internet essentials unwanted price/speed increase

@ComputerJunkie Yeah, I just noticed the price increase too. At first, I only saw the increase in Mbps in a text message they sent me, and it didn't mention the price hike. I was thinking, "Wow, Xfinity is looking out for their customers by increasing the Mbps. That was nice of them." I spoke too soon! 😂😂

Hi 4xzifr, I understand. I not elderly yet, but I am on disability, no partner, no family, no friends to help me on my expenses. I know some who have some help here and there, but when you are truly on your own, things can get quite difficult on low-fixed income. And everything is going up, not just the ones I mentioned before, so it is daunting when you cannot go out and get a job, 2nd job, get overtime...

I don't have cable, I don't go to movies, I don't go on vacations, and the list goes on. Some people do not understand what it's like to have to go to food pantries, 2nd hand shops and so on. Yet for all the lowered prices, sometimes still cannot get what you need, let alone what you want. I still have to budget for EVERYTHING. I get it.

@user_44p7c4​ Spoken like a true well-off person who feels those of us in dire straights sit pretty with all the handouts and should be grateful for any scrap we manage to catch. I was a working stiff and ended up with health issues which turned my life completely upside down. I quit cable 15 years ago and have been fine with OTA and online. I also would not have a cell phone if it wasn't for the ACP. And your point? Maybe since $5/month is not much to you, you would be willing to comp the $5 on my bill for me every month? That's only $60/year, right?

For your information, I was paying full price for years and always writing Tom and getting a new contract set up that the CSR's were unauthorized to hand me. It started out at $19.99/mo, then $5-$6 more a year until it hit $40/month, which I did until I literally couldn't. They did not once tell me about this program to avoid dealing with me anymore. Out of desperation, I learned about it on my own, stopped service for 4 months and then got onto the Essentials plan so I could continue affording it.

And as bad as I have it, I know of some who have it much worse than I do and I hope I never end up that far down, as my situation is bad enough. Just remember, you could be having the best day of your life and 5 minutes from now calamity hits so badly that you can never recover.

These are not spoiled, lazy, rich brats. These are human beings, some of which used to be on top of their world, like myself, who has had quite the misfortune in life to bring them down to new lows. It would behoove you to put yourself in some of our shoes and find a little understanding and compassion. Didn't your mother ever teach you that if you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all?  Or before judging to walk a mile in someone else's shoes? If she didn't, shame on her and if she did, shame on you.

An elderly neighbor of mine never got the E-mail, either. I forwarded my e-mail to her and she was happy to get it because she was not expecting the raise. Maybe check your account settings to make sure which e-mail notifications you are/are not receiving. I am unsure if that is the reason or if it was a glitch.

But if you check the 2nd message above, it gives the changes for January.

Greetings, @user_cnlhnf! Thanks so much for taking a moment out of your busy day to leave a post on our community forum about this rate adjustment. You have definitely come to the right place for assistance.

I understand this increase was not one we were hoping to see in 2025. This was actually the first price increase ever implemented on Internet Essentials since the program was launched in 2011. The price has remained steady at $9.95 for the last 13 years, even though the download speed was increased over the years from 1.5 Mbps to 75 Mbps, unlimited data was added, and access to more than 23 million Xfinity WiFi hotspots was also added to the service.

I'm sorry to hear you did not receive the notification email. There should have been a full announcement and explanation included in your November 2024 billing statement. If your account is on paperless billing, or you no longer have a copy of your November bill, you can always view a full PDF of any bill from the last two years by logging in to your account online or through the Xfinity app. Here is a link on how to find and view your bills in PDF format online https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/viewing-your-bill-online-ecobill

Please let me know if you have any questions or need assistance with anything else. Our amazing forum community is always ready to help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.