Shhh!!!!: Guy who complained to FCC about Comcast modem fees gets $30 back

1/10/2015
by Cyrus Farivar

Man who noticed $8- to $10-per-month increase may not stay a Comcast customer.

Mr.TinDC

The Boston man who first reported late last month that his Comcast bill had suddenly increased due to an increase in cable modem rental fees, and then complained to the Federal Communications Commission about it, now tells Ars that he’s received a credit of $30 on his account as a direct result of that complaint.

"I received a call from Comcast [corporate] offices this morning, and they've reversed the price increase for the length of my contract," Eric Studley e-mailed Ars on Thursday morning.

"It seems that the FCC complaint was the largest factor in that. I'm guessing Comcast is paying close attention to complaints before the FCC makes its decision on Net Neutrality/Internet as a public service."

When Ars pressed for more details, Studley said that the Comcast representative told him at the beginning of the call that the company was responding to his complaint.

"It seems they've just added credit to my account for the amount I requested from the FCC comment, not actually changed the pricing," he lamented.

Comcast did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.

A patchwork of increases

As Ars previously reported, Studley, who posts on reddit as Slayer0606, first pointed out that his monthly rental fee had increased from $8 to $10 per month. Comcast customers who own their own cable modem (such as yours truly) are not affected by this fee increase.

After reading Studley’s post, Ars encouraged readers who rent Comcast modems to check their bills and found that the increases seem to have taken place as far back as October 2014, while others took effect as of December 20, 2014 and January 1, 2015.

Ars has confirmed such cable modem increases in not only Boston and Indiana, but also in Houston, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Miami Lakes, Florida; and San Mateo, California.

Other readers in the Twin Cities, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Tacoma, Washington; Farmington, Connecticut; Palo Alto, California; and Philadelphia reported no changes to their monthly bill. Indeed,my own Comcast bill in Oakland, California, notes that such an increase would take effect as of January 1—however I own my own modem and thus don’t pay a rental fee.

Previously, Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas told Ars by e-mail that "some markets are seeing those price changes," as a way to offset "investments in our network and technology." He argued that there are benefits to leasing over outright buying a cable modem. Among other reasons: "if anything happens to the hardware, then we will replace it for no charge."

Still, he pointed readers to a list of approved modems if Comcast customers prefer to buy their own.

So how has this experience changed Studley?

"I'm glad I was compensated and I've already purchased a router to replace the rented one," he concluded. "I'll definitely be re-considering choosing Comcast when I move in September, though."

UPDATE 12:06pm CT: Charlie Douglas, the Comcast spokesman, wrote Ars to say:

To be clear, the credit issued to Mr. Studley was for the inconvenience and frustration he experienced in having to make multiple phone calls to sufficiently answer his questions. This was unrelated to the letter he sent. In other words, the two things are unrelated.

When Ars pointed out that Studley claimed that the Comcast rep told him that it was due to his FCC complaint, Douglas added:

With all due respect to both parties—it’s unfortunate how the conversation seems to have transpired. Assuming that was communicated to Mr. Studley, then it should not have been. Our care representatives (who work hard to make things right for our customers every day) are not authorized to, nor are they in a position to make such a statement.

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