There is a great deal of case-law governing material changes to contracts, in particular: materially ADVERSE changes. Despite what may be in your ISP contract, case law takes precedence. Many changes to pricing, service, etc. offer you the opportunity to refuse the new terms without being penalized by existing terms such as the termination fee. [insert standard IANAL disclaimer here]
You just need to know a few tricks of the customer service phone center game. Do these steps in order, stop whenever you get your way. Note that you must be willing to go all the way.
0) Make sure that the company only has a single payment mechanism on file for your account: a credit card
1) Call the company
2) Slam zero, pound, star, shout "AGENT" a bunch, and throw in a few swear words to trigger the system to send you to a live person ASAP
3) Ask to speak to someone in account management; preferably a retention specialist
4) Mention the materially adverse contract change
5) Tell them you'd like the change not to apply to you
6) Threaten to terminate your account, unless they provide an agreeable alternative offer
7) Refuse termination fees on grounds of materially adverse contract changes
8) Assure he operator that you will issue a chargeback for any such termination fees
9) Authorize cancelation of service
You should also keep a timestamped log of every person you speak to. This includes both their informal name and some kind of unique identifier, such as a phone extension number. Your log should include every material claims/fact you provided them and they provided you, especially specific numbers and identifiers, such as prices/rates, case numbers, and descriptions of processes.
Follow up: After you get your way. Call them right back!! Get someone else on the line and ask them to read to you your case notes. Call operators will lie to you to get you off the phone. Your case isn't resolved into someone totally different reads the case log back to you as you expect it to be. When you call, don't hint to them that you don't trust them. Tell them you got disconnected & ask them to read back the log aloud so that you are both on the same page. You don't want the new operator to be tainted by putting you on hold to go talk to the old operator.
You just need to know a few tricks of the customer service phone center game. Do these steps in order, stop whenever you get your way. Note that you must be willing to go all the way.
0) Make sure that the company only has a single payment mechanism on file for your account: a credit card
1) Call the company
2) Slam zero, pound, star, shout "AGENT" a bunch, and throw in a few swear words to trigger the system to send you to a live person ASAP
3) Ask to speak to someone in account management; preferably a retention specialist
4) Mention the materially adverse contract change
5) Tell them you'd like the change not to apply to you
6) Threaten to terminate your account, unless they provide an agreeable alternative offer
7) Refuse termination fees on grounds of materially adverse contract changes
8) Assure he operator that you will issue a chargeback for any such termination fees
9) Authorize cancelation of service
You should also keep a timestamped log of every person you speak to. This includes both their informal name and some kind of unique identifier, such as a phone extension number. Your log should include every material claims/fact you provided them and they provided you, especially specific numbers and identifiers, such as prices/rates, case numbers, and descriptions of processes.
Follow up: After you get your way. Call them right back!! Get someone else on the line and ask them to read to you your case notes. Call operators will lie to you to get you off the phone. Your case isn't resolved into someone totally different reads the case log back to you as you expect it to be. When you call, don't hint to them that you don't trust them. Tell them you got disconnected & ask them to read back the log aloud so that you are both on the same page. You don't want the new operator to be tainted by putting you on hold to go talk to the old operator.