Monday, September 29, 2008

How to contact Comcast?

I have already tried: going to the local office (twice), calling (I don't remember how many times but it was multiple times), using the online chat.  None of those mechanisms work.  I would love to mail them a real letter because I've heard advice that this would give me better legal protection than phone calls or online chat.  But guess what: Comcast's Conctact Us web page gives 6 ways to contact Comcast but none of them is a physical mailing address.  The bill that they sent me doesn't include a mailing address than then one for mailing payments (there's also an address of the local office which I guess I could use to send a letter to).  So, my guess is that Comcast also thinks that mail would give their customers a better legal standing and they intentionally do not provide it.

Instead of mailing a letter, I tried something else.  The same Contact Us page has a way to send feedback to Rick Germano.  Who is Rick Germano?  Here's what the Six Ways to Get Help page says:
"Hi, I’m Rick Germano, head of Customer Operations at Comcast."  Here's a picture of Rick:
He looks like a nice fellow, so I thought that it was worth a try.  Here's the letter I wrote to Rick:



My account number with Comcast is XXXXXXXXXX.  On 5/29/2008 I visited the Comcast office at 1400 Terra Bella Ste D, Mountain View, CA 94043.  I returned my equipment and requested to cancel all my services (I would be happy to email or fax a copy of that receipt of the equipment return).  In the following months, Comcast has been billing me for services I no longer receive and for rental of equipment I no longer have.  Whenever I receive a new monthly bill I am contacting the customer service.  I was first calling Comcast and I visited the same office where I originally returned the equipment.  More recently I have been using the online chat on the Comcast web site to have some kind of record of talking to your customer service.  I used the chat on 7/25/2008 with Melinda (chat id 28370746), on 8/25/2008 with Brenda (chat id 29465037), on 9/23/2008 with Marco and on 9/25/2008 with Zhenaida.  Both Melinda and Brenda acknowledged that this a problem with the Comcast records and they both said that they will make sure that I will stop receiving future bills and they both said that I would receive a refund of $142.29 in 4-6 weeks.  Not only I haven't received any refund but I still keep getting bills from you.  The most recent one arrived today and adds false charges for 9/23/2008-10/22/2008 to what it assumes I already owe.  The other two analysts I talked to (Marco and Zhenaida) were not able to help me because "the program we use to access your account information is currently being upgraded to serve you better".

The situation is completely ridiculous.  Please fix this problem immediately and send me a confirmation that this issue has been resolved and send me my refund.  My address is:
XXXXXXXXXXX
Palo Alto, CA 94303

Sincerely,
Michal Cierniak


I sent this letter on the evening of 9/27/2008 and immediately got this automated response:


From: Comcast ECARE
Subject: Thank You for Contacting Rick Germano! Your Message Has Been Received (XXXXXX)
To: cierniakmail-XXXXX@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008, 10:32 PM

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your
experience with Comcast.  Your feedback will assist us in our efforts to
continually improve the Customer experience.   To respond as quickly as
possible, I have asked members of my leadership team to join me in 
addressing all "Ask Rick" messages.

Thank you for being a Comcast Customer.

Regards,

Rick Germano,
Senior Vice President of Customer Operations

This is an auto reply message letting you know that we've received your
e mail, so please do not reply to this message


No response yet but I'm hopeful that Rick or his staff will be able to help me.

54 comments:

Anonymous said...

Call customer service and ask for the address for there legal department. Tell them you need an address to provide to the process servers. I would mail your letter there attn: office of the general counsel. :)

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Did you ever get your refund? I've been going through this same issue with Comcast since May 2007. Turns out they issued the refund to my old address and someone intercepted and was able to cash it. Even though this is Fraud, Comcast has refused to investigate, refused to give me my refund, even after I filed a police report on the incident. I know that they are thinking I will eventually just give up and drop the issue, but the mere principal of how badly they have treated me throughout this process and how many times I have been lied to makes it impossible for me to drop the issue.

Michał Cierniak said...

Yes, I eventually got my refund! It took a long time, a lot of my effort and some costs (driving to many places, mailing letters and of course the opportunity cost) but I got my money in the end.

