Cablevision Optimum Online Deceptive Business Practices Bethpage New York

After being a Cablevision/Optimum Online customer for 2 years, and receiving fairly good service, I'm shocked at the deceptive practices they've now engaged in.

Something common among Cable/Internet providers: offer a "promotional" price for a year or so, and then increase the price. All fair game. Yet you'd expect them, as any other company would, to notify you when the promotional pricing is expiring.

For a while, I had been paying about $72 for cable/internet. My most recent bill (as of this morning on 4/21/14) suddenly jumped to $129. After speaking to representatives from Cablevision they explained that this is because the promotional price had expired. They claimed that they had notified me -- supposedly on a bill two months prior, and additionally they claim to have sent a letter.

I had signed up for paperless statements. So all my bills were online. Nothing related to price increases or promos expiring. 

The representative then tells me that the letter would have only been sent physically to my address (despite me having several forms of contact -- phone and email for instance) and thus would not be online. So let me get this straight -- you can send tons and tons of offers to me online (I have well over 20 emails from Optimum offering to give me a landline for an extra $5/month) but you wouldn't send me this MUCH MORE IMPORTANT notification online, even when I specifically request paperless statements. Nevermind that I actually sort through my mail and don't throw out important notifications. The long and short of it is that I never received notification from Cablevision about a price increase.

The representative refused to adjust my bill, and instead offered a paltry $20 discount on TV service going forward.

This is absolutely disgusting behavior by Cablevision, and borderline criminal. I don't doubt for a second that they do everything possible to minimize their customers' knowledge of the price increase. I am dumping their cable service and moving on to Roku with Hulu+ and Netflix. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with them for internet because they're the only game in town. No competition! You can bet that if they had to compete with FIOS, Comcast, RCN or any other provider, they would be much more willing to work with their customers. 

I shouldn't be surprised I suppose. Economics doesn't lie: monopolists screw you over.

STAY AWAY FROM CABLEVISION/OPTIMUM ONLINE if you can. If you have alternatives, take them.