Dear Editor,
(In response to: ‘Cable franchise fee collection yields $70K surplus,? The Citizen Oct. 30, page 4):
One council member reportedly stated that maybe Charter cable rates were too high for residents, and that there was a $70,000 cable fee surplus. Later, I opened my Charter cable bill that I received in the mail, and found that my rate went from $90.92 per month to $114.26, an increase of almost $24 for TV and internet service. Their telephone response was that my promotional period had ended, and there was no lower rate. Period. The last increase in my bill was a while back, when Charter increased their internet speed and updated their home page. When I called to complain that I (and a lot of their subscribers) don’t need these improvements and updates, I was told I had to pay the higher rate to have TV/internet service at all. That’s it. Take it or leave it – that was their answer. They have a monopoly in this area. There is no competition to keep rates reasonable, especially in this depressed economy. It seems we are captive to whatever they command.
Bob Polanecki