Fine print on ISP contract leave few rights for subscribers

Iria · Apr 6, 2008, 10:23 PM

NEW YORK — What's scary, funny and boring at the same time? It could be a bad horror movie. Or it could be the fine print on your Internet service provider's contract.

Those documents you agree to — usually without reading — ostensibly allow your ISP to watch how you use the Internet, read your e-mail or keep you from visiting sites it deems inappropriate. Some reserve the right to block traffic and, for any reason, cut off a service that many users now find essential.
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Source: USA Today

Tipstaff · Apr 7, 2008, 05:28 AM

This article is so infuriating, because it brings up a lot of bad blood from arguments I've had about ISPs, and the way they run their businesses. Up here the 2 major players are Rogers and Bell, and they both have their faults.

Rogers, for instance, will cut you off for a week if one of 2 things happen: you use their service too much (ie. bandwidth hogging), or it's assumed you are spreading a virus/trojan/malware around their network. The first part has me really pissed, because Rogers offers an extreme download service, but the catch is it has a limit, which is the same as their other speeds. Why offer such a fast service, which cost a premium to use, and have an f'ing cap? So f'ing stupid. As for the second part, believe it or not they can tell you exactly which computer on their network is the one responsible for spreading garbage, however they won't be upfront about it. They just warn you, and cut you off a week later for a week. However, they do know which pc/s is the culprit. The reason for this is because their service acts like a LAN, and they can see every single computer on their network, as well as track and single out one of those computers traffic. If Rogers ever sends you an email, or calls to let you know they are going to cut you off for this very reason, ask them directly which computer it is to save yourself the hassle. If they say they can't tell you, have them prove that you are the one spreading this, and that'll show their hand. Something else about Rogers, and this bullshit that pisses me off, is that they have businesses on their network, big businesses, and they treat them the exact same way. I have a client that has been threatened by Rogers numerous times, and they even blocked them for a week to punish them on more than one occasion. What's so stupid is that after 2 months of fighting with them, us telling them that their business has over 100 computers, that all of them use the AV package supplied to them by Rogers (so if their is a virus then Rogers failed them, and it if anything it was their fault, which I loved saying to them), that Rogers finally admitted they could tell them exactly which computer it was, and they did. Stupid Rogers could have saved us a lot of time, and my client a lot of money.

Bell.. sobs.. they can, at will, change their service agreement, such as download speeds, and caps, at their discretion, and they don't have to tell you. Why? Because it's in the service agreement you agreed to, that's why. That's how vague it is. For instance, at one time they had a download cap, and removed it due to a major uproar by it's customers. Guess what? They re instituted it. The problem I have is two fold: 1) they have the same cap on all their services, even their 16MB line, and 2) their service is not cable based, it's DSL, so the bandwidth issue as their is with cable does not effect them, so why the f'ing cap? Simple: because then they can't charge you $25 more to get unlimited bandwidth, that's why. This cap was, and still is all about money. Why should I get all pissed about this? Simply put, when I signed my 3 year long term contract it was for UNLIMITED bandwidth. You can imagine my surprise when my Internet bill went from $30 a month to $60 2 months straight, and I find it's because I went over their 60GB cap. They literally changed the agreement I signed after I signed it. If it was anything else, like a lease, this would be illegal, but thanks to the their agreement it's not.

blown503 · Apr 7, 2008, 06:04 AM

they should do this with their television service. Ya know too much tele can be bad........

Apr 6, 2008, 10:23 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Fine print on ISP contract leave few rights for subscribers NEW YORK — What's scary, funny and boring at the same time? It could be a bad horror movie. Or it could be the fine print on your Internet service provider's contract. Those documents you agree to — usually without reading — ostensibly allow your ISP to watch how you use the Internet, read your e-mail or keep you from visiting sites it deems inappropriate. Some reserve the right to block traffic and, for any reason, cut off a service that many users now find essential. ______________ Source: USA Today

Apr 7, 2008, 05:28 AM	#2
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 191 System Specs	This article is so infuriating, because it brings up a lot of bad blood from arguments I've had about ISPs, and the way they run their businesses. Up here the 2 major players are Rogers and Bell, and they both have their faults. Rogers, for instance, will cut you off for a week if one of 2 things happen: you use their service too much (ie. bandwidth hogging), or it's assumed you are spreading a virus/trojan/malware around their network. The first part has me really pissed, because Rogers offers an extreme download service, but the catch is it has a limit, which is the same as their other speeds. Why offer such a fast service, which cost a premium to use, and have an f'ing cap? So f'ing stupid. As for the second part, believe it or not they can tell you exactly which computer on their network is the one responsible for spreading garbage, however they won't be upfront about it. They just warn you, and cut you off a week later for a week. However, they do know which pc/s is the culprit. The reason for this is because their service acts like a LAN, and they can see every single computer on their network, as well as track and single out one of those computers traffic. If Rogers ever sends you an email, or calls to let you know they are going to cut you off for this very reason, ask them directly which computer it is to save yourself the hassle. If they say they can't tell you, have them prove that you are the one spreading this, and that'll show their hand. Something else about Rogers, and this bullshit that pisses me off, is that they have businesses on their network, big businesses, and they treat them the exact same way. I have a client that has been threatened by Rogers numerous times, and they even blocked them for a week to punish them on more than one occasion. What's so stupid is that after 2 months of fighting with them, us telling them that their business has over 100 computers, that all of them use the AV package supplied to them by Rogers (so if their is a virus then Rogers failed them, and it if anything it was their fault, which I loved saying to them), that Rogers finally admitted they could tell them exactly which computer it was, and they did. Stupid Rogers could have saved us a lot of time, and my client a lot of money. Bell.. sobs.. they can, at will, change their service agreement, such as download speeds, and caps, at their discretion, and they don't have to tell you. Why? Because it's in the service agreement you agreed to, that's why. That's how vague it is. For instance, at one time they had a download cap, and removed it due to a major uproar by it's customers. Guess what? They re instituted it. The problem I have is two fold: 1) they have the same cap on all their services, even their 16MB line, and 2) their service is not cable based, it's DSL, so the bandwidth issue as their is with cable does not effect them, so why the f'ing cap? Simple: because then they can't charge you $25 more to get unlimited bandwidth, that's why. This cap was, and still is all about money. Why should I get all pissed about this? Simply put, when I signed my 3 year long term contract it was for UNLIMITED bandwidth. You can imagine my surprise when my Internet bill went from $30 a month to $60 2 months straight, and I find it's because I went over their 60GB cap. They literally changed the agreement I signed after I signed it. If it was anything else, like a lease, this would be illegal, but thanks to the their agreement it's not. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick. Last edited by Tipstaff; Apr 7, 2008 at 12:13 PM.

Apr 7, 2008, 06:04 AM	#3
blown503 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: S. Indiana Posts: 573 Rep Power: 0	they should do this with their television service. Ya know too much tele can be bad........ __________________