Fergie's Tech Blog

Pulling Plug on Internet Service Not Easy

An AP newswire article by John Dunbar, via USA Today, reports that:

Breaking up with your Internet service provider isn't hard to do — but it may cost you.

Customers who subscribe to a high-speed Internet plan may pay $150 or more if they terminate their service before their contract has expired, according to a new survey from Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.

The practice is well known among cellphone providers — early termination fees in that industry run from $150 to $240 per line, according to the group.

The goals of the fees are largely the same — to cut down on "churn," the process of customers dumping one service provider to pursue greener pastures with another.

Jeannine Kenney, a senior policy analyst with the group, said the penalties "deprive consumers of the benefits of competition."

posted by Fergie @ 4/09/2007 10:52:00 AM