Simi Valley Council to Weigh Plan to Raise Cable Rates

The Simi Valley City Council will decide tonight whether Comcast Cable company will be allowed to raise its rates or be forced to lower them and refund customers for allegedly over-charging.

The issue was delayed for a week at the council’s last meeting when members requested more time to review city staff analysis of the cable company’s rates. Comcast has denied that it charges customers too much for the cable service.

The staff analysis concluded that Comcast was over-charging customers and recommended that the council rollback rates about 1%, or 30 cents a month. In addition, the analysis said that the company charges three different rates for the same type of service.

Councilman Paul Miller complained that by their own admission Comcast had given the city erroneous rate information, and he wanted to see that information corrected.

“At this point I want to wait and see what they provide at the meeting before I say anything,” he said.

Miller was also concerned with how the company charges for a preview of premium channels that would lure customers into paying for three extra channels without their knowledge.

Comcast plans to explain its complicated rate structure at the meeting and give their reasoning about why they should be allowed to increase rates.