Even more than losing money, I was afraid that Comcast would start a collection process and tar my credit history but as far as I can tell, this didn't happen.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm having a problem with Comcast billing too. I also tried phone call and live chat, I talked to 4 persons.. and at the end they only transferred me to the customer service who couldn't stop yelling at me since the first time she picked up, although I didn't yell at her at all and tried my best to stay calm. It was a quite traumatizing experience. I emailed Rick too earlier today, haven't received his response. Did you ever get a response from him? Did he (or his team) really put efforts in resolving your issues? I read other people's post that mentioned they got his response back. So I'm really counting on his "hotline".. because I'm really hurt by the way this customer service was treating me... I really wish around my area there could be other service providers other than Comcast...

Michał Cierniak said...

Michelle,
My experience with Comcast was pretty bad too, so I really feel for you. I hope that someone at Comcast will fix your problem and apologize.

As to your question: I got eventually a response from Rick's office but it was only after I wrote my blog, and I'm not sure how quickly they would have gotten to me if I didn't have a blog.

If you are a twitter user, I recommend contacting @ComcastCares. This seems to be the most responsive part of Comcast's customer service.

Anonymous said...

Just so that the world has the info, I am glad to post it here. And shame on them for letting him hide behind the shield of email. I found him after long, long research.

Rick Germano
Senior Vice President Customer Operations
Comcast Corporation
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102-2100

This is DIRECTLY from his own Spoke.com profile and I'm writing a very unfriendly letter today!

http://www.spoke.com/info/p2zk5UD/RickGermano

Glad to be of service!

Anonymous said...

Just thought I'd add some positive. I'm no Comcast fan, far from it.

However, when I had an issue similar to yours, Michael, in the summer of 2008, I contacted Rick's office with my documentation of the issue. Within 7 days of writing, the issue was resolved successfully.

Last month, my son was jumping through hoops with Comcast on an issue and kept being told his request was impossible to grant (he was divorcing and wanted to keep his phone number but since the acct was originally joint, they would not let him have the number on his single account because it was too involved-- you know, like someone had to actually punch in 10 numbers somewhere). I wrote to Rick's office on my son's behalf and in 24 hours he had his number on his single acct.

Comcast is too big and has really cruddy customer service all too often. However, I've spoken with many installers who are just the greatest people and some are even embarrassed to have to say they work for Comcast. The heart of the issue is the customer.... and as long as they have them, they won't have to fret being shoddy in the customer care department.

LightShifter said...

I think it's time we stopped trying to get billing problems resolved by Comcast and start talking to our state and federal agencies to look into their "billing errors".

Comcast appears to be purposefully over-billin g people in the hope that most won't bother pursuing getting the over-billing corrected. I believe their billing "errors" are intentional. Mine have been ongoing for months.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Dale said...

I'm going through a similar problem now. I canceled back in February, and continue to get billed each month. It's over $500 now. I called the Clark Howard show people and they suggested that I google around and find a VP to email. Ask them to stop this. And also, CC the billing address. I'm also going to send the letters certified.

Dale said...

And I agree with Dan. That will be my next step if this doesn't get resolved. And believe me, everybody i know is hearing about this.

Anonymous said...

It is no surprise that Comcast's Customer Service for the second straight year came in at No. 2 in the Customer Service Hall of Shame maintained by MSN.com

[url]http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/the-customer-service-hall-of-shame-2009.aspx[/url]

Anonymous said...

PLEASE HELP!
I live in an area where the only high speed option is Comcast. I have had billing problems and other issues over the years but nothing like this.
My wife and I recently built a new home and called Comcast on June 9th to get service run to the house for high speed internet. I just did the email Rick thing to see if that helps. I have called them consistently since June 9th (18 calls). Some people say it will be handled right away others can't find the account and transfer me around. Long story short it has been nearly 2 months and I still have not had service connected. My last call 20 minutes ago the guy could not find my account all together.

Anonymous said...

I just had my round tonite with comcast I suggest everyone flood the BBB in your area as well as consumer affairs!

Anonymous said...

Please be aware that Comcast has started "slamming" or adding charges to customers bills without their knowledge. I found 2 charges for technician visits that never happened, as well as 5 different charges in the past 6 months for $5.99 - charges that I was told I would be getting billed for, and that were added to my bill because I had called and talked to a person.

