Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Qworst wants to save you money!
I got yet another letter in the mail yesterday from Qworst (Otherwise known as Qwest-your not so friendly local communications monoply). The letter was offering me special savings if I signed up for a yearly agreement with them. I called the number and a clueless girl answered the phone who was trying to get me to switch to Qwest with MSN (YUCK!!!). I now use a local service that I like very much, thank you.
The even more interesting part of this whole thing is the scam behind the deal. Qworst sells a 1.5mb DSL connection for $28.00 a month at the regular price. They wanted to sell me a 2 year agreement for only $22.00 a month-a savings of $6.00 a month. Here is the deal:
Save $6.00 a month = $72.00 a year or $144.00 for two years.
Here’s where it gets sticky! If you should decide to disconnect early interesting things happen! There is a fee of $200.00 for an early disconnect. So you could conceivably pay $200.00 to save $144.00. Sound like a good deal to you? Not to me! It’s just a marketing scam to trick you into locking yourself into their service! Either way they get to rip you off!
Some things to think about:
1. What will the technology be in two years? Most likely faster and cheaper. You lose!
2. Will the costs go down in two years and leave you holding the (expensive) bag? Most likely! You lose again!
3. Will getting the special rate actually save you money? This sometimes happens as the special rate requires “bundling” of services, some of which you will never use, but have to pay for to get the special rate. You lose again!
4. What happens if something happens? You lose your job and can’t pay the bill and have to turn off the phone. Congratulations! You owe Qworst an extra $200.00 (do not pass go!) and get nothing for it. ...and again!
Kinda makes you not want to do it doesn’t it?
Leave a comment or two!