If you don’t read the fine print, particularly in ads from cable companies, you could get snookered.

Example 1:

Cox advertised high speed Internet for only $19.99 per month for two years.

*MOUSE PRINT:

When you clickthrough, you realize that you have to buy cable TV service for an unstated price, but if you only want Internet service, it is $10 higher — $29.99 but only for three months.

Why couldn’t Cox simply advertise in the first place: “Buy cable TV service, get high speed Internet for only $19.99/mo for two years” ?

Example 2:

The promotion of triple plays (TV, Internet, and telephone) is common among cable companies so one always seems to try to outdo the other. Here’s a deal from Charter: HDTV, Internet and Phone for only $29.99 a month. Wow, sign me up.

*MOUSE PRINT:

If you look carefully, in tiny print, you can see the word “each.” So the real price is $89.97 a month. Word has it that Comcast in the recent past had a similar ad that conveyed the impression to some people that you got all three services for only $29.99 a month.

Example 3:

It is common to see triple plays advertised for $99, but during special promotions you can sometimes find even lower prices. Just last week, Verizon FiOS advertised a really low price — $69.95 for all three services.

When MrConsumer clicked through, he discovered there was no such price.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The lowest price shown was $79.99, and the $69.99 was nowhere to be found. Now it is possible that the $69 price was only for certain parts of the country, but there was no fine print in the original ad suggesting that.

The bottom line is that these companies should play it straight. Tell the consumer what the real offer is upfront, without having to resort to fine print or trickery.

Disclosure: MrConsumer is a member of Verizon’s Consumer Advisory Board.

Last fall, the FCC issued an order allowing local cable companies to scramble or encrypt basic channels like the major broadcast networks and local TV stations. This means that every TV in your home will need to have a cable box, even if you have a brand new flat screen HDTV that currently is capable of displaying those stations in high definition without a box.

MrConsumer, for example, has small HDTVs in his office, kitchen, and guest room all of which just have the cable connected to them without a set-top box. And they all get a beautiful high definition picture thanks to the sets having a built-in QAM tuner. He doesn’t get cable channels like CNN on them, just local stations and the major broadcast networks. That’s fine, because these are secondary televisions.

Starting on April 10, 2013, however, according to a letter from MrConsumer’s cable company, RCN, they are going to encrypt these local and network stations. And MrConsumer’s HDTVs will become expensive paperweights.

FCC’s rules provide temporary relief, however.

*MOUSE PRINT

All digital cable companies that wish to encyrpt their basic channels must:

“(i) offer to existing subscribers who subscribe only to the basic service tier and do not use a set-top box or CableCARD, the subscriber’s choice of a set-top box or CableCARD on up to two television sets without charge for two years from the date of encryption; (ii) offer existing subscribers who subscribe to a level of service above “basic only” but use an additional television set to access only the basic service tier without the use of a set-top box or CableCARD at the time of encryption, the subscriber’s choice of a set-top box or CableCARD on one television set without charge for one year from the date of encryption; ” -FCC MB Docket No. 11-169

Nowhere in the FCC order do they state what type of box must be provided free for one or two years to customers. And that is where cable companies can try to weasel out of providing a high definition box free to customers with high definition televisions.

Case in point is RCN, which buries in its FAQs this important detail.

*MOUSE PRINT

“A customer subscribing to LIMITED Basic or higher level of service receiving RCN Limited Basic service on a secondary TV without RCN-supplied equipment is entitled to one standard definition box for one year.” [emphasis added]

A standard definition box by definition filters out the HD signal, so customers receiving those boxes will no longer be able to display a high definition picture on their HD sets.

MrConsumer contacted RCN and asked for and received a promise to be given an HD box free for one year. And, a subsequent discussion with an RCN executive also revealed that the company would in fact provide either a free SD (standard defintion) box or HD box to all customers. You just need to know to ask since their website does not disclose this option.

For other cable company customers, your turn to do deal with the problem is coming soon. You could be faced with receiving only an SD box for your HDTV, or having to rent an HD box for about $10 a month forever for every HDTV you own.

Of course, there is always the option of going back to rabbit ears.

Thanks, FCC.

About a week ago, Best Buy announced that as of March 3, it will make permanent the price matching policy that it introduced last fall for the holiday shopping season.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Online or In Store: Find a Lower Price and We’ll Match It

If you find a lower price on a qualifying product at a local retail competitor’s store or a designated major online retailer, we will match the price.

At the time of purchase, we will match the current pre-tax price for new, identical, immediately available products from a local retail competitor’s store and these designated major online retailers: Amazon.com, Apple.com, Bhphotovideo.com, Buy.com, Crutchfield.com, Dell.com, Frys.com, hhgregg.com, HP.com, HomeDepot.com, Lowes.com, Newegg.com, OfficeDepot.com, OfficeMax.com, Sears.com, Staples.com, Target.com, TigerDirect.com and Walmart.com. We will match prices between our stores and BestBuy.com ®. We will also match prices post purchase if we lower our price within 15 days of your purchase.