That sounds as bad as what the airline industry is trying to do.

ALSO - Comcast has a franchise agreement with the communities they operate in that allows them to also collect a few dollars each month to support local programming. In my communities case, this allows a local perpetually drunk mother to tape her children cleaning the garage. I "opted out" of this program 5 years ago. Comcast "reset" everyones preferences and arbitrarily started charging ALL customers for this local channel in August 2009 - and said nothing to it's customers. And now refuses to refund the fees, unless I can come up with the now 5 year old piece of paper in which I opted out of the program.

Anonymous said...

Edit: lol - in the first paragraph that should read "charges I was NOT told I would be getting billed for"

Anonymous said...

The fun continues to this day. In their email response, they said, "Thank you for taking the time to reach us. I hope you are doing fine. I understand you need the mailing address where you can send your billing concern."

And promptly sent me to my local office.

danielle.royster said...

Contacting customer support at Comcast is like pulling teeth. I was a long time and loyal customer and I never felt like I was getting the support that I needed. Soon after I became fed up, I began working at DISH which gave me the opportunity to subscribe to their service. I love it and I can't believe that it took me so long to switch over. I haven't had an issue with it and if I do call it, it's definitely not to complain. I invite everyone to come to DISH and explore the endless possibilities!

*Danielle

Anonymous said...

I have just changed my name and been able to change it on every account I have by mail EXCEPT for Comcast. Their lovely customer NO service email told me I had go to the local office. I even replied and said I could not get to their local office during business hours. They replied with their business hours and said they would be happy to help me there during that time. What a pain.

myrabs said...

I am having the most frustrating Comcast issue ever. My inbox just randomly gets wiped. You never know when or why, you just log in and it is gone. This has been going on for over one year, and I have gotten absolutely no response from Comcast. They just write tickets and never respond. Their website is useless, you just go round and round in circles with them and their Regional Operations Center doesn't even respond within their "24" hour time frame. I HATE THIS COMPANY

LightShifter said...

Why not just create a GMAIL or YAHOO account and forward everything there. I never use the Comcast email and haven't since I got it.

Anonymous said...

Why not just create a GMAIL or YAHOO account and forward everything there. I never use the Comcast email and haven't since I got it.

Anonymous said...

I am so livid with comcast! I paid $458 dollars for 2.5 months of servcice....the reception was so bad, the audio would cut off along with the internet EVERYNIGHT... I would could everyday, and they would reset and say, well everything is okay, turns out that the technician never checked the cables outside and inside our new residence.... there were places that the cable were soo old they had 3 open wounds where you can see the sopper wiring! Insode the house the cable coaxial/adapter prong thingy was all RUSTED out so bad... I HAD TO TAKE PICTURE AND MAKE A VIDEO OF IT..I have called literally everyday to no avail... is there a number at corporate to call? any advice? I am in California....

Michał Cierniak said...

Hi Shanna,
I've had a lot of problems talking to Comcast. I think that the best way at the end was contacting Bill Gerth on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/comcastcares Even if you don't use Twitter, it could be worth signing up to be able to reach out to him.

The Intuitive Diva said...

thank you for sharing this information. they are trying to claim that my spouse owes money from a 2006 account. at the time they said that you could get an account if you moved from what county to another. they are claiming we owe for disconnected service and for non return of equipment. they are ridiculous and i will be filing a BBB complaint.

Anonymous said...

Mike, Thank you for posting the mailing address for Rick Germano. My father passed away in July and my 85 year old mother is trying to switch the billing name from his name to her name. They have told her she needs to come into their office (which is about an hour away from her home) and provide his death certificate as well as bank statements, etc. proof she can pay. This is crazy. No other utility company is making her jump thru hoops just to try and continue to pay her bills. So thanks for the info, I'll be sending Mr. Germano a letter today.

Anonymous said...

I recently found out that Comcast has been billing me for an extra phone line for the past 2 years. I never would have noticed it and I bet there are many many more people that are being overcharged the same way. Here is how they do it! BusClass Voice charge includes 1 phone line. Then there is an charge for each additional line. But then 2 years ago they added a charge for "basic line" charge. They did the same thing to my neighbor but they found out after a year. And Good Luck getting a refund! Nobody has the authority to do that. Go figure!
Sue from MN

nowax said...

