I was also ordered to take an eight-hour defensive driving course. The Virginia DMV has a webpage with a list of accredited courses. These range in price from $30-90. At least half of them are the same course under different names: AAAADefensive Driving Test is $90 dollars. If you are patient and actually shop through all the links, you will find something with a name like AADefensive Driving Course is only $30. All of these links go to the same course but charge different prices.

For insurance purposes, I usually take one of these courses every time I get a moving violation. I’ve done it three times already. Now I just leave the computer on while the course is running and do my laundry. However, in Virginia you are required to take a proctored test to complete an online course. The reason for this is obvious––they get to add a $9 proctoring free on top of everything else.

The Defensive Driving Course I took is based out of state and runs courses for both California and Virginia. You take their course and then go to a UPS store to complete your test. This is quite a racket: No overhead and thousands of people are forced to pay you up to $90 just for hosting a website.

Today, I took the test. It turned out that most UPS stores in Virginia do not proctor defensive driving tests. If you call them they will have no idea what you are talking about. I finally found a participating location conveniently located 45 minutes away on the opposite side the Appalachian Mountains! When I arrived, they asked me to come around behind the counter and use the same computer they use to track packages to take a driving test.

“Can I have a chair?” I asked.

“No.” replied the UPS employee.

While I stood there bent over a computer meant for someone much shorter than me, trying to take a test, people kept walking up to me and asking how much it would cost to mail this fruitcake to their grandson. The real UPS employee was lurking in the back of the store so I had to keep explaining, “I don’t work here, I’m taking a test.” Half the time, the customers would continue to make conversation:

“Oh, is it a test to work for UPS?”

Absolute worst testing conditions I have ever heard of. When it was over I was charged $10 for using the computer (this was a separate charge from the $9 proctoring fee), plus 50 cents for printing out the screen saying I had passed.

On top of everything else in the three-month nightmare that resulted from attempting to drive on a Virginia interstate, this test turned out to be incredibly infuriating and unfair. For instance, the test asked you where to put your hands on the steering wheel: 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock is the wrong answer!!

So in retaliation I have written down all of the questions to share them with you on the Internet. I will now lay out a brief explanation of why I am doing this. Otherwise, you can just skip down to the answers.

Why I am Doing This

I am a licensed public high school teacher and I have had to attend government-sponsored seminars on how to write multiple-choice questions. I will let you in on a secret: multiple-choice questions are the worst possible way to assess a student’s knowledge. There is only one advantage to multiple-choice questions: They can be graded by a machine. This has opened the door to all sorts of government tests that neither assess nor encourage learning.

The driver’s test I passed had almost nothing to do with being a safer driver. It was simply a punishment demanded by the court to deter me from speeding and a way to extract another $50 on top of court fees. They could have put me in a pillory for eight hours and it would have had the same effect.

For working class families this really isn’t a joke. The $50 fees to take this test is someone’s grocery budget. The eight hours it takes to do this course meant some kid had a soccer game their dad couldn’t come to. I don’t think anyone in Virginia should have to waste their time taking this course or (heaven forbid) taking this test over because they were confused by the obnoxious questions. I am posting the answers here because I have been wronged and I do not have the power to bring about more systemic changes––at least not alone.

I should also add that this is not illegal. Kaplan and the Princeton Review design their courses by taking the SAT and then memorizing all of the questions. Every year they pay “students” to take the test and collect data that they use to run their billion dollar industry. In China and Korea, students memorize GRE questions and post them online with the answers. This is how Chinese students who do not speak English are able to get perfect verbal scores! I encourage other people in my situation to memorize and post answers as well. If