Recently canceled my subscription with a cable TV provider. I paid for a full month as they request even though I would only be a subscriber for a partial month. I was expecting a refund and when I saw how much it was, I was a little mystified. I had used 15 days of the month so I was expecting about half of what I paid. I complained and was told that they use a 30 day billing cycle. They then bill you for the next month and calculate your final bill based on both months. If you disconnected in a month that has 31 days, you will lose a day of credit due to the 30 day billing cycle. Numerous complaints to them did not get any results.
In my case my billing cycle was from the 11th to the 10th. I disconnected on 5/26 so I should have gotten credit for 5/26-7/10 which is 46 days, but was only given credit for 45 days. It is not a lot of money, but there are 7 months in the year that have 31 days. Not sure what they do with February and with the other 4 months this cycle has no effect.
This creative accounting is a huge windfall to them as 1,000’s of people are affected every year. If you call way in advance to try and get a final bill they will not do that and want you to inform them within 2 days of your disconnect.
There is also some creative accounting when it comes to their daily rate calculations that do not seem to jive with the 30 day billing cycle. That also works in their favor. I have had this same experience with 2 different cable companies.
I have filed a complaint with the FTC and am waiting to see if they will pursue it.