Is this even legal?

[amastewa93]

Okay.

So, yesterday I got a note on my door from the apartments management company. The message said they'd decided to partner with Spectrum, the largest Wi-Fi and cable provider in the area, to provide the property with Wi-Fi and cable. They said they'd be having a signup party on Saturday. Reading this, I thought it was completely optional.

Well, my fiance went to the office just to be sure (because some of the wording suggested it may be required). It turns out they are upping our rent $79 for these services whether we use them or not.

Obviously if I have to pay for it, I want to use it but this will mean I also have to pay to end my current Wi-Fi contract. Also - my lease didn't have that agreement in it (I'm going to go through it with a fine tooth comb to be sure there are no clauses). Should I HAVE to pay? Is this even legal?

[QuarterMillionMan]

I'm not sure if it is legal or not but does your rent include utilities such as electricity, cable, etc? If your rent does include utilities I believe it is legal to increase the rent by $79 being that it includes the new Spectrum.

[amastewa93]

I'm not sure if it is legal or not but does your rent include utilities such as electricity, cable, etc?.

My lease only had water, sewer and trash removal included when I signed in April.

[msomnipotent]

It really depends on your local laws. Chicago has different laws depending on how many units are in the building, my town has different rules depending on which county you are in. You can try your Attorney General's office first, but have your lease with you. You can also post your question at avvo.com and see what kind of answers you get. The site was very helpful when I had a timeshare dispute.

[Drake3287]

$79.00 for wi-fi and cable? That's a great deal where I live.

[amastewa93]

$79.00 for wi-fi and cable? That's a great deal where I live.

It is a great deal here too. I'm not really upset about that aspect. I'm more upset about the money it'll cost me to cancel my current service. It will also be tacked on to my rent and not a separate bill like it is now (which bothers me).

I also just don't think they should be able to give me four days notice before I'm required to sign up for the service, nor should it be mandatory (especially because it wasn't in my lease).

[~bs]

I feel your pain. This year my association entered a similar bundle deal with spectrum, so it's getting assessed as part of my maintenance fee. Great deal if you watch tv, but not so great if you're like me and haven't had a cable subscription for the last 10 years. I pay for something that I still don't use.

And yes, I think they can do it, probably needed to be voted on by the board. Bundling tv subscription is probably done similarly to how they can bundle plumbing or electric charges for the entire building.

[greenskeeper]

HOA is always a PITA

[amastewa93]

HOA is always a PITA

No kidding! Just an update for everyone - I talked my current provider into letting me out of the contract with no penalty (since I had no control over this). I will, unfortunately, have a crazy internet bill this month paying for both while I'm waiting for Spectrum service to be installed.

I could have fought it if I thought it was worth the time. In NC you're required to sign something to have any changes made to your rent agreement. We had to sign an addendum to the lease that would allow them to add this internet/cable fee in. If I'd refused to sign it they couldn't have forced me to do anything, however, I still have to live here until at least April (and possibly another year lease afterward) so I decided to not cause any further upset in the apartment office regarding this.

So, all in all, the man won this one.

[Gailete]

I would be ticked. We don't pay for cable as we can't afford it. If we had been told our rent was going up that much we would have complained loudly. Around here that is the equivalent of a 10% - 20% price hike in the rent. I suspect that you should have had at least a month's notice of a price increase, not four days as well.

[disneysteve]

No kidding! Just an update for everyone - I talked my current provider into letting me out of the contract with no penalty (since I had no control over this). I will, unfortunately, have a crazy internet bill this month paying for both while I'm waiting for Spectrum service to be installed.

That's a pretty good resolution. You have to pay both bills for one month but then get the benefit of the lower price going forward.

How much were you already paying?