Reader Scoots was paying a promotional rate for Comcast internet. The rate expired and the bill went up to $48. Scoots called Comcast to ask for the old rate back and encountered a “four-square car dealership rip off” of sorts.

Scoots says:

I had a very weird interaction with Comcast this week. Apparently I’m getting a really good deal, so I hope I don’t come off sounding like a jerk. It was just… weird… and apparently can only be explained with an overabundance of ellipses…

My promotional price for internet-only ($35 per mo) expired, and the price went up to $48 per month. I called and asked if there was anything they could do; any new promotions, etc.

The rep couldn’t believe I had been paying that little, and asked if I had one Comcast service or two. I said one. She said in that case, even with the increase I’m still paying less than I “ought to be”. According to her, someone had miscoded my account as having two services (I had two services until about 6 months ago), which had qualified me for the special internet-only rate.

Huh…? Having two services gets me a cheaper deal for one service? Okay…

Then she said that not only are there no internet-only promos cheaper than the increased amount ($48 per mo), but that she was going to “correct the error” so I’d be charged the full amount ($62 per month) beginning today.

I asked, “So, am I being punished for telling the truth?”

“No,” she said, “I’m trying to keep my job. They audit this stuff every week, so they would have caught it anyway.”

“So,” I said, “I’ll be paying $62 a month from now on.”

“Yes,” she said, “but I’ll set you up for a promo price of $39.99 per month for internet-only.”

Umm… thanks, I guess?

Like I said, I’m not complaining about (comparatively) cheap internet. It just felt a little too much like a shell game, or that four square car dealership rip off I read about on your site. They raised my rate by $4 a month, but apparently I should be really happy about my special deal that doesn’t exist.

Make of this what you will…

I think I learned this story in a college class on Zen Buddhism. It’s one of those things you contemplate during meditation, right?

I wonder if your internet is free if you just say, “mu” and hang up.

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