jinjimbob
Troy Mcclure
join:2001-11-13 | huh?
Its hard to even keep a Qwest DSL contract.
I have signed up for a DSL for life price, 6 months later, the contract ends, price goes up.
This is a common thing. |
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baineschile
2600
Premium
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI
 ·Comcast
 ·magicjack.com
 ·Verizon Wireless B..
| Wasnt the point of ETF
to guarentee revenue over time, thus making the monthly price lower?
not that i think people should HAVE to say with a company for a certain period of time. but what happens when we turn a car lease in early...penalities. cell phones? penalities.
keeping a constant stream of revenue is important to companies, and they can hedge that amount by locking people into long term contracts. |
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fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| The funny thing is I don't get why they are going after Qwest of all providers. It was Qwest that first got out of having contracts anyway unlike AT&T and VZ or the other Bell companies.
While I am not a fan of Qwest, I DO have them, and I do agree with what they are doing. You don't have to sign a "contract" to get DSL. In fact, the discount you get isn't that great anyway. But, if you sign a contract to get a discount knowing of the ETF and then you want to sue or be part of this suit again Qwest, it sounds to me that the customer is partaking in fraud.
In the case of Qwest, you're signing up for a discounted rate in exchange for your promise to stay a customer. In this case, I agree the ETF should be higher than the discount. Why? Simple, if the penalty doesn't exceed the benefit, why wouldn't everyone just have the discount in the first place?
Qwest is just asking a customer to commit to a time period in exchange for a discount so they can better budget their A/R. Leaving early IS breaking your word and you should pay. They discounted the service, the customer partook in the savings, why should they be able to walk away scott free?
I think this time the law suit goes too far. The consumer, just like many corporations, need to suck it up and get their own acts and priorities in order and get some morals in place. |
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Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
·Comcast
 ·Embarq
1 edit |  Local Exchange Carriers bait and switch scheme.
 When it comes to DSL service most subscribers do not realize that they can be a victim of bait and switch by the telephone company. The reason, all cable pairs are not created equal. I had a friend that lived in an area where the telephone company had a limited of cable pairs best suited for DSL service. My friend signed up for 5Mbps DSL service and I was able to verify that they were getting close to that speed using DSL Reports Speed Tests, when the service was initially installed. My friend must have been served through one of the high quality cable pairs because I later learned that the company would always assign new customers to a high quality cable pair unless they subscribed to the lowest tier of service. A couple of weeks later his speed dropped to about 1.5Mbps. When my friend complained his speed would be restored within a few days but would decrease a couple of weeks later. I checked with a telco technician that I knew and learned that if another customer in that area complained about low speed, a technician would switch the complaining customers line to one of the high quality cable pairs assigned to another customer. The technician would then transfer the customer that had good quality service to the lower quality pair, resulting in reduced speed.
Remember if you read the contract you will find that the LEC does not guarantee the speed of the connection. He found himself held to the terms of a contract that left him stuck with unreliable service. His solution was to demand that his monthly rate and speed be changed to the 1.5Mbps tier. After he did that he had no further problem. If the LEC cannot guarantee the speed the customer is paying for then they should not be allowed to charge Early Termination Fees. |
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battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000
| reply to fiberguy
Re: Wasnt the point of ETF
"The funny thing is I don't get why they are going after Qwest of all providers."
Probably for the same reason Vonage was picked on. Pick a fight with the one that's big enough to put up a good fight but not big enough to drag it out for years and years. Once a precedent is set then they can proceed to bigger fish. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD |  Judicial Parasites
So once again, people who voluntarily agreed to pay ETFs by signing contracts that bound them to do so want to weasel out of their commitment.
--
"At the moment of conception." |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| reply to jinjimbob
Re: huh?
said by jinjimbob  :Its hard to even keep a Qwest DSL contract. I have signed up for a DSL for life price, 6 months later, the contract ends, price goes up. This is a common thing. Price for life is a joke[like qworst]
all they have to do is bump your speeds a bit and that counts as a change and that so called sweet deal you got goes by-by.
