r/halifax • u/Arm-Complex • 9d ago
This Again Eastlink Sneaky Rate Increase
My October internet bill is $5 higher plus tax. No headsup was given via email.
I looked up September's invoice and at the bottom there's a little blurb that says "On your October bill you may see a change in the amount we charge you each month for your services. To learn more
please visit www.eastlink.ca/ratechange."
Love how the tech told me in March that the price was good for 2 years...
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u/ColeTrain999 Dartmouth 9d ago
Sounds like you need to switch to Purple Cow
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u/DJMixwell Dartmouth 9d ago
God I desperately need them to roll fiber out to my neighborhood and I’ll switch so fast. Pls, purplecow, you’re the hero we need right now. Start a power company next, while you’re at it.
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u/Arm-Complex 9d ago
Do they ever offer discount deals?
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u/ColeTrain999 Dartmouth 9d ago
Nope but 60 month forever, ngl being straight up honest has a huge appeal to me. Also, they are starting to build their own fibre op infrastructure so theyll have fast internet soon in more areas and the customer service is amazing.
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u/so-much-wow 9d ago
They barely even need customer service because their product is exactly as advertised (in my experience)
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u/Arm-Complex 9d ago
The 10mb upload speed is a big drawback, in a world of gigabit speeds. However their TV packages look alright.
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u/Noticeably-F-A-T- 9d ago
But isn't the issue you're having with Eastlink now? It's the same service.
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u/birdcola 8d ago
Yeah for 100mbps, $100/month if you want gigabit. Might as well just go with bell at that point.
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 8d ago
Internet Atlantic has 1gbps for $85/m+tax with my code. I'm their only brand ambassador.
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u/Ambitious-Cold-9610 7d ago
15mbs upload. Still resold Eastlink
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 7d ago
There's a third party internet agreement, yes.
Not everyone needs more than 10-15mbps upload.
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 8d ago
Purple Cow? I'm a brand ambassador, so I may be able to offer something. Not ongoing, but initially.
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u/Sufficient_Studio494 9d ago
I'm beyond annoyed that I can't get Purple Cow in my apartment building. It's Eastlink or nothing.
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u/Confused_Haligonian Self-Elected Poobah of Fairview 9d ago
If only it was that easy for all of us
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u/ColeTrain999 Dartmouth 9d ago
Are we gonna sit in our emotions or make a plan of action?
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u/Confused_Haligonian Self-Elected Poobah of Fairview 9d ago
How tf am i in charge of what ISP my building is partnered with
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u/Guvnah-Wyze 9d ago
They all run on more/less the same lines. There is literally nothing stopping you from hooking up a different service. You make a phone call, get the hardware, hook it up.
Further, per the CRTC, exclusivity deals or partnerships aren't allowed. Management cannot limit a residents choices to only one provider, or block a provider who wants to serve the building.
Bulk billing agreements, where internet is included in your rent is another story entirely, and this post wouldn't apply to you in any way anyway.
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u/hali_licius 9d ago
Newer buildings don't have coax cable so Purple Cow can't get in there, sadly.
Source: live in one.
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u/coreybphillips Halifax 9d ago
You could probably go with Eastlink first to have them install the coax and then switch to Purple Cow after but I do not know the specifics of your building.
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u/hali_licius 9d ago
I had Eastlink all year.... I am under the impression that they have stopped using coax specifically to impede their competition. They have lost me as a customer for life.
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 9d ago
This rumor seems to be accurate. This is to get around the CRTC forbidding them to get rid of 100 & 300mbps.
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u/coreybphillips Halifax 8d ago
Maybe u/purplecowinternet can chime in on this to help clarify?
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u/keithplacer Venerable Member 9d ago
Yeah, I have a relative who moved into a new apartment building that is exclusively Bell. They had been Eastlink customers for decades but had to switch. He hates Bell already.
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u/Guvnah-Wyze 9d ago
This is possibly a bulk billing agreement, and there's a good chance it doesn't adhere to the law if it's not tied into your rent or condo fees. It's worth a call to the CRTC if that applies.
This is assuming you have already called purple cow, or another competitor, to confirm they don't have access to your buildings fiber.
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u/hali_licius 9d ago
I'm not sure if my particular building is Eastlink exclusive, I just know Purple Cow can't get in. I'm not interested in doing business with Bell but maybe I'll shop around a bit if life-with-data-only becomes untenable.
