Does Cox have Hidden Fees?
Cox is a well-known cable company that has been in the market for many years, and with any company comes the question, does it have hidden fees?
Cox Communications is one of the biggest cable and internet service providers in the United States serving more than six million people in 18 states. In recent years, when a customer subscribes to a Cox service, for example, cable TV, internet, or phone, the initial cost that the customer sees may be relatively low. Yet, it could cost more each month because of various fees that may not be promptly disclosed. Thus, does Cox offer additional facilities but charge extra for them, thereby increasing your electricity tariff? Let's break it down.
What Are Hidden Fees?
The first one is the hidden fees which entail charges that are additional and or surcharges that are levied on a client and which were not disclosed at the onset. They are not so apparent when you register for service with the provider but they may show up on your first or subsequent bills. Some common types of hidden fees with cable/internet providers include:
- Broadcast TV surcharge: This looks at the increasing cost of the available channels such as ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox among others. It would normally be in the range of $10- 15 per month.
- Regional sports fee: Selling sports programs attracts high licensing fees from cable providers to broadcast local sports channels. This cost is typically in the $5-10 range and assists with covering those costs.
- HD technology fee: For leasing equipment like DVRs and receivers at high definition, then this could be an additional $10 or more per month.
- Internet infrastructure fee: This is a very arbitrary fee that is used to sustain the cables, servers, or other provisions for the internet connection.
- Taxes, government fees, and regulatory recovery charges: These often cost more than 20% extra per month, This is bad news for subscribers because it means that the total cost of the package can increase significantly.
Below is a breakdown of the pricing and fees that Cox service charges their clients:
Let me first explain that when you subscribe to Cox bundles or individual services, the initial offers’ base rates appear quite clear-cut. For instance, the minimum and affordable TV packages may range from $30 per month for over 140+ channels of different networks. High-speed packages are advertised from $29.99/month for lower tiers. Similarly, home phone packages start from as little as $10 per month.
But again, it is said that the devil is in the details, and this means that if you read the fine print, then you will find all sorts of changes to your monthly fees that will see you charged more. This has been criticized by many users since they have found out that these services are very pricey, with the real regular prices being much higher.
On top of the various hidden fees described above, Cox tacks on an ugly array of surcharges and costs:
- Breast cancer awareness – $10 Broadcast surcharge – $16
- Regional Sports Fee – $0.87
- Television Equipment Rental – $10
- Internet Equipment Fee – 10
- Voice Equipment Fee – $ 5
- Extra Outlet Fee – $9.99 per additional television point
- Different types of bring-in-to-service, install, service call, and technology visit costs
After all of this however one cannot ignore the fact that that $30 TV package is more like $50+ per month in reality. And there are those pesky recurring fees that keep on increasing your bill every single month. Though all the cable providers employ some additional charges, Cox has been relatively more fond of using fees to boost its revenue.
These fees must be essential, as some observers argue that fees are necessary for certain types of financial transactions or that they are simply profit drivers.
Cable companies have argued that surcharges and additional charges assist in delivering services and programming that consumers desire, as noted by the high satisfaction rates of viewers. It costs money to operate and hence operational costs have to be covered in one way or the other. To cover these costs, it appears more respectable to pass them through individual line-item charges rather than increasing basic subscription rates universally.
However, the critics disagree noting that the number of these additional charges has reached alarming levels. These charges are effectively utilized by Cox and other leading providers as their cash cow. Many different people have estimated that 15 to 25 percent of cable/ISP revenue comes from such fees that are not based on a service being provided. Many firms set their basic price as low as possible as a way of enticing customers, they know that they will recover their costs from ancillary fees.
Worse still, fees keep on increasing at a rate far much higher than the rate of inflation and the value that the consumer in question is getting from the service in question. For instance, Cox raised its Broadcast TV fee from $2.71 in 2015 to over $16 today – over 4.5 times higher in just 7 years. Some of the elements of service costs that have gone up significantly during that period include; Sports fees, internet infrastructure fees, and others have all gone up with no reasonable cause attributed to improvement in service.
This makes many customers get the impression they have been cheated once they are already subscribed or have locked themselves into bundle deals. But heaven help you if you dare to try and stand up to those pesky little surprise charges.
Hidden Fees That You May Accidentally Run Into When Using Cox
While you probably can’t eliminate all extra fees from Cox, here are some tips to help reduce surprise charges on your bill:
- Take time and research ALL the pricing information BEFORE you join them – do not solely depend on the base advertised prices. They should also provide details on all their charges.
- Use cable equipment not rented – do not pay for monthly rent on your cables.
- Limit the usage of cable outlets only to the necessary amount – eliminating unnecessary outlets will also reduce fees.
- Take advantage of the online account tools to compare billing charges with those of other accounts to check for any irregularities each month.
- Dial customer service frequently and ask for free fees if they allow it or tell them that you can change a service provider if they continue increasing fees.
The Takeaway – Read the Fine Print on Fees
Cox gives an impression of reasonable prices for cable television, internet, and telephone services. If your real costs are calculated based on a maze of surcharges, equipment rentals, and hidden costs – your real bill maybe 25-50% higher. It is wise to not only determine the basic price but also, familiarize yourself with other charges and attempt to haggle with the fees in some cases. That way, you will have enough information to determine whether the company’s value matches the company’s fees for your home services.
Ready to upgrade your internet experience? Call us now at +1 844-349-7575 to explore the best Cox Internet plans for your needs!