A new study by Consumer Reports finds that at least 25 percent of your monthly cable TV bill is made of sneaky fees, many of which have no actual purpose outside of making your cable provider richer. ADVERTISEMENT The consumer groups study took a closer look at 787 consumer cable bills from 13 top cable providers and found that while the average user paid about $156.71 a month for cable TV, users in reality paid $217.42 a month once fees were added. In other words, about 24 percent of your cable TV bill each month ($37.11) is made up of fees and hidden surcharges.
According to Consumer Reports, cable TV and broadband providers increasingly use hidden fees to advertise one price, then hit consumers with a significantly higher rate once the bill comes due. As a result, the cable industry generates about $450 per year per consumer in fees. "With the proliferation of add-on fees, it's nearly impossible for consumers to find out the full cost of a cable package before they get locked into a contractand cable companies count on this," Consumer Reports Senior Policy Counsel Jonathan Schwantes said in a blog post.
Whats more, many of these fees are designed specifically to mislead in this fashion, the study found. For example, in recent years many cable TV providers began charging whats called a broadcast TV fee, which is simply a part of the cost cable providers pay to license broadcast content, but buried below the line so its not included in the advertised rate.
At&t wants to tax me 3 different "taxes" for renting their modem lmao.
Or rather, they are disguising their own fees as state, city and local taxes.