COX is ripping me off...and what can I do about it?

A

almon_IHB

New member
My neighbor and I were talking about utilities, and it sounded like he was paying less than I was. So I brought out my statement and he brought out his, and sure enough, I am paying more than him in all 3 areas where we use Cox (cable, internet, telephone). Here's what I found:





CABLE - I pay $30.99 for "Cox Expanded Service", he pays $20.99.


INTERNET - I pay $41.95 for "Cox High Speed Internet with Powerboost", he pays $31.95.


TELEPHONE - I pay $9.99 for "* Basic Monthly Service", he pays nothing (both statements have the asterisk next to the word Basic).





There are other differences, but only because we rent a tivo recorder from Cox and he doesn't, and we get hi def and he doesn't.





I asked him if he has a promotional discount, and he chuckled and said, "not at all."





So I called Cox, and told them I want to pay the same as someone who lives 50 feet from me and gets the same services. After 15 minutes of back-and-forth, <strong>they offered $10 discount total per month, for the next 12 months</strong>.





I said, "so I have to pay $20 more for the same services that someone who lives practically next to me pays, and then after 12 months, I go back to paying $30 more per month?" You can imagine I didn't hang up feeling too happy about the whole deal.





Quality and service wise, Cox isn't bad, but I just can't swallow getting ripped off blatantly like that. With any business that is not a monopoly, they will match what you find; with Cox, you're dealing with a quasi-monopoly.





The bottom line...<strong>what can I do about this?</strong>
 
IIRC, they charge extra for the hi-def. Call back during business hours and ask to talk to the supervisor. Alternately, write a letter and send a copy to the City, as Cox contracts with the City to provide cable services to the residents. Not sure who at the City you would send it to, but you might call and ask.
 
<p>If it helps, we are paying . . .</p>

<p>Cable (DVR, Hi-Def, HBO, Cinemax): $86</p>

<p>Internet with Power Boost: $57</p>

<p>Telephone & Fax: $70</p>

<p>My company pays this bill, but I'll still call Cox tomorrow to see if we can get our bill down - just on principle alone. </p>
 
I have and extra high quality coax 5-1000mhz splitter you can have, and your local radio shack has all the cable you need. You can also borrow my shovel. Use your imagination. Love thy neighbor (and his cable).
 
I'm fed up with cox myself. I don’t want to steal from them either. And as far as I know they have pretty much no competition in Irvine. May be DSL, but that's about it.
 
I am paying the same high speed internet rate as your neighbour. It is a promotion, and it ends after six months.



I am also paying nothing for my phone ( except FCC charges, tax, etc). It is also a promotion, ends after six month.



I also have a $10 discount on my cable bill. It is a package discount. This one is permanent as long as you have either cable, phone, and internet.



Doesn't hurt to call cox tomorrow to ask for more discount. But also remember, most people don't really know exactly what their bills mean.
 
In all seriousness, I think there is some provision where you can ask for just a basic basic situation and get that for less $. I'd ask to talk to a supervisor. Cable companies run a regulated monopoly: infrastructure makes this a de facto necessity and the government is supposed to regulate the costs. Best of luck, almon. Can I call you "Al?"
 
Sure thing Bro, "you can call me Al", just like the Paul Simon song...I don't think your idea with the shovel works for me. I'm not mechanically and electrically inclined!





Seriously though...what are my options?





I can ditch my telephone but that'll only save $20 and involves a crap load of notifying work, school, friends, relatives, insurance, credit cards, you name it...





My wife is refusing to consider another internet service. She had DSL and didn't like it.





So that leaves cable, which happens to cost more than phone and internet combined. I am thinking satellite is the only other game in Irvine. How do people like their satellite dish? We have hi def and HBO and a tivo box that we rent from Cox now. Comes out to be $81 monthly. Can I do better with satellite and still get good picture quality?
 
Here's my breakdown:


Cox Limited Basic $17


Cox Expanded Service $30.99


Digital Cable Service $13.95


HBO $10.30


Cox Service Assurance Plan $3.95 (they send someone to your home and fix indoor cables if needed)


Cox Digital Recorder $9.95 (we rent the box)


Digital Suite Digital Cable Discount -$10.25 (this is a discount of minus 10.25)


Digital Receiver - DVR/HD $5.25





If I was buying a car or an airplane ticket, I expect to pay a different amount than the next person. But for cable and internet???
 
We have the full Monty with Cox, Internet, Cable, "Tivo" and phone...we NEVER use the Home Phone, in fact, I don't even know what the number is, but when I called Cox to have it disconnected they said we would end up paying more every month because we wouldn't have the full package, so no discounts...