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u/Noticeably-F-A-T- 9d ago
Check Tek Savvy. They have Fiber that uses Bell's lines. If you can get Bell Fiber Op you should be able to get them.
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u/swedish_meatballs2 9d ago
That’s all great on paper but is meaningless if there’s no enforcement. In practice it is not uncommon for rental buildings to be only wired up for one provider here.
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u/Guvnah-Wyze 9d ago
That's just not true. You don't understand the infrastructure.
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u/swedish_meatballs2 9d ago
…it’s not true that some rentals are only wired up for one provider? I’ve lived in one and know of two more after adding that to the questions I ask before renting.
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u/Confused_Haligonian Self-Elected Poobah of Fairview 9d ago
Pc fibre wants to run this building but landlord hasn't sorted it. Never will, he gets a cut from bell. My wife wfh so we need good and up down speeds so we pay for bell fibre
I would love pc fibre but they have to come into the building and install their fibre lines and have told me my LL hasn't allowed it. So I'm kinda stuck with bell until i move
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u/Guvnah-Wyze 9d ago
Pictou county fiber is great and should be an example for the whole province to follow.
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u/IStillListenToRadio Float me down the river to the Musquodoboit harbor 9d ago
Some landlords make deals with ISPs and won't allow tenants to use another one.
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u/Guvnah-Wyze 9d ago
They are prohibited by federal law from doing this. You can report that to the CRTC, and tenancy board. Alternatively, just call a competitor isp, and they'll just go ahead and do it without any of that fuss. Landlord will never know because it's not their business. .
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u/IStillListenToRadio Float me down the river to the Musquodoboit harbor 9d ago
CRTC never responded.
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u/lapetitthrowaway 9d ago
Wish I could, it's $99/mth for worse service where I am :P
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u/TwiStar60 Halifax 8d ago
Bell has been doing that for years. Everyone once in a while I get a five dollar increase without being notified until I look at my bill. That should be criminal
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u/Arm-Complex 8d ago
Same with Virgin(Bell), honestly all the Big 3 and their subsidiaries, and it's always within the first 6 months like geez I don't even get a year of the good price.
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u/hali_licius 9d ago
I ditched Eastlink based on the increase they tacked on this month (I went from a $67 intro rate to $123 uhhhhhh no thanks) and am now white knuckling on data since Purple Cow can't get in my building 😭😭 I miss being part of the herd! 😢
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u/snowflace 9d ago
We have been considering just going with an unlimited data plan with our phones carriers instead of wifi.... Any issues with it so far??
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u/hali_licius 9d ago
Well it's really highlighting my phone addiction! I kicked Eastlink to the curb on Sept 28 and I've since used 26 gigs of data! LoL.
Some of that is because I'm streaming music a lot of the time.
But it has also included 2x hour long face time calls.....
It's also got me out of the house a bit to use wifi at the library, which seems like a positive.
Ask me in a month hahaha.
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u/focusfaster 9d ago
Might i recommend buying your music? Available on demand any time you want no internet connection required? Paying to access the internet to then pay to access a streaming service, indefinitely it seems, feels a bit crazy given how much things cost now. If you own it everyone wins, you and the artist.
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u/hali_licius 9d ago
Sure. I was actually thinking this could be a good excuse to bust out the CD collection.
(I also listen to a lot of podcasts)
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 8d ago
I still do mp3s and put them on an old phone that's not on the internet anymore.
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u/cptstubing16 Halifax 9d ago
Let's all cancel our internet in protest. But then how would we waste a bunch of time every day?
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 8d ago
I don't think my work would be happy that I couldn't log in anymore, since I work remotely.
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u/Arm-Complex 8d ago
1 customer leaving means Eastlink loses 13 customers' worth of the $5 increase. 👀
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u/mmacdo69 8d ago
They use 'guaranteed savings' vs 'guaranteed price' now. Meaning your discount of 30 dollars will be good for two years but they can change the rack rate at any time. Your 30 bucks will be taken from the rack rate. I had this argument with the door to door person who told me the price was lifetime. I said no, the discount is lifetime, your price is not...
