Everyone, including cable TV companies, has a moral obligation to honour contracts

My recent column on the disappearance of AM radio led to some nostalgic notes from readers but the following addendum generated even more attention:

 “Rogers tries negative option billing again. Have you found your cable TV bill summarily increased mid-contract? The company has decided it wants payment for the second (and more if you have them) digital box and has begun adding that charge to ongoing contracts. Don’t stand for it. Point out that a contract cuts two ways. Demand that the change be reversed.”

Some, like me, have been successful in having this charge removed. Others report being stymied by the company’s customer support people. The reasonable response on the part of Rogers would be to run a blanket reversal on this shameful action – but that’s not happening.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is clear in teaching that everyone has a moral obligation to fulfill their contractual obligations.

“Contracts are subject to commutative justice which regulates exchanges between persons and between institutions in accordance with a strict respect for their rights,” states the Catechism.

“Commutative justice obliges strictly; it requires safeguarding property rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted. Without commutative justice, no other form of justice is possible.”

Due to the long wait times on the phone to get through to customer service and difficult-to-navigate chatbots, only a small percentage of Rogers customers will actually press for these charges to be reversed. That’s money in the bank for Rogers, a fee increase in all but name, without the need to apply to the regulator for approval.

While Rogers was eager to complete its acquisition of Shaw Communications, it’s no big secret the cable TV portion of that purchase is in trouble. Traditional linear TV is a dying business. With many customers canceling their cable TV subscriptions, cable company revenues have been severely impacted. Some of those lost revenues have gone to streaming subscriptions. Some have been recouped by the providers through higher internet service fees.

Customers who carefully read their monthly Rogers statements might have noticed wording about the rental box fee credit being cancelled – in small print, which few people ever read. 

That’s why I highlighted this change in my previous column. 

A contract is between two parties. In my case, Rogers finally backed down after at least an hour on the phone and three levels of customer support. Others have told me they are still arguing. It’s unconscionable what this company has done.

Legally, Rogers has the right to remove a rental credit but this was done in an underhanded way. In some cases, people with telecom contracts may recall that the terms of the contract are read back, requiring “Yes” responses at certain points. I suppose to get really sticky with the company, a customer could demand that their recording be played back! 

An elderly woman who called me up recounted how Rogers added internet service to her account without every asking her. 

She had a TV, with a basic TV cable plan. No computer, no cell phone. They told her the TV box was being discontinued and she needed a new one. Then, without asking, the company added internet service. When she questioned this, she was told it would not add any cost to her existing bill.

Rogers provided this internet service to this elderly woman at no additional costs through credits, amounts that cancel out the new costs but which can be discontinued at any point. Almost surely, my reader will be spending time on the phone a year or so down the road when her bill suddenly shows an increase. She tells me the present bill is $36, rising to $125 when the credits expire.

In my own mother’s case, she was told a similar story over the phone. A Rogers employee showed up at her door and asked if she had been called and told the box was expired. Indeed, she had, she told the technician. He replied that this simply was not true. The existing box was fine and would remain fine, he noted. He said the company tried the same thing with his mother. He left without doing anything.

Here’s the deal with the cable business. People have left cable TV in droves, in part driven away by ever-spiralling monthly rates but also by streaming alternatives. Only sports remains a major draw for cable. Streaming (think Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, and numerous others) has decimated the cable TV business. And streaming isn’t bringing in the advertising or subscription dollars that TV did. 

Something has to give, and cable TV companies are turning to internet fee hikes to offset their losses. 

A glance across the border offers further evidence that the cable television business is in trouble. 

And it’s not only the traditional linear TV programming. The big streamers are also struggling.

Warner Bros.’ Discovery took a write-down of $9 billion on the value of its cable TV business. The next day Paramount Global took a $6 billion valuation cut for its operations. Paramount has been struggling to scale its Paramount+ streaming service. 

Meanwhile, Rogers Communications’ recently released third-quarter financial statements show the company made a profit of $526 million in that three-month period, a reversal from a loss during the same period last year.

The company also spent more than $4 billion to acquire an additional stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, giving it majority control in a stable of sports franchises (Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, Toronto Argonauts).

The company is doing well so there’s no need to feel bad about holding them to their contractual obligations, exactly as the Church teaches they should do. 

In British Columbia, Rogers’ cable TV customer service can be reached by calling 1-888-472-2222 or chatting online at shaw.ca/contact-us. 

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