These 10 people were more tenacious than the average wronged customer. When efforts to rectify their problems via customer-service channels failed, they took their grievances to small-claims court. It's a drastic step, for sure, but it paid off. Not only did they get reimbursed for their trouble, they also got the rare satisfaction of winning a fight against a much bigger opponent.
Getting TV stations through the airwaves may seem like an anachronism in the age of streaming video online. But actually, the rise of Hulu and Netflix seems to be helping the rabbit ear industry.
As a rule, consumers don’t like paying for things they don’t enjoy. Even so, despite the widespread consumer desire for an a la carte model, in which pay TV customers could select (and be charged) only for the channels they want, the bundle remains standard. What this means is that pretty much all pay TV [...]
Month after month, hundreds of thousands of cable TV subscribers keep closing their accounts. Roughly a half-million subscriptions were canceled in the second quarter of 2011 alone. Even so, there’s an argument that 2011 isn’t shaping up as “the year of the cord cutter” as originally forecast. A “cord cutter” is generally thought of not [...]
Most consumers like the idea of pay per channel cable TV, in which the customer would select a la carte the channels he actually watches, rather than pay for a bundled service with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of channels that are quickly skipped past with the clicker. Cable providers obviously prefer selling channels in bundles, ensuring [...]
If you live in an area served by Comcast and your kids receive free lunches at school through the National School Lunch Program, you may qualify for a new Internet service from Comcast, which costs just $9.95 a month.
This week’s link roundup also includes simple rules of thumb for buying everything from coffee to a home, and insights as to why personal finance can be as tricky—and messy—as potty training.
At an industry event this week, cable executives laughed off the idea of large-scale “cord cutting,” or that Netflix and Internet video could one day replace their businesses. They also justified high prices charged for cable packages by pointing out that pay TV was one of the last expenses consumers cut back on during the [...]
Guess what happens when regulators don’t restrict cable rates, and when there’s not much legitimate competition in the marketplace? Cable companies jack up the rates. Whodathunkit?
Including links to more than 80 unusual and unusually thrifty gift ideas, along with money lessons from “The Simpsons” and money lessons for irresponsible 20-somethings, smart financial moves to make for the holidays and dumb financial moves that’ll make you fat.
At some point or another, haven’t you ever felt like taking a hammer and bashing the computer of a customer service representative?
