Secrets of ISP’s: 7 Ways They Charge You Extra

Do you cringe every time you open your internet service billing each month? Do you wonder if the limited services you use from your ISP are really worth the amount of money you are paying for them? Those are common questions of many internet subscribers. Internet service providers have found many ways to charge their customers extra dollars. Here is a list of seven ways that the ISP’s do that.

1. Bundled services – The salesperson will always make it sound like their bundled services packages will save you money, but do they really? If you buy both your internet service and your television and/or telephone services from the same company, they will generally decrease the monthly charges you would pay for these services separately. But why should you have to spend more, by paying for additional services, in order to get these rates? And, why should someone without a computer have to pay a higher rate for their television or telephone services than someone who has a computer? It’s just one of the ways the internet  service providers manage to charge you a little extra. We call it the non-bundled surcharge.
2. Data Caps – ISP’s that impose data caps on their customer’s daily  or monthly data usage and then charge increased fees for going over the data usage over the limit, are recouping many times more than the costs associated with this additional usage.If the ISP imposes data caps, a customer should request a means of tracking their usage be provided as well, so they know when they are reaching their limits and can avoid these charges.
3. Exit Fees – Some ISP’s will charge an exit fee, or cancellation fee. If your ISP claims no setup fees, make sure and check to see if there are any fees that will be charged when you cancel your service with them. Some services have been known to ‘hide’ their signup fees by simply tacking them on the end instead.
4. Equipment rental – If you have internet service through your cable company, they generally will provide you with a modem to connect to. However, that modem often times is being leased to you and remains the property of the cable company. This way they can charge customers a monthly lease fee for the modem and have it paid for many times over. Make sure and also check on charges regarding the delivery or return of your modem to your ISP.
5. Limited time offers – One of the most popular tactics of internet service providers is to offer reduced prices on their services for a limited period. Many people will signup for additional services that appear to be costing them very little or nothing extra at all. However, when the limited time period expires, the rates jump up to the regular rates, and customers are left with the choice of paying the higher bill or eliminating the services that they have grown accustomed to.
6. No internet/No phone – This situation can happen when you have contracted for phone service and internet service through the same provider. Your provider may not allow you to cancel your internet service without also canceling your phone service. This may cause you to keep services longer than you would normally because you do not want to lose or change your phone service.
7. Support Fees – No can, or usually considers, how much it will cost to contact support to resolve issues regarding your internet service. These fees can be much higher than expected, especially with ‘free’ or low-cost internet service providers.

Yes, the internet service providers have found plenty of ways to charge a little extra here and there to bring the profits in. It is always the responsibility of the customer to make sure they research and understand all the possible costs involved with any service they contract to receive. This is true of internet services too.
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