The Guarantee is limited to one price match per identical item, per guest and does not apply to: Contract mobile phone devices and plans, the online prices of retailers not listed, the online prices of third party vendors (Marketplace vendors) on designated major online retailers websites, post purchase price match requests to competitor’s prices,

Best Buy for Business™, offers that include financing, gift card offers, bundling of items, free items, pricing errors, mail-in offers, coupon offers, competitors’ service prices, items that are advertised as limited-quantity, out of stock, open-box, clearance, refurbished/used items, our and our competitor’s Deal of the Day, daily deals, special hour sale event items and credit card offers, BestBuy.com Clearance & More and Marketplace items, and items for sale Thanksgiving Day through the Monday after Thanksgiving.

The new policy unfortunately continues to exclude some of the best sales (limited quantity, “deal of the day,” etc.) and best sale days (Black Friday through CyberMonday), and limits online price matches to 19 specific stores only. That is better than most stores which don’t match any Internet prices. And, now Best Buy will also match prices for accessories which were excluded previously.

Another change that does not benefit the customer is making the low price guarantee primarily a “before purchase” price match plan. In other words, while they would previously match prices either before or after the sale, now they will only match competitors’ prices at the time of your purchase. After the sale, they will only give you back the difference if Best Buy itself lowers the price, but only within 15 days of purchase.

Why for only 15 days? Because that is the little surprise that wasn’t disclosed in Best Buy’s press release.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Effective March 3, Best Buy’s return policy is being reduced from 30 days to just 15 days for most customers.

Mouse Print* asked Best Buy’s PR department why they were reducing the return period to just 15 days when most competitors’ policies are longer than that, and whether they thought that offering a price guarantee was a fair trade for cutting the number of return days.

“Overall, our updated return and exchange policy is still generous. Best Buy does not charge restocking fees, regardless of the item. Two of our major competitors charge 15 percent restocking fees on all or some consumer electronics products. We expect the impact to our customers to be minimal. The vast majority of our customers already make returns within 15 days of the purchase. In addition, customers have told us that price is more important that return and exchange period.” –Best Buy External Affairs

Just imagine the shocked look on customers’ faces when they try to return a purchase to Best Buy between day 16 and day 30.

The ad seemed too good to be true: Buy a new-fangled GE Geospring Hybrid Water Heater for $999, and get back a $750 cash rebate, plus a $300 federal tax credit:

Surely, this neighborhood appliance store is hiding something critical like you have to buy a furnace too.

*MOUSE PRINT:

None!

Well, there is a ton of paperwork and fine print (like what type of heater it must replace, and where you are putting it), but the offer as stated is valid in Massachusetts through participating utility companies. And similar but not always as generous rebates are available in other states too.

Utility companies across the country are trying to promote the installation of energy efficient appliances, and providing rebates for that purpose is a big incentive for consumers. The federal government also has a $300 tax credit for an actual dollar-for-dollar reduction in your federal tax bill when you install certain energy efficient products. (You are only allowed up to $500 in these federal tax credits, so if you have already used them up on say energy efficient windows, you cannot get an additional credit for these water heaters.)

To see what rebate, if any, applies to the purchase of a super energy efficient water heater, use this lookup from GE. It will tell you how much you can qualify for both in state and federal programs.

These programs are not limited to GE brand super efficient water heaters, so do compare features of other brands. Because this type of water heater uses principles of a heat pump, GE says it can save you $325 a year. Are the savings claims true? Consumer Reports tested an older model a few years ago, and did find significant energy savings year after year. You can do your own calculation here based on local electric rates to see what your savings might be. Here is general information about this heater.

Remember, of course, that you will have to pay for installation by a licensed plumber. And, the $999 sale price for the GE hot water heater appears to end on February 20.

The moral of the story: if an offer sounds too good to be true, on rare occasion, it may be the deal of a lifetime.

In October, a new wireless Internet service popped onto the scene, promising up to 500 megabytes of free 4G data each month, and even a free modem to pull down their service if you paid a fully refundable security deposit of $49 – $89. (See c|net story.)

Two months later, the Internet is buzzing with a variety of troubling complaints.

1. Some users are saying that the company is rounding up data usage to the nearest whole megabyte, when the terms and conditions state they will round up to only the nearest tenth. This might greatly increase usage for checking email every 10 minutes, for example, and could result in overage charges.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“At the end of each broadband session we will calculate your broadband data usage rounded up to the nearest 0.1 megabyte. “

The company denies that it is rounding up data usage. However, their spokesperson admitted to Mouse Print*, “We round on site for display purposes.” After suggesting to the company that this practice could very easily give their customers the impression they are being overcharged, the spokesperson conceded, “that could result in perception we’re overcharging so I’ve raised expanding out a couple decimal places for greater accuracy.”

2. The “fully refundable security deposit” may not be fully refundable. According to some complaints, the company keeps changing its terms and conditions.

