Xfinity Home Internet and Mobile Promotion

Xfinity is currently running a promotion in the internet deals section of its website for 300 Mbps home internet for $30 a month for a year. This is well below the average monthly cost for home internet. And Xfinity sweetens the deal by throwing in an “unlimited” mobile line for free.

Unfortunately, there are a number of hidden fees tied to the unlimited line.

Additional charges include a one-time line setup fee ($25), a monthly universal connectivity fee ($4.18) and a monthly regulatory recovery fee ($1.31). But if you don’t see these charges until you get your first bill, we wouldn’t be surprised as the fees are buried in the fine print during the sign-up process.

As shown in the video below, when adding the mobile line, consumers must hover over a grey box innocuously labeled “Broadband Facts” and then scroll down while the cursor remains over the box in order to see all three charges – steps that aren’t required to proceed to the next page.

And yet these fees aren’t reflected in the advertised price.

If you’re wondering why Xfinity shows the full monthly price for the unlimited mobile line when it is marketed on the internet deals page as a free add-on, the company applies the mobile discount later in the checkout process.

Another thing that Xfinity saves for later in the sign-up process, specifically, in a pop-up on a page requesting payment information that appears after clicking on the total? How much the plan will cost in year two and year three – or rather the “estimated” monthly totals for those years (minus the fees connected to the unlimited mobile line).

The issues don’t stop with hidden fees, though. If you want to cancel your Xfinity service, your options are limited.

While you can sign up with Xfinity online, the company does not allow you to cancel online. On its “Cancel” page, beneath several other options that do not include cancellation, Xfinity informs consumers that they either have to call to “schedule a time” for the company to then call them back to cancel over the phone or visit an Xfinity store to cancel service in person.

And according to numerous consumers, canceling your Xfinity service is anything but easy.

Of note, the FTC recently passed a “click to cancel” rule provision that requires sellers to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up. That means if a company allows you to sign up online, it must also allow you to cancel online. In light of this new rule, Xfinity may want to reconsider its cancellation options.

In the meantime, consumers should try to learn as much as possible about a company’s cancellation policy before signing up in order to potentially avoid some headaches – and future charges for unwanted products or services – down the road.

Xfinity did not respond to TINA.org’s request for comment.

See more of our coverage on subscriptions.