We moved from Laguna Niguel to Irvine in january, the Cox Guy came out to do the phone (we had to change our # for some reason, we couldn't bring it with us)...then ANOTHER Cox Guy showed up after about 5 minutes, there seemed to be some confusion, "Who told YOU to come"? one guy said to the other....anyway, after a few calls back to base they decided one would do the phone and the other would do the Cable...."Would you like me to hook it up sir" said one..."Yes please, here's the Cables" I was happy at the time because I was trying to unpack Boxes and do all the other stuff one does when one moves...like find the Tea Kettle and a Mug etc.....



You can imagine my surprise when we got the next bill...$400andsomething Installation fee!!! All he did was plug 2 flippin cables in and say "There you go"!!!!



Cox didn't even offer to take me out for a romantic Dinner or send some Flowers before having their way with me...



Oh, and the "Tivo" in the Bedroom doesn't even work!!
 
I have basic cable and home phone service with Cox. Is that why Cox charges me $48 for the cable and $16 for the phone service?
 
By the way, back 2 yrs ago when I moved into my current place. I called Cox and requested only channels 2 to 13. They wanted to charge $15/mo. I said to the phone rep., "You got to be kidding, right? I can pick up those channels using a rabbit ears antenae."
 
Get Direct TV. That's what we did. It's HD too. I got a sprint mobile broadband that works on my desktop or laptop and I can use it anywhere. No more Cox!
 
I looked at my bill about two months ago.....it was $190 per month. I could not believe it.....so I got rid of everything but the basic service.....$17.00 per month. For internet I to the Verizon cell phone modem.....$59.00 per month and it works great.





My kids are a little pissed but.......if they want 10000000 channels, they can pay for it.
 
Alright, I may be getting a little high strung, but let's not call Cox's Motorola DVR a "Tivo". I know, I know, it's like household names like Coke, Kleenex, etc, but the POS Cox is using is a not a Tivo, but a DVR (Digital video recorder).
 
<p>So dislike Cox....Wish I could get Direct TV but our Irvine Company is colluding with Cox to deny us DSL or the use of a dish. We only get the basics ($17) and live with it. Cox even has an one-time charge for "opening" up the connection in our bedroom. We had AT&T DSL for a while and loved it.</p>

<p>LM, how is the upkeep for the Dish? I heard stories about bad reception during rain. What happends after the initial promotion period? Do you have to pay an equipment rental fee? Just want to know for future reference.</p>

<p>BTW: AT&T is test-market TV service in certain parts of the Country (33 markets I believe). It is supposed to be cheaper and of better quality than Cable.</p>

<p><a href="https://uverse1.att.com/un/launchAMSS.do">uverse1.att.com/un/launchAMSS.do</a>; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-verse">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-verse</a></p>

<p>Verizon is in on the game as well.</p>

<p><a href="http://www22.verizon.com/Content/FiOSTV/">www22.verizon.com/Content/FiOSTV/</a></p>
 
<p>You could just ditch cable. I read of one guy who did just that, then got the Netflix plan and watches all his TV series, 1 year out of sync, with no commercials. It's cheaper too. <a href="http://www.netflix.com">http://www.netflix.com</a></p>

<p> </p>
 
I can answer about the upkeep for the dish, because I used to have one. Now, I'm stuck with lousy cable with less channels for more money. The dish went out exactly once over the 7+ years I had it, for about an hour (reception came and went) - that was in an absolutely major rainstorm. Other than that, it worked fine for me with no issues at all.





Bubblegum - you're right, the Cox DVR is nowhere near as good as TIvo. This thing does a "recording error" every now and then, which messes up my recordings. The on-screen guides and menus are also very, very slow when I'm watching HD channels. Not good enough, but unfortunately I'm addicted to having a DVR





I'm on the notification list for if and when AT&T rolls out its TV service to my part of Irvine. If something happens, I'll let you guys know.





Netflix is also a good approach. I use it all the time to watch TV shows. It's especially helpful to use if you want to see early seasons of a show and then catch up, so you can watch them on TV and not have to wait for them to come to DVD. They also have a "watch it now" feature that's included with your service, where you can watch some movies and TV shows on your computer. Selection is limited, depending on the show/studio.
 
<p>I had Direct TV for several years and had no problems. We have recently moved to a much windier location, and have had nothing but problems. Especially after they recently released many more HD broadcasts. Last Sunday, due to the high Santa Ana winds, the satelite was blown out of alignment (or something). It was going to be a week before Direct TV could send out a technician. So, during the fires, my only contact with the outside world was AM radio. I deceided to switch to Cox cable, as the lines are underground, and probably will be much more reliable. It's true, Cox has fewer channels, much less HD channels, and no XM radio, but lots more reliable, at least for me, personally.</p>
 
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