We’ve said it time and again, you can often lower your bills just by asking. If an ISP like Comcast isn’t cooperative, though, you may have a new way to get a discount: file a complaint with the FCC.


As Ars Technica points out, several internet customers have filed complaints with the FCC over unfair billing practices. While you could do this before, the new Title II rules the FCC recently passed give those complaints some teeth. If you can bring a decent case to the FCC that your ISP has unfair billing practices, that complaint will be logged by the regulatory agency and “may lead to investigations and serves as a deterrent to the companies we regulate.” More importantly, that complaint is forwarded to the ISP itself, which has 30 days to respond to both the FCC and you, the customer:

Customers could already complain about billing before the net neutrality order took effect, but the FCC now has more power to make sure they’re being treated fairly. And Internet providers have more reason to take the complaints seriously... The FCC forwards complaints to Internet service providers, and they are required to respond to the commission and the customer within 30 days.


Of course, this is no guarantee. As Ars goes on to point out, the customers they spoke with still had to deal with a massive headache trying to negotiate a “deal”, and in one of the cases, the customer still wasn’t satisfied and did not deem their FCC complaint resolved. However, it does highlight a significant change in how you can handle complaints about your ISP. In the past, if Comcast or Time Warner offered you a crap deal, there was little you could do but vent about it online. Now, if you can offer proof that your ISP is giving you the short end of the stick, the FCC might actually be able to help out. It may be pressuring your ISP to call you and get a better deal, or it may be collecting that complaint to decide whether to pursue an investigation. Either way, though, it seems like consumers finally have a decent ally when their internet provider tries to screw them over.

Want­ a lower Comcast bill? Complain to the FCC | Ars Technica