After seeing our recent Hawaiian Telephone bill, I decided to check exactly what we’re being charged for and whether there are ways to whittle down the services and the monthly bill.
Hawaiian Tel is our internet provider, and we also have a landline phone, for some legacy reason.
So I went online, clicked on the link for “Manage My Account,” and logged in. It displayed a page showing our account number, service address, and in large print, the current balance, due December 9.
A series of links with separate drop down windows display the services associated with our account. But none show prices.
So I tried a different approach. This time I clicked a link for “Billing”. Here I was able to select and view one of several recent monthly invoices.
I selected the most recent. It itemizes in great detail 15 different taxes and surcharges, and a dozen or so additional charges along with one discount. But the bulk of the bill comes in a lump sum for “Bundled services” with no itemized pricing that would allow a customer to consider whether each of those currently bundled services is worth the monthly cost.
I searched around and eventually found where I could submit a question. The fine print indicated an answer would be received within 48 hours.
I submitted a comment and a question. The comment was simple: “It is impossible to find information on your website about each of the services we have and their costs. That makes it difficult for a consumer.”
And then I asked a question about how much could be saved by shaving off part or all of the telephone service.
That was on over two weeks ago, November 5.
Yesterday, November 21, I received a brief emailed reply, which acknowledged that a detailed breakdown of prices isn’t provided to customers.
If you look on our website, under Home Phone, drop down, select Calling Plans, the monthly fees can be found there, however you promotion price is not listed. And your bundled price does not break it down on your bill, so the best way , would be to call our office for review.
Last time I checked, home telephone and internet services are regulated by the state. Shouldn’t there be a rate card routinely available indicating all the currently available service plans, regular or promotional, with itemized costs where appropriate showing services that could be disaggregated and either added or discontinued? Is that really too much to ask?
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In 2018, when I signed up for a Hawaiian Telcom bundle that included internet, TV, and home phone, I was told I was guaranteed a particular monthly charge, inclusive of all taxes and fees, for THREE YEARS. Since then I have had to call them three times about increases of all kinds, including package price, taxes and fees. They always give me another deal when I complain but maybe most people don’t speak up and that is what they are counting on.
The last time this happened was a few weeks ago, and in the convo with HT rep I did ascertain that deleting TV from our bundle would save us around $25 per month. We decided to keep it because we can’t get all local channels OTA or streaming where we live.
Agreed! PUC like all State Agencies useless!
Oceanic (now Spectrum) did the same thing: “you were on a special plan that expired….let’s see what else I can find for you.” I ask others about their bills and am appalled at how much some pay w/o question. This brand of consumer bullying is happening everywhere because there are not enough choices for the discerning.
I think some industries are best nationalized. Perhaps this is one. Medicine surely is. However, alternately maybe each community should just have a public option for telecom. I have a tough time imagining the state of Hawaii managing a functional option, but surely it is possible in some sense.