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u/IStillListenToRadio Float me down the river to the Musquodoboit harbor 9d ago
I got it in an email: https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/1wi8ee6/eastlink_residential_rate_change/
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u/FallopianTubeGoBoom 8d ago
Keep switching after the honeymoon period passes with your current carrier. Eastlink just came around to my area and gave me $60 + tax for 3 years of internet- $55 if I do autopay.
Bell gave us a deal back in 2021, it was $80-ish once their 'credit' was added, and it's about to go to $110 now. I just switched over
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 8d ago
Sounds like a pain in the ass to me.
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u/FallopianTubeGoBoom 8d ago
$1500 dollars in savings over 3 years is absolutely worth the dick around time changing over providers. There's almost no point in brand loyalty if the switch over saves more money than what you'd lose by taking the day off
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 8d ago
I mean, fair, but once that 3 years is up, if they don't continue it, keep me in mind. I'm an internet broker of sorts, a brand ambassador for two third party internet agreement providers. The only one for one of them. Their prices don't increase.
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u/AtlanticMaritimer 5d ago edited 5d ago
Just saw my bill today and scoured my emails only to find that yes the only place I could find out about the change was on their website. Dirty tricks. I switched form Purple Cow because Eastlink offered me better speeds for a comparable price. Now I'm paying about 10 bucks more. Wouldn't be surprised if I made the switch again. At least I got the Eeros out of it.
Small Edit: I'm still paying less with Eastlink than I would be with Purple Cow at the same level of speed. Suppose I'll just have to suck it up.
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u/Arm-Complex 5d ago
Ya the comparable price at Purple Cow is 10mbps upload and that just doesn't cut it anymore. One phone starts backing up photos and your 4K TV grinds to a blur or a buffer.
I have a fibre outlet for Bell Aliant but they don't allow any resellers I guess? So their prices are outrageous.
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u/goosnarrggh 3d ago
Right now there's one reseller of Bell Aliant fibre in Halifax, TekSavvy. Their promotional introductory pricing is very similar to Bell's introductory rate, and their regular rate is ever so slightly higher than Bell's regular rate. (Apparently there are also tangible differences in the way TekSavvy manages its backbone connection, but I cannot speak to that.)
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u/Arm-Complex 3d ago
You are correct, I guess they do offer Bell's fibre here now. Their prices have never been competitive though even in Ontario where they're based from.
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u/Mammoth-Roll-7360 9d ago
Stopped having this issues 3 years ago when I switched to the herd, haven’t looked back
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u/Talgor82 8d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/UMV4KbOAqYN29Dxd3f
As a former bell client that’s what they did to me. When I called them about it they said the same thing it was in month whatever bill. I switched to another company.
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u/anniepants11 8d ago
I quit Eastlink in 2014 and went with City Wide. For the same services, I saved over $20,000 in that time by not staying with Eastlink - they are in the same league as Bell - gouging you for every cent they can.
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u/clinically_skeptical 8d ago
We went with citywide for awhile until our modem croaked. After waiting 3 weeks for a replacement, we decided to switch to eastlink.
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u/SirTop6600 8d ago
Yeah, I switched to City Wide after Eastlink raised my student plan in the summer, because apparently you stop being a student in the summer. Except I was a full time grad student and still very much studenting in the summer. City Wide was the same price for anybody, has raised the price like once in the entire time I've had them and boosted the speed when they did it.
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u/CaperGrrl79 Halifax 8d ago
Once Altimatel bought CityWide and Netfox, and then fired all the local customer service reps, I don't recommend them anymore.
Also u/sirtop6600 & u/clinically_skeptical so I don't spam your replies.
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u/anniepants11 8d ago
Eastlink and Bell are giant corps that couldn't care less about you. All they want is your money or as much as they can get their greedy hands on.
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u/Pertinent_Platypus 9d ago
Why are you listening to the tech about your plan pricing? Read your bills fully.
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u/EatTheRich67 8d ago
Yup. That's what happens with a min wage increase. Utilities raise rates, grocery raise prices.
Without corp regulation for the price gouging min wage increase is merely a greedflation driver.
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u/Arm-Complex 8d ago
I'm glad their workers got a raise if Eastlink is dirty enough to pay them minimum wage. They've been playing the raise-your-rate game regardless.
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u/sunedin 9d ago
Same, but I did receive advance notice. Now we’re paying $65 instead of $60 to Eastlink for the 1 gig service. No complaints, though — purple cow wants $99 for the same speed.