Time Warner's "Free" Promotion More Like Fee Promotion

Surprises

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?