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by flowerlad 1852 days ago
I called to cancel. I was offered $14/month promotion, and then after I agreed to the deal and gave them credit card they said I will be charged $14 every 4 weeks. I said agreed to $14/month, that's not the same as $14 every 4 weeks, because $14/month is $168 per year, but $14 every 4 weeks is $182.49 per year. They said they will charge $14 every 4 weeks, and I decided to cancel because of their scammy offer.
2 comments

For years, every AT&T and Comcast salesperson I talked with quoted me megabytes per second instead of megabits per second.

They would insist that they were right if I ever asked them to clarify the units of measurement. One time the salesperson was so sure that he was right that he conferenced in a tech support person…who informed him they did not sell megabytes/second, only megabits. The salesperson was very confused.

I no longer even bother asking anymore.

I've had the same conversation with Spectrum reps, as well. In fact, more typically, they don't even say "per second", it's just "megabytes".
My believe was that this happen as a human error, from non technical persons (not everybody is a CCNA certified or Comptia network plus).

For example people will often say give me that liter of wine, when in fact the bottle it’s 750ml and not a liter per se.

"For example people will often say give me that liter of wine, when in fact the bottle it’s 750ml"

No one has ever said this. Ever. In the history of ever.

Wine and spirits in the US were sold as "fifths" or one fifth of a US gallon, equal to 757ml. This became a "metric fifth" or 750ml. No one is even slightly confused by this.

There are many countries where litre is the only unit of measurement, perhaps it happened in one of those?
I assure you that in countries where the metric system is used ordering a litre of wine you would expect to receive 1000ml.
In Spain (a liter-only country very adept to wine) you can buy wine in two ways:

1. By the bottle. Bottles are usually 750ml, but 700ml and 1000ml are not that rare. In any case, you bought that bottle of that specific wine brand/year. The quantity is whatever the producer decided. The price is per bottle and quantity doesn't factor in.

2. By volume. This is only used when you buy in bulk. You go to a winery where they have huge barrels with a faucet. You can taste the wine and then buy any quantity you want (you can even bring your own container).

Or in the case of megabyte vs megabit, it's in fact a 125ml bottle.

I understand what you're saying, but it's a bit disappointing that the company doesn't train their salespeople to understand the bullet points they're trying to sell. This isn't really CCNA-level knowledge.

This happens with almost everything that I'm subscribed to. It's one dark pattern that I am ashamed to participate in... But the public never pushed back on it.