Internet

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Dish Network: 3 Months Free (But Not the Ones You Think)

Disn NetworkConsumers are used to seeing offers of a number of free or discounted months of service when they switch cable companies. So it is not unusual that Dish Network, a satellite television provider, is offering three free months of service as an inducement to choose their company.

In the graphic, there is some virtually unreadable type.

*MOUSE PRINT: It says “with 24 month commitment”. Okay, so the company requires a two year contract, which certainly is uncommon in the conventional cable television industry. It sounds more like a cell contract than a cable TV contract, but if that is the way they choose to operate, that is their decision.

Only when you dig deeper into their website, however, do you learn the additional terms of the three months free offer.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Dish Network

So if you assumed your first three months of service would be free, you assumed wrong. The free months are spread throughout your two year contract.

Elsewhere on the website you will learn there are a dizzing number of options and additional fees, so it is difficult to tell how much your bill will really total on a monthly basis. But, in a rare demonstration of the company’s ability to be candid when it chooses to, they provide a sample bill  which indicates you will be charged for two months of service on your first bill, not just one (and a variety of other oddball fees, as one commenter notes below).

Thanks to Mouse Print* reader Rob for pointing out the unusual staggering of the free months bonus. If you find examples of surprising fine print, please send them along to edgar(at symbol)mouseprint.org .

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Sunshine Guaranteed: Or Your Trip is Free?

Sunshine guaranteePriceline is making an intriguing offer for travelers this summer — guaranteed sunshine!  “If your vacation is rained out, it’s free!”

Of course, the devil is in the details:

*MOUSE PRINT:

1. You must buy a vacation (hotel, airfare), not just airfare.

2. Sunshine is not guaranteed. If it is cloudy every day, no refund is due.

3. The big string is the amount of rain necessary to trigger a full refund: it must rain at least 1/2 inch for at least half the days of your trip. For a five day trip, it has to rain on three of the days. For an eight day trip, it has to rain on four of the days. Again, at least 1/2 inch of rain on EACH of the rainy days is required.

How likely is it that you will have so many days of heavy rain on your vacation?  Of course, it depends on the location you choose (only US destinations qualify). Checking to see how much actual rain different cities get per day, suggests you are unlikely to ever trigger a refund under Priceline’s guarantee. For example, in June 2008, in the Seattle area — a region known for being wet — there was more than a half inch of rain only on one day that month. [See chart]

In Ft. Lauderdale in June, it was quite rainy. But in a stretch of 10 days when it rained every day, only two non-consecutive days qualified. [See chart]

On the positive side, Priceline’s “no rain” guarantee is free. And your refund will be automatic if your trip meets the bad weather criteria it has set.

Bottomline: don’t count on a free trip.

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

How a $1 Ticket Becomes a $6.75 Ticket

A local Boston television program promoted an outdoor rib fest where chefs from around the country let you taste their version of barbeque ribs, chicken, etc. The price for admission to the event was $5 to $10 at the door (not including food), but discounts were offered at various locations and online.

In fact, if you bought tickets online, the price was only a dollar weekdays.

bbq

Note the absence of any fine print. However, when you go to buy the ticket, two surprises await.

*MOUSE PRINT: [click graphic for larger format]

bbq

Service fee of $3.00?  Shipping fee of $2.75?  A shipping fee when you print the tickets on your own printer? How could they advertise tickets for $1 when the actual price was nearly seven times that?

The CEO of the event responded to MOUSE PRINT* by saying, in part:

This is being fixed to $8 total for two online tix (everyone buys at least two). This was our arrangement per contract.

[Other places to buy tickets for less than $5 listed]

My company pays for the printing of the tickets and all costs associated with Will Call, which are significant for a 65 hour event.

My company does the best we can to give Phans as many options to get tickets as possible, especially since a lot would rather buy online for convenience and to avoid paying for gas.
 

While not particularly apologetic for charging a $2.75 shipping fee to print tickets on your own printer, the response Mouse Print* received subsequently from the actual ticketing service provider left no doubt that the home ticket printing charge was intentional:

Thank you for your e-mail. We can understand your concerns.

Ticket buyers who choose print at home tickets enjoy the convenience that this option offers and the easy and anytime-access to their tickets minimizing the potential loss of physical tickets by the carrier. The fee covers the technology and personnel required to make this option available at all. The fact that you use your own printer and paper is not factored in the $2.75 print at home fee.

Our fees reflect the percentage charges of the total amount we incur from the credit card company to charge/credit your account when you place the order. They also reflect the costs associated with providing online ticket sales. We cannot refund these fees if the show is cancelled or postponed as per the user agreement on the ticketing web page. — Musictoday, LLC

It appears that the ribs are not the only thing that could be burned at this event.