Spent 67 minutes on hold with customer service today. Never talked to a live person. They have slammed me with upgrades to an account for the second time. HATE Comcast. Always have.

Anonymous said...

Will someone please post a mailing address for Comcast, we can't find it anywhere, and it seems to be some big secret........I am very unhappy with their lack of customer service..........!!!!

annonamous and can not spell-LOL said...

Comcast
http://www.comcast.com/
Headquarters
1701 JFK Blvd
Comcast Center
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Telephone: (215) 286-1700 or (215) 665-1700
Toll free: (800) 266-2278/ (800)-Comcast
Fax: (215) 981-7790

Chas1 said...

I have never in 50 years been treated with such disrespect as Comcast. We must unite to do something. The BBB for their corporation is Eastern PA. We need to complain consistently and often. After phoning, chatting, emailing, writing to the corporate HQ and 2 BBB complaints over the course of 6 weeks, they had a call center clerk (who didn't even know his report chain) call and ask ME to tell HIM what the problem was. I was so offended. I am now attempting to write ALL the members of the board. Who up there is minding the store? Comcast problems, UNITE! Complain through BBB today!

C DiBenedetto said...

I completely agree! They have a hold on all of us because in most places they seem to be the only provider around. I have contacted them four times over charges that they received through Bill Pay (automatic) which they deny and which I have proof from the Bank that they received. I faxed them the documents twice. Apparently, I'm not "allowed" to speak to anyone in A/R. I finally got so fed up, I made them let me talk to the supervisor who, of course, assured me that it would be taken care of. It has not. And now when I call, if I try and get to a customer service rep, the phone disconnects. I truly feel like they have put a block on my phone line so I can no longer get through. They are the WORST company and full of fraud.

Anonymous said...

I am so frustrated. I am just looking for an address to MAIL MY BILL!!! HELP!

SurveyTool said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Anyone interested in supplying information for a class action suit against Comcast...with what they feel is a legitimate case of anything related to manipulation in presentation of service plan information (promos, discounts, bundling, etc.)....should make sure they have a current mailing address filed with their account. If no longer a customer, please return to this site (this will be posted, repeatedly, in various places), research other Comcast topic blogs, and/or seek information online via google, etc.

Anonymous said...

Inadequate responses by Comcast to complaints related to deceptive sales practices and account manipulations should also be supplied as information/action related to a class action suit.

Anonymous said...

Please be aware that a last ditch effort to get help about problems with Comcast, via a person on a twitter account, is a clue that this company has made every effort to be unavailable for its customers. The customer service folks who answer the phones are the catch-22; they will take customers in circles. It is best to seek service from another company and, if you have the time and patience to benefit from the effort, keep to the ground in getting on board with a class action suit.

RA said...

Comcast just gave me the runaround for 45 mins and put me on hold numerous times where I was disconnected. This is a horrible company. My last request was to be transferred to someone who would end my service and yet again I was disconnected.

Anonymous said...

The lie! They lie! THEY LIE!!! I've had nothing but trouble regarding the " motorola converter" problem. I responded by email before the Oct 17 2012 deadline. Comcast QUIT providing service on Oct 25 BUT you couldn't contact them (phone, Internet, etc.). I FINALLY made contact after turning them over to the BBB of Washington and Greater PA area (home office is in Philadelphia). EMAIL from the office of Rick Geramo said someone would call in 24-72 hours. DIDN'T HAPPEN!! I finally got hold of a "tech" on Saturday night 10/27/2012 and was told my new converter shipped on 10/26/2012 and would arrive " next week". Tonight (Friday 11/2/2012) I called because I still haven't we received the new converter and was told that I HAD NEVER ORDERED ONE!!! But they would be "glad " to take my order. So much for ticket # ESL00746457 that they can't identify. COMCAST LIES!!! Direct TV or DISH network here I come! Oh, by the way, I have been a cable subscriber for 33 years!!! So much for loyalty.

Anonymous said...

