"From $40/month" is false advertising

General discussions and other topics.
10 posts Page 1 of 1
by frasers » Wed Sep 27, 2017 3:21 pm
I haven't fully read through the forum posts here but I have to say the "From $40/month (plus taxes/fees)" for gigabit fiber is false advertising. There is no way to get $40/month as far as I can tell. You are forced to rent a modem for $10/month OR lose the promo discount of $10 and your rate goes to $50/month. And you are also forced to have a "phone" line.

So the minimum amount you can pay is $50, not $40. And even then that's a promo price, not a real price, so also mis-leading.

I've been a Sonic customer for years and have been very happy with the company and the service but this marketing is BS.

Justin
San Francisco
by dragonsclaw » Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:06 am
You ignored the word From.
Welcome to the world where everything has extra, not really optional, charges.
Airlines, Cell Service, Vehicle service, Paint, Freon....
Since most people only look at the big print: ($40) or teaser rate that expires,
Sonic is forced to use the same in their adverts.
YOU bothered to do your homework and figured the actual cost.

Sonic still offers the best bang for the buck on top of EXCELLENT service.
I now have sonic X2 service for less $ (includes all fees and taxes) than Basic phone (no LD) and DSL from Earthlink
I have Nationwide calling, CID and other features, and fairly fast DSL (~3x earthstinks and I had to buy my modem)

Yep, I would love Rent to Own on the Modem
by ClearContrast » Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:12 pm
We switched to Sonic a few years back after getting sick of Comcast's lack of customer service, dropped service, and general business practices. Sonic's service only dropped twice. Once it was a router that was quickly replaced and once recently for an unknown reason. Service was back up the same day. We were excited when we got fiber. We want to use a local company that cares about their customers privacy.

However having trucks going around saying $40 when your bill, for the basic advertised product, is actually $79.41 is upsetting. I'm in agreement with Justin that that is BS. Of course everyone knows there will be extra fees but double the price is BS.
by ankh » Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:19 am
Yeah, guys, I'm an old, old customer, quite loyal, have talked up Sonic to neighbors for years and we have several Sonic customers on my block (and other neighbors who come and ask about Sonic every time their Comcast account gets stuck in the mud).

But you know what? When I tell them sonic is, as Justin wrote, "saying $40 when your bill, for the basic advertised product, is actually $79.41" the reaction is negative.

People say "how can you trust Sonic if they don't even advertise the actual basic price?"

And -- hey, what can I say? There's one dinosaur in Sonic's marketing department who lies about it?
And holds the company prisoner so they can't correct the misstatement?
Dane, if it's you, I'm really sorry.
If it's not you, please find out who's insisting on this.

I want to be able to tell my neighbors Sonic is trustworthy -- about everything.
by miken » Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:04 pm
ankh wrote:People say "how can you trust Sonic if they don't even advertise the actual basic price?"
Advertising the monthly total with taxes and fees is impossible due to taxes changing based on city and fees changing based on what equipment is needed for the available service. "From 40/mo + Taxes and Fees" is the most accurate we can get until we have an address to calculate what taxes and fees would be involved.

That being said, once we have an address and service type available our representatives (or website if you are signing up online) provide more detailed information about the pricing.
Mike N.
Development Trainer
Sonic
by danielg4 » Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:42 pm
The equipment fees do not really change, other than FTTN vs. non-FTTN…
by amayfield » Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:57 pm
Fusion ADSL2+, Fusion VDSL / Fusion Fiber / Fusion X2, FTTN, FTTN x2 and Small Business Fusion / Business Fiber all have different equipment rental fees.
Andrew M.
Community & Escalations Manager
Sonic
by jimmy_123 » Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:41 am
AT&T offers AT&T Internet 50 service bundled with a $50 AT&T Visa Reward Card for $40 per month.

Aside from "it's AT&T" and we all know that AT&T is a PITA to deal with, I can't see why this isn't a superior deal to the (all in) $65/mo that I'm currently paying for 20Mb FTTN with bundled IP phone which I don't need and can't un-bundle.

Below is the fine print. Can someone walk me through the value proposition and tell me why Sonic is superior again?







Geographic and service restrictions apply to AT&T Internet services. Call or go to att.com to see if you qualify.

INTERNET OFFERS REQUIRE 12 MONTH AGREEMENT. New approved residential customers only. Prorated ETF ($180) and Equipment Non-Return fees apply. Credit restrictions apply.

