When Ruby Fabian called Comcast cable for a St. Paul resident senior discount, customer service reps informed her of a few restrictions. They said the 10 percent savings applied to low-income seniors and low-income disabled residents, but not to seniors in general. Fabian is almost 66, and she is neither disabled nor low-income.
The company’s 10-year cable franchise agreement with the city, though, does not apparently require seniors or the disabled to prove they are low-income. The deal was approved by the city council in March.
“We were made aware of this issue by a subscriber recently and have escalated to Comcast,” said Tarek Tomes, chief information officer for St. Paul. The city’s interpretation of the deal is that the discount applies if any of the three criteria (seniors, low-income and with disabilities) are met.
“It is not a combination of the three,” Tomes said.
Several seniors have contacted the Pioneer Press about the discrepancies. The round of complaints is the second in as many months over the Comcast discounts.
Emmett Coleman, a Comcast vice president, said the company is working to ensure that customer agents and the forms they share with customers “appropriately reflect and communicate” the customer discount.
“We offer this senior discount to those who are 65 years or older, regardless of income, and we are further examining our processes,” Coleman said.
After Fabian’s call to Comcast, the customer service representative mailed her a discount form to fill out. The form is marked: “Low Income Discount Affidavit: Seniors or Disability.” Fabian was disappointed to see she’d have to muster proof her adjusted gross annual income totaled less than $17,500.
The form also states, “I understand that I will not be eligible for the discount if I am receiving any promotional offer or my services are incorporated into a digital value package.” Fabian almost gave up.
“It looked to me like I had to be both a senior and low-income, or disabled and low-income,” she said.
Comcast’s contract with St. Paul includes no obvious language that would seem to invalidate additional discounts, such as “bundled” cable, phone and Internet value packages. The city is still reviewing that question.
Tomes said he was not sure how many St. Paul residents had been mailed the same discount application that Fabian received, which may have been crafted for callers from a different city.
The discounts are described on the city’s website at stpaul.gov/cable.
The website states: “You must be a resident of St. Paul and prove that you are one of the following: A senior citizen. Disabled. Economically disadvantaged.” Tomes said the discount program dates back to a previous agreement between Comcast cable and the city, established in 1998.
Dan Kleinberger, a professor emeritus at William Mitchell College of Law and former consumer protection attorney, reviewed the contract language at the request of the Pioneer Press, and he found its intent clear.
On pages 10 and 11 of the contract, the franchise agreement uses the words “and” and “or” interchangeably when it describes the groups that qualify for the discount.
It says the company will offer a 10 percent discount on basic service “for Senior citizens, Persons with disabilities and Persons who are economically disadvantaged.” It goes on to say the same level of discount applies to “other cable services that it offers to Senior citizens, Persons with disabilities or the Economically disadvantaged.”
“I don’t even think the first sentence is ambiguous, but if there were a doubt, the second sentence takes care of it. … Any reasonable person who would read this would say, you are offering a discount to each of these groups,” Kleinberger said.
Given St. Paul’s poverty rates, the cable discount could, in theory, apply to a fourth of the city — nearly 27,000 households. And the senior discount could apply to almost 10 percent of the city, with some overlap between the two groups.
Several customers have also told the Pioneer Press that the cable company’s customer service representatives have also emphasized that the discounts are not available to subscribers who receive special promotional rates because they combine cable, Internet and phone service in a “bundled” package.
“Yes, customers who have bundled packages are ineligible for the discount because the bundled package already is offered at a discounted rate,” Comcast’s Coleman said.
Tomes said the city’s contract with Comcast does not specifically address doubling up on discounts. “We’re actually reviewing that right now,” he said. “There is no language that clarifies that further.”
City officials say they have reminded Comcast of the discount program numerous times.
In mid-July, after the Pioneer Press detailed the recent 10-year franchise agreement between St. Paul and Comcast, seniors in the city reported having problems getting the discounts.
Many St. Paul seniors remain miffed.
“The girl put me on hold for 10 minutes,” Patricia Jerde, age 68, said recently. “She came back and said you can’t get it. I said why? She said, you’re already getting a discount. And you have to have certain equipment in your home.
“That senior discount has been going on for quite a while, and I never knew about it,” Jerde added. “I said, isn’t there something to fill out? And she says, ‘I don’t know.’ She put me on hold again. She came back and read me this great big spree that they’ve got, the rules and regulations.”
After reading through the city’s franchise agreement, Frank Villaume III went to the Comcast store on Ford Parkway in person to get his senior discount, without success.
“I am 69 years old and a Comcast customer since it began service here. I was told I wasn’t eligible because I already receive a discount for bundling cable, phone and Internet,” he said.
Sharon Jonas, 67, said a customer service rep told her he could not give her the store phone number, out of concern for company safety.
“They tell me I have to personally go to the Xfinity store to inquire about the discount,” Jonas said. “I told them I have no car and asked for the phone number for the store, thinking perhaps they could mail me an application. The rep told me ‘because of security reasons’ he could not give that number out. I politely thanked him and hung up.”
Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.
TO GET DISCOUNT
St. Paul’s website devotes a page to the discount program: http://bit.ly/StPaulComcastdiscount. Residents can also call to request a discount application directly from Comcast customer service: 651-222-3333.
WHAT DEAL SAYS
“The company shall offer the greater of a one dollar ($1) per month or ten percent (10%) per month discount on Basic service for Senior citizens, Persons with disabilities and Persons who are economically disadvantaged. The Company shall offer a ten percent (10%) discount on other cable services that it offers to Senior citizens, Persons with disabilities or the Economically disadvantaged.
“… Age may be proven by presentation of a birth certificate, passport or valid, state-issued photo identification card.”
— Cable Communications Franchise, Comcast of St. Paul, Inc. Approved by St. Paul City Council March 11, 2015.