I have been trying since Sept. 18th to get a billing/payment issue cleared up with them! I have had 2 payments taken from my bank account, but not credited to my Comcast account. Almost $200 just floating around somewhere. These payments show up on my bank statements which I have faxed in 5 different times and taken to my local office twice! I've called umpteen times and talked to some of the rudest people on the face of the planet. I told one of them I worked in customer service at a call center and we had the ability to issue credits, give gift cards, give free shipping, etc. to make our customers happy. The "supervisor" I was on the phone with said in the most sarcastic tone possible "Yeah.... I'm sure that company is doing really well" and I immediately snapped back "Yes, yes they are. Its a little company called J Crew. Maybe you've heard of them!" I finally got on a chat with someone in Rick Germano's office (so they say) and they are going to give me a call back within an hour. We'll see...

Anonymous said...

In 2009 Dan said...
I think it's time we stopped trying to get billing problems resolved by Comcast and start talking to our state and federal agencies to look into their "billing errors".

Comcast appears to be purposefully over-billing people in the hope that most won't bother pursuing getting the over-billing corrected. I believe their billing "errors" are intentional. Mine have been ongoing for months.

Here it is 2013 and Comcast continues to over bill or double bill their customers.

Anonymous said...

I had my 4 day round with Comcast after 16 phone calls, on line chat, multiple transfers and finally visiting the local office I am still working to resolve my issue of being double charged. They claim they can't see the charges but I explained I can clearly see it on my bank statement. After multiple reasons as to why they can't help me I found someone who was able to "put a ticket in" to help me resolve my issue. The lack of communication and inconsistency is insane with this company-- It's like the employees are working with blinders on and clearly NO One is getting the same message regarding their policies and ability to support their customers.it took them two seconds to take my money in error, yet, it seems impossible to get my money back without tons of unnecessary time- Especially when it was not my error! Their getting paid yet I'm doing all of the work! With the High Cost for service they charge you would think we could at least get what we paid for "Customer Service"---- I agree someone needs to start looking into the Comcast's processes- their are some major consumer issues!

Happy1962 said...

I work for a global service provider in the mobile business based in Europe. I have found in general that the level of servive is fairly good, however the resulting overall experience accessability of resource or content to resolve an issue or interaction is not. You can write too, or serve legal documents on any public or private organization via thier registered company address. You can find the company information including address by visiting the US Securities and Exchange Commission. They are available at http://sec.gov. I hope this helps someone else.

Unknown said...

we_can_help@cable.comcast.com is the email address I used to get resolution to my $66 credit request which I tried to resolve with comcast via phone, online support, and local office. I asked comcast for an emial address but did not get one. Got this from www.definiteanswers.com/q/How-do-I-​contact-the-Comcast

Colleen said...

I had all kinds of issues with a recent Triple Play installation. Calling customer service is extremely trying so I emailed my issues to we_can_help@cable.comcast.com. Within 2 hours I receive a call. He was very helpful and set up a technician to come to my house at no charge to fix everything. In fact, the tech's supervisor came too to ensure all went well. I was very happy with the customer service I received.

Joe Brown said...

I would be hAPPY TO JOIN any clASS action lAWSUIT agAINST cOMCast AND IT'S affilliATES. pLEase send instructions AS TO HOW

deaconblue9038 said...

Here ya go, the info you complained was non-existent, found it in WikiAnswers. I've used the Legal Demands Center info to get two years archived phone records, so I know it's accurate. Need anything else lemme know and, I'll spend another 30 seconds getting it for you!
Legal Demands Center - Data:
650 Centerton Road
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Hours of Operation:
8:30AM - 5:00PM Eastern Time
Telephone: (856) 317-7272
Service of Process Fax: (856) 317-7319

Legal Demands Center - Voice and Video:
5800 S Quebec Street
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Hours of Operation:
8:00AM - 5:00PM Mountain Time
Monday - Friday
Telephone: (800) 871-6298
Service of Process Fax: (720) 267-2794

karen said...

I am a pissed customer of comcast I recently moved into a house an chose comcast as the provider bad decision they sent a contractor out to hook up the cable and he blew out my tv and when I talked to the contrators supervisor Author Carol he stated to me that he said he blew the tv out now they claim none of it was said they said that its the wiring but my tv was working perfectly fine when the man came it was on an all the other electronics on this same unit is working accept my tv now I have talked to supervisors I have talked to corporate office and this has been going on for a month now and they still refuse to fix my tv any advice on what to do

Anonymous said...

