By Christine Dunn Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — For Charles Read, a retired journalist living in Richmond, his January bill from Cox Communications came with an unpleasant surprise.
“My bill for January jumped from $164.51 to $192.88,” he wrote. “I did not add any additional service.”
He said his services include “basic plus” cable television, internet and telephone. The company’s rationale for his 17-percent price hike, he said, is that “they added all sorts of new services of every nature.”
But, he said, “I believe a $30 increase, without any advance notice, is poor business and unprofessional.”
E r i c W a g n e r , a s p o k e s m a n f o r C o x Communications, said customers received notice of the January price increases in their December bills. The new rates became effective on Jan. 5. Wagner said he could not provide information on the average monthly Cox bill in Rhode Island, but he said customers will see an average 2-percent hike in their bills in January.
He said the increase in Read’s bill “was not related to our current rate action,” but was because his 12-month promotional rate ended, which caused his bill “to go to the retail rate.” Read would not have received notice in December, Wagner said.
According to the Cox website, prices for some cable TV packages are going up, while others have decreased. One new add: a $3.50 a month “Regional Sports Surcharge.”
Monthly prices for Cox’s “high speed internet” (when purchased with an additional service) are also going up, from $32.99 to $34.99 for the starter service, and from $46.99 to $49.99 for “essential” internet service. For all internet customers, the Wi-Fi internet and telephone modem rental cost is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month.
Cox digital telephone costs for “essential” service are increasing from $23.99 to $24.99 a month.
Customers can get more details in the “News From Cox” section of their bills or online at cox.com in the “Bill Messaging Center” of their accounts. Customers with service agreements or price lock guarantees may be protected from immediate increases.
Rhode Island stopped regulating cable prices in 2013, after the Federal Communications Commission determined that there was sufficient competition in the Rhode Island market, according to Thomas Kogut of the state’s Public Utilities Commission. While most of the state has access to Cox and Verizon, Bristol County (Barrington, Bristol and Warren) has access to Cox and Full Channel, he said.
Read, who said he has been a Cox customer for 22 years, has had enough. “I talked to Verizon this week,” he said, and he plans to cancel his Cox connection.