The August 2012 terms which were in effect when many people signed up in early October stated:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Brief translation: they will refund your money within 90 days after returning the equipment, but they will subtract any money you owe above the free data allowance. They also say if you breach their agreement, they owe you nothing.

Complainants say the company changed the agreement [which the company grants itself the right to do], now imposing a variety of additional conditions and limitations on the “full refund.”

*MOUSE PRINT:

“LEASED EQUIPMENT

From time-to-time, FreedomPop may permit you to lease Equipment from FreedomPop instead of purchasing it. In such case, we may require you to pay a deposit when you place your order for leased Equipment. If we collect a deposit from you and you terminate your subscription to the Broadband Service (or we terminate your subscription other than for your breach of these Terms), we will refund the deposit (less any amounts that you owe to us) to your registered payment method within 90 days after the date on which you return the Equipment to us, on condition that: (a) FreedomPop is still actively providing the same Equipment to users of the Broadband Service; (b) you (or we) terminate your subscription to the Broadband Service within 1 year of the start date of your subscription; and (c) you return all Equipment to us (at your expense) within 30 days of the date on which either: (i) you notify us that you wish to terminate your subscription to the Broadband Service; or (ii) we notify you that we are terminating your subscription to the Broadband Service. For the avoidance of doubt, if we terminate your subscription to the Broadband Service as a result of your breach of these Terms, including without limitation, your use of the Site or Services in a manner not permitted by these Terms, in which case you will, to the extent permitted by applicable law, be deemed to have forfeited your deposit. When returning your Equipment and as a condition of receiving any deposit refund to which you are entitled, you must follow the Equipment Return Procedures below.

To the extent you are entitled to a refund of your deposit, we will deduct from your deposit refund all amounts owed and unpaid for any Services and for any Equipment you return that is damaged due to neglect, misuse, liquid damage or non-standard wear and tear. You will not receive a refund of your deposit if you do not meet all the refund conditions specified in the previous paragraph. Shipping and handling charges are not refundable. Restocking fees may apply. Any amounts withheld by us from your deposit become the property of FreedomPop to use as it wishes. If applicable law requires us to handle deposits, or any other matter relating to Equipment, differently than described in these Terms, we will adjust our procedures accordingly to ensure that we comply with applicable law.” — Nov. 13, 2012 terms [highlighting added]

In short, now they say they will only refund your security deposit within one year and only if they are still issuing the same equipment. They also added a restocking fee.

FreedomPop’s spokesperson defended the company’s actions:

“we do not “continually” update the T&C’s but have updated them two times since launch. … deposits cause a ballooning liability that could bankrupt [the]company … 2, 3 or 10 years from now we can’t get inundated with millions of dollars of refunds and more importantly we don’t carry some $10 million liability on books forever … [with respect to adding a restocking fee:] we have real costs associated with returns from our logistics partner – we can’t eat those.”

The company also said that it is applying the changes only to customers who signed up after the changes were implemented. However, some complaints seem to suggest that the restocking fee was being applied to them despite signing up early for the devices.

3. Some consumers say they decided to contact their credit card company and dispute the equipment deposit because they were having difficulty getting a refund.

FreedomPop, in its latest terms statement (as well as the original) addresses how and where disputes must be filed:

*MOUSE PRINT:

DISPUTED CHARGES

If you think that there has been an error in any charge associated with your FreedomPop Account, you must notify us within 30 days after the date on which the disputed amount has been charged to the your registered payment method. You must submit your payment dispute notification through our online Support feature and one of our advisors will investigate your claim. If you do not notify us within 30 days, and unless otherwise provided by applicable law, you hereby waive any right to dispute the charge in the future, including in arbitration or a court proceeding. If we determine in our sole discretion that the disputed charge was incorrectly charged and was raised by you in a timely manner, we will credit or refund the amount to you. If we credit or refund the disputed charge, you hereby agree that to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the dispute is fully and finally resolved and not subject to further proceedings.

CREDIT CARD CHARGEBACKS

If we have charged your registered payment method for a charge that we deem is authorized and valid under these Terms, and your credit card company or other payment provider subsequently withholds or revokes such payment to us because the charge has been disputed by you (a “Chargeback”), we reserve the right to suspend your access to the affected Services until the Chargeback is reversed or in the case of a billing dispute, the billing dispute is resolved as set forth in these Terms.

Brief translation: Customers have to file all disputes with the company within 30 days, or lose any other dispute rights, including even arbitration. And if you file a credit card dispute, the company reserves the right to turn off your service. Ho, ho, ho.

Some people have been very happy with the service, while some other complaints are surfacing. Amongst the not very happy customers are some who pre-ordered a FreedomPop sleeve for their iPhone last April, but still have not received it. On the other hand, some people report that other types of modems are being delivered by FEDEX within a day or two.

For an inside look at the good and bad, read the comments posted on the company’s Facebook page, and the nearly 100 pages of posts in Slickdeals.