plays the same game with service call charges; numerous complaints (including my own in another thread here) attest to that. Don't know how much FIOS would have charged you, but you'd have been looking at an $80 service call fee if the same situation happened with Optimum.
The only freebie service call Optimum gives is if the tech only touches stuff between the street pole and the splitter (splitter is free, anything "past" the splitter generates the service call charge.)
And their techs can and do sometimes flat-out lie about what they did during a service visit. I just spent 3 months trying to get a lying tech's service call fee (plus tax) refunded to my account.
So if you are looking for sweet reasonableness when it comes to being charged for a service call, you won't find it with Optimum/Altice either.
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