1YR INTERNET OFFER: Price after bill credit for new residential customers. After 12 months, then prevailing monthly rate applies unless canceled by customer before end of promo period. Up to $99 installation fee applies.

INTERNET SVC: AT&T Internet, formerly known as AT&T U-verse, is high speed internet provided over an advanced digital network.

†Unlimited data allowance may also be purchased separately for an add’l $30/mo., or maintain a bundle of TV & Internet on a combined bill and receive Unlimited Internet data ($30 value) at no add’l charge. For more info, go to http://www.att.com/internet-usage

Internet speed claims represent maximum network svc capability speeds. Actual customer speeds may vary & are not guaranteed. Actual speeds vary based on factors including site traffic, content provider server capacity, internal network management factors and device capabilities and the use of certain other AT&T services. Max speeds may not be realized if 2 or more HD shows viewed at same time. For more, go to att.com/speed101 and att.com/broadbandinfo.

$50 AT&T Visa Reward Card for purchase of qualifying High Speed Internet online at att.com. Reward Card: Will be sent letter with redemption requirements. Redemption req’d. w/in 75 days from reward notification mail date. Reward Card delivered within 3-4 weeks after redemption to customers who maintain qualifying service from installation date and through reward fulfillment. Card expires at month-end 6 mos after issuance. No cash access. For cardholder agreement, go to rewardcenter.att.com/myreward/agreementFSV.pdf. AT&T Reward Card issued by U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Ends 12/31/17.

All offers: Offers may not be combined with other promotional offers on the same services, and may be modified or discontinued at any time without notice. Other conditions apply to all offers.

©2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo, and all other AT&T marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


https://www.att.com/bundles/save.html?o ... PID=552179
by derek » Wed Nov 15, 2017 11:51 am
jimmy_123 wrote:AT&T offers AT&T Internet 50 service bundled with a $50 AT&T Visa Reward Card for $40 per month.
Is the total actually $40/mo on the bill?
by sysops » Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:16 pm
jimmy_123 wrote:AT&T offers AT&T Internet 50 service bundled with a $50 AT&T Visa Reward Card for $40 per month.

Aside from "it's AT&T" and we all know that AT&T is a PITA to deal with, I can't see why this isn't a superior deal to the (all in) $65/mo that I'm currently paying for 20Mb FTTN with bundled IP phone which I don't need and can't un-bundle.

Below is the fine print. Can someone walk me through the value proposition and tell me why Sonic is superior again?
There's a lot more fine print than just that. Aside from the 150GB cap for the DSL service with large overage fees, you're agreeing to ATT's universal privacy policy. Here are the full terms.

Of particular interest is the section about tracking but pretty much each section is an enigma and while they say they do sell your information for all kinds of things, they don't describe in most all cases how they obtain it. Particularly concerning is how they say they they or their partners may use anonymous aggregate information collected from use on their products. Is ATT using packet inspection to read cookies from your daily internet use? They don't say if they do or don't but their terms would bind you to agreeing to allow them to do so.

Each section of the policy itself is a bit concerning in name and title alone:

"The Information We Collect, How We Collect It, And How We Use It". Sonic only collects your name and address and only use it for accounting purposes. The ATT policy states that (whether they do or not) you allow them to collect "Web Browsing & Mobile Application Information such as IP addresses, URLs, data transmission rates and delays. We also learn about the pages you visit, the time you spend, the links or advertisements you see and follow, the search terms you enter, how often you open an application, how long you spend using the app and other similar information."

Information Sharing. Sonic doesn't share your information.

Online Activity Tracking and Advertising. Sonic doesn't do it.

Location Information Sonic doesn't collect or use.

Aggregate and Anonymous Information Sonic doesn't collect or use.

External Marketing & Analytics Reports None of this from Sonic.

Online Privacy Policy for Children Since Sonic doesn't do any of the above, nothing applies differently for you or children using your connection.

The policy is long, broad, and at times confusing and leaves a lot of open questions which you won't get an answer to.

If that's all too much to handle, go with Sonic.

Even when you have Sonic's resold ATT service, ATT doesn't know your name or contact info. All they know is they provide service to your address and Sonic's agreement with them doesn't permit data sharing or bulk analytics or collection like their policy does.
Proud Sonic customer since 1999. Ask me about internet privacy, VPN, anonymity and security.
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