Does your cable Internet provider charge an early termination fee?

Several providers — including cable giant Comcast — assured us that they did not impose early termination fees, which we reported as part of our blog item.

So imagine our surprise when someone sent us a copy of a recent Comcast memo to a county official in Virginia about a looming rate increase, which, way down at the end, in a footnote, contained the following:

“Two year term agreement required. $150 early termination fee applies if any service is cancelled or downgraded during the 2 year period.”

Now That You Mention It, We Do Charge Early Termination Penalties… by Bob, hearusnow.org, at 04/18/07 01:15 PM

How could that be?

Bob inquired further:

We called Comcast and talked to spokesperson Jenni Moyer, the same person who had told us last week the company didn’t impose early termination fees.

She explained the early termination fee referred to in the memo only applies to customers signing up for Comcast’s so-called “Triple Play,” which is a bundle of phone, Internet and cable television service.

She then said that while certain local Comcast systems (in this case the Spotsylvania County in Virginia) do impose the early termination fees on their Triple Play bundles, the company generally sells its services on a month-by-month basis — with no long-term contract requirements or early termination penalties.

Best to check the fine print when you sign up.

If there was competition, companies that did this might lose customers. As it is, the only place most customers can go is to the telco ISP, and a duopoly isn’t a real market.

-jsq