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When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee |
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ashworth
join:2001-10-06
Pittsburgh, PA | reply to baineschile
Re: Wasnt the point of ETF
It's all in the terms of service, although it would be buried somewhere in the 40 pages or so. And if that's what you(the consumer)agreed to(for a lower price), then guess what ?? Pay up !! |
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FenixSucks
join:2007-06-21
Portland, OR | reply to pnh102
Re: Judicial Parasites
What is Qwest's ETF for DSL? It says "if you cancel before end of your contract ETF may apply" but they don't tell you the value. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by FenixSucks :What is Qwest's ETF for DSL? It says "if you cancel before end of your contract ETF may apply" but they don't tell you the value. If that's what the contract says then it should come to no surprise to any customer who accepts that an ETF may be applied.
As long as the contract states very clearly that an ETF may apply, there should be no legal problem.
--
"At the moment of conception." |
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EPS
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA | reply to battleop
Re: Wasnt the point of ETF
That plan didn't work so well for Verizon, though- their patents crumbled as soon as they had to face a company that could afford competent legal aid. |
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RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY
| reply to pnh102
Re: Judicial Parasites
said by pnh102 :So once again, people who voluntarily agreed to pay ETFs by signing contracts that bound them to do so want to weasel out of their commitment. The problem is not the attempt to avoid paying a EFT but paying an UNFAIR EFT. If I am given a 2-year contract with a $10/month discount then the FAIR EFT is $240 which is reduced by $10/month. IOW: I should ONLY be charged an EFT fee that is based on how many months early I want to cancel and what discount a month I was getting. Cancel after 13 months of service and owe an EFT of $110. An even better/fairer alternative is to base the EFT on the number of months of delivered Service (which would make the EFT after 13 months $130). If I can sign up at the full rate and cancel at any time with no cancellation penalty then the latter method is the fairest to both sides (ie: It voids the commitment and converts the monthly fee to the pay-as-you-go monthly fee).
What justification does the company have for charging more than the recovery of the under-payments? |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :So once again, the Corporations who voluntarily agreed to provide services by signing contracts that bind them want to weasel out of their commitment. There, fixed it for ya.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by KrK :There, fixed it for ya. So in other words, contracts mean nothing?
--
"At the moment of conception." |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| reply to RARPSL
said by RARPSL :The problem is not the attempt to avoid paying a EFT but paying an UNFAIR EFT. How is this unfair?
If the contract states than an ETF is going to be charged, then no one should be surprised when an ETF is charged. If someone thinks it is unfair then they should not agree to such contracts.
While I do agree with you that a pro-rated ETF would be more fair to the consumer, no such ETF was mentioned in this contract, so it would be wrong for any judge to simply impose such a regime upon Qwest simply because a group of customers didn't think before signing such a contract.
--
"At the moment of conception." |
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Chrono
@wildblue.net | Be happy
At least you can get DSL |
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to baineschile
Re: Wasnt the point of ETF
well why does DSL even need a contract? cable doesnt have them and rates for DSL and cable are pretty much the same.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI
1 edit | reply to Mr Matt
Re: Local Exchange Carriers bate and switch scheme.
I think the spell check got you. Its "bait" as in "bait and tackle."
If switching pairs requires a technician to go make some physical change, it sounds like a really expensive technique for the company to use. |
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Simba7
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT
·Bresnan Online
1 edit | reply to Chrono
Re: Be happy
Where are you at?
Why not go with a Cell Card? It'd cost alot less than WildBlue. I use my PPC 6800 as a Wireless Access Point (using WMWifiRouter) and have been getting 1.75mbps/128kbps (using EVDO Rev0).
No complaints here.. and it's unlimited.. At least until Verizon screws it up. |
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Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
·Comcast
·Embarq
| reply to dnoyeB
Re: Local Exchange Carriers bate and switch scheme.
 What the telephone technicians call "Frogging Pairs" is a way to avoid or delay installing new cable. In an area where there were not sufficient good cable pairs a technician would exchange a customers good pair with a poorer quality pair in order to satisfy another complaining customer. Unfortunately these days, because of bridge taps, cable pairs that are suitable for voice service are not suitable for DSL service. Bridge taps allow one cable pair to appear in more than one building. That gives the outside plant engineer and the cable assignment department greater flexibility in delivering service to customers. Unfortunately a bridge tap can act as a tuned stub that will attenuate the DSL signal. |
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