I finally convinced my husband to go back to comcast after leaving them for direct TV.Had lots of problems before with their installers.After waiting for an install appointment the tech shows up and advises he needs a second box and cannot move my second tv to install a second box( With direct tv there was no second box).This after I advised there were 2 TV's when I booked the appointment.Here is the kicker the tech DISCONNECTED direct TV and they will not come back and fix it because "it is not their problem".This after being on hold for an hour ,getting a suprvisor who hung up on me because I said I thought they had legal liability.The supervisor actually has no boss-evidently its just Josh #34141 and employee Daniel 58120 running the whole show!

Michelle S. said...

Comcast is horrible and should be sued for all the hell they put people through. A fraudelent account was opened with my social and I have been trying to resolve this over the phone for 4 days only to be "transferred" (hung up on) and anyone else who does listen says they have no idea whats going on. I dont know what to do. Any advice? Oh and they've been over charging me EVERY month for modems I dont have or movies I didnt order and noone ill reimburse me. I have spoke with multiple supervisors and get no where....HELP!

Unknown said...

I have never in 10 years had (good) or even fair service from Comcast ... the new hidden fees on my bill show how unethical these criminals are !! They sell me a bundle, but charge extra for the equipment you have to have to run it ??? What a crock !! Then they give me a free .. boost ... and start charging for it a month later, which by the way never worked to begin with !! If there is a class action out there I want to know along with thousands of others. They say I have a contract with them because I agreed to a change in my box ??? No I would never have agreed to it under those circumstances.

Anonymous said...

COMCAST IS A BIG HUGE RIP-OFF.
I ASKED FOR HBO ONLY ! I WAS GIVEN A "BUNDLED PACKAGE" AND MY BILL WENT FROM 89.99 A MONTH TO 207.00.
HBO IS ONLY 10.00 EXTRA A MONTH, WHICH CLEARLY DOESN'T ADD UP TO 207.00. I CALL BACK AND COMPLAIN AND WAS LED TO BELIEVE BY THE INFAMOUS "SOLUTIONS DEPT" REGARDING BILLING ISSUES, TO WHICH I WAS APOLOGIZED TO AND TOLD WHAT MY BILL WOULD NOW BE 123.00 A MONTH. WRONG! I GET MY BILL 207.00,HHHHMMMMM, CALL BACK AND WAS INFORMED I WAS BEING CHARGED FOR CHANGING MY PACKAGE, WTF! I DIDN'T ASK FOR ANYTHING BUT HBO. O.K, THEN I FIND OUT I WAS DOUBLED BILLED. INCOMP. F-ING ASS - - - - -

Karen R. said...

Good Luck in getting ANYTHING resolved with Comcast. I've recently filed a complaint with the BBB for False Advertisement and Fraudulent Billing Practices. Trying to get anything resolved via Customer Service is a joke, and e-mailing We_can_help@cable.comcast.com is also a joke.Crystal Haywood that works, and I use that word loosely, has been of no help to me whatsoever. I e-mailed Tom Karinshak, Senior VP this morning, you can find this contact on the Comcast My Account Page. We'll see if this gets me anywhere. I encourage everyone to file complaints with the BBB. My opinion, Comcast has no Customer Service, they don't care what you think and they don't want to hear about it. My bill has been wrong ever since I signed up with Comcast, it's not what I was quoted. A tech came to my home, picked up a bad box, left me a box that is not DVR Compatible and only has 60 channels instead of the 80 that I am paying for. Comcast informs they can have a tech come to my home and bring me another box, but I will be charged a service fee. This is a pretty good scam Comcast has going on. They come to your home, give you the wrong equipment, then charge you to correct the problem, that they caused. I'll post the outcome of my contact to Tom Karinshak, who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Anonymous said...

I have an issue with Comcast in Indiana. They bill me and then the following month the bill is 10 days sooner than the last months bill. The next month it's 5 days sooner. In short I'm paying for 30 days of service but my next due date is sooner than the last. When I call customer service I'm told it's confusing, and that it involves the billing cycle. Well I'm not confused at all, math is math, and 30 days should be 30 days. Since its an oligopoly, they have their customers over a barrel. Those days are numbered however!