Time Warner Cable Sued Over Internet Modem Lease 'Scam'

[space-time]

several of you have complained about these fees lately. This is FYI:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412196,00.asp

[Speedy]

Why do you hate corporations so much for doing what they are supposed to do: make money?

[SDGuy]

I'm usually wary of class-action lawsuits, but not in this case...

[Speedy]

SDGuy wrote:
I'm usually wary of class-action lawsuits, but not in this case...

Yes, I agree, because they are a minimally regulated monopoly.

[deckeda]

Nothing inherently wrong with charging a rental or lease fee ... but:

1) They aren't saying the fee is for the equipment. They're saying it's to assist with the core cable service.

2) The part about 3rd party modems possibly not being compatible is certainly true but essentially a scare tactic. Comcast for example keeps a reasonably long list of compatible modems posted online.

3) Profit!

[gabester]

Speedy wrote:
Why do you hate corporations so much for doing what they are supposed to do: make money?

Corporations are not actually supposed to necessarily "make money" it's just that profit is the simplest metric by which to judge the short-term success of a company.

However, that's also the undoing of the purpose of measuring profit. Investors seek the greatest return, and they have come to expect increasingly increasing returns. However, gravity appears universal not just to physics but also to finance and as a result, those upward treading curves are just part of an S that levels off or a bell that swoops back down.

The old, reliable, steady linear increases - well, those just didn't bring in enough return to justify the investment. And so companies that used to operate sensible have all turned vampiric and abusive towards their customers, seeking to sap every last penny they can out of them.

I've got nothing against a sensible return. It's blatant usury and monopolistic behavior that I hate.
g=

[Carm]

From what I read, supposed to be to improve the cable network.

They are violating the terms of service and I have purchased a refurb moto modem and am waitin for it to arrive. Nothing integrated, just a basic modem and my wireless router.

J. Carm