Customers dazzled by too-good-to-be-true cable and internet deals could soon get a break.
Legislation introduced this month by U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, and Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, would require phone, cable and internet providers to include all charges in advertised prices.
The ‘‘Truth-in-Billing, Remedies, and User Empowerment over Fees Act of 2019’’ or ‘‘TRUE Fees Act of 2019,” would allow consumers to terminate contracts early without paying a penalty if a provider increases a fee or charges a price that isn’t clearly illustrated in the original listing.
Under the proposed legislation, companies would have to alert a consumer of any increase no later than 21 days before it goes into effect, giving the consumer ample time to cancel the service and/or switch to another cable provider.
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Public Knowledge, an open internet and public interest non-profit in Washington, D.C. endorsed the bill, arguing that such advertisements are deceptive and prevent consumers from accurately comparing costs of different products.
The legislation would require phone, cable and internet providers to include all charges in advertised prices.
Often a customer will get a bill that is $50 or more higher than expected due to hidden fees, the group said. These fees can include taxes and equipment rental fees, which are charged when an internet company requires a customer to use a router or other device for its services.
John Bergmayer, senior counsel at Public Knowledge said all those extra fees add up and said they’re misleading. “Companies are discovering new excuses all the time to break out costs of doing business into new secret fees, so they can advertise fictional prices,” he said.
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The Internet & Television Association, a trade group for U.S. broadband and pay television industries, said cable-service providers “are transparent about pricing and deliver itemized bills to customers” through monthly statements and their websites.
Cable companies are often open to negotiation on prices rather than see a customer move to a rival service. They may even lower prices if the customer phones to express concerns about their statement, said Kelsey Sheehy, a personal finance writer at personal-finance site NerdWallet.
Often consumers are deterred by long hold times and poor customer service, so the “TRUE” bill would require companies to give consumers the option to make changes online. Services like Billshark and Trim also analyze monthly costs and can help negotiate lower prices.
Comcast CMCSA, +0.36% declined to comment on the legislation. It reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $27.85 billion, up from $21.92 billion one year ago. Charter CHTR, +0.15% which announced fourth quarter revenues of $11.2 billion, a 5.9% increase as compared to the prior year period, did not respond to request for comment. Mediacom, and Frontier FTR, -1.16% did not respond to request for comment. Frontier reported quarterly revenue of $2.13 billion in Sept. 2018.
The Dow Jones Industrial Index DJIA, +0.70% is up 11.07% year to date and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.64% is up 10.97% over the same period.
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