pyroguysr's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A TAXING FEE When you get on Yahoo nowadays, there is a big, spashy banner ad for the Yahoo/SBC DSL Deal. For $14.95 a month(and "bundling other unnamed, unpriced services") you can get that low price for DSL internet service for an unspecified amount of time... however, it doesn't quite work that way. You pay the FULL price for the service, up-front. After 60 days they "rebate" you the difference, which means you'll just apply it to your next months bill. But that's not what caught my eye. What DID was the following line: "You will also be charged a monthly FUSF (Federal Universal Service Fund) cost recovery fee to help cover charges from our data transport supplier pursuant to state and federal telecom regulations. This fee is not a tax or government required charge." So I thought about how it would go if I called the 800 number... THEM: Yahoo/SBC where you can get DSL Service for only $14.95 per month. This is Jarwa, how can I help you? ME: I have a question before we talk about the DSL service. Your company mentions a FUSF on your page and it says it's not a tax... THEM: That's right sir, the Federal Universal Service Fund is a cost-recovery fee... ME: BUT it uses the word FEDERAL. That would imply that the government mandates it. THEM: Yes sir. It's a cost-recovery fee mandated by the government to... ME: So it IS a tax! THEM: No sir, it is not a tax. ME: So it's voluntary? I don't HAVE to pay it if I don't want? THEM: No sir. Its mandatory and a part of your bill and a cost-recovery... ME: Well, if it's mandated by the federal government and isn't voluntary or optional, then it's a tax! Why not call it that? THEM: Sir, it's not a tax. It's a cost-recovery fee... ME: Yeah, yeah. And Clinton raised taxes by calling it "revenue enhancement." What else is tacked into this whole thing? THEM: Well, you bundle our telephone, internet telephone and cable service into this package and... ME: Wait a minute. I don't want those things, I just want the DSL THEM: But to get this price, you have to have all these other services and then pay the full 6 month price for the DSL of $179.70 up front, plus the applicable fees and taxes and agree to a two-year contract. Your total cost per month is a low $79.95 plus applicable fees and taxes. After 60 days, you will be rebated the difference of the full price of the DSL and the special monthly price of $14.95 ME: But I don't want those other services. And I don't want to be locked in for that amount of time. THEM: Then you will have to pay the full cost of the DSL service plus applicable fees and taxes. Do you have cable? ME: I have cable in the apartment but it's not turned on. THEM: You must have current cable service working in order to get Yahoo/SBC DSL service. ME: That's a catch-22 then. I don't want cable, but if I want DSL, I have to get cable which costs $40 more per month! Where's the savings in that? And is that silly FUSF a part of the taxes? THEM: Yes sir, it's one of the applicable fees. ME: But it's not a "fee," it's a tax. It has the word Federal in it. THEM: No sir, it's a fee. ME: Who does the money go to? THEM: The FUSF is a cost recovery fee that... ME: Just a minute... (I search the internet) ME: That Federal Universal Service Fund is the tax that Clinton put in place to make sure unemployed welfare people who sit at home watching cable can afford to get internet service so that they can search for porn faster than me because I can't afford cable OR DSL while saying "it's for the children." I'm still on a little dial-up service that costs me $100 a year. I'd call that a tax. THEM: Well, we are the ones that keep the fee, sir ME: So, it's a federal mandate for you to pick my pocket? THEM: Everybody pays this, sir. ME: Except for the poor, inner city people who can afford cable when I can't. Pay for it out of your profits, not out of my pocket then! THEM: It's designed to close the "information gap," sir. ME: Why can't they close it with $8.00 a month dialup like I do? THEM: I don't have that information, sir. ME: No, of course you don't. I don't think I'm interested. Have a great day! 11:09 a.m. - 2005-07-22 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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