Time Warner's "Free" Promotion More Like Fee Promotion
from the psych! dept
Cable companies have had a hard time accepting that they might actually have to lower prices to stave off market gains by cheaper DSL services. Even when they drop prices temporarily, it seems they can't quite swallow that idea either. Time Warner divisions in upstate New York offered a promotion for three free months of internet service, and then charged people $5/month anyway after standard rates went up by $5. After an investigation by ubiquitous New York AG Eliot Spitzer, Time Warner will pay civil penalties and refund the fees. Spitzer chalks the case up to "misleading advertising," while Time Warner shrugs it off to the way its divisions worded the offers. What, "Free (Unless Our Rates Go Up) Service" didn't go over well in focus groups?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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