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Senators Blast Comcast, Other Cable Firms For "Unfair Billing Practices" (arstechnica.com)

Posted by timothy on from the government-hates-competition dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Six Democratic US senators [Wednesday] criticized Comcast and other TV and broadband providers for charging erroneous fees, such as cable modem rental fees billed to customers who bought their own modems. The senators have written a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler asking the commission to 'stop unfair billing practices.'.....Last year, more than 30 percent of complaints to the FCC about Internet service and 38 percent of complaints about TV service were about billing...

6 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. Bernie Sanders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    For PRESIDENT 2016.

    1. Re:Bernie Sanders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Yeah... it's time for Comcast to stop taking your money... so lets let some politician who doesn't understand basic economics take our money instead. That'll show those corporate fat cats.

      "I'm With Stupid =>" #FeelTheBern

  2. Very naught, naught boy by houghi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is election time. So they say something that sounds nice to voters. Nothing will change. Even if they put up a bill, it will be changes so much that it will be law to do what they are doing.

    This is great, as they can always blame the other party. Both parties are guilty here.

    Let's be honest,the political game is lost to the companies for a long time now. They are able to fool enough of the people all of the time.

    I mean, even Sanders said that even if he got elected it might already be to late.

    There is a reason for separation between church and state. That is that a certain group might get influence over a majority that might think differently and only that groups interest will be looked at and not that of all. The same must happen with corporations. There must be a separation between business and state (and business and church, but that was covered 2000 years ago). Only then will there be a governement for the people by the people.

    Until then: I do welcome my old business overlords.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    1. Re:Very naught, naught boy by CeasedCaring · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "It is election time. So they say something that sounds nice to voters. Nothing will change."

      The 3 laws of political campaigning:-

      1: Promise EVERYTHING
      2: Deliver NOTHING
      3: Blame the other lot

      and most important of all:-

      0: Don't get caught!

    2. Re:Very naught, naught boy by jmac_the_man · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)...

      None of them are [known] for being shills or fair-weather friends on this sort of thing, and they've proven more than willing to put action and effort behind their words.

      Unfortunately, you're wrong here. All 6 of the Senators you named pushed the FCC ON BEHALF OF COMCAST to have the FCC implement Title II on Comcast's competitors. (Comcast agreed to hinder itself with the Title II restrictions as a condition of their purchase of NBC, then promptly started lobbying to have the restrictions added to the other cable companies as well.)

      The Title II plan, which all 6 of these guys support, ISN'T a pay-to-play ban (and thus isn't Net Neutrality), but instead mandates settlement free peering, something that only megacorps like Comcast can afford to do.

      These guys took action to FURTHER ENTRENCH the Comcast oligopoly. This letter is a scam to pull the wool over your eyes.

  3. Gee... by quintessencesluglord · · Score: 4, Insightful

    funny how "unfair billing practices" is know as fraud when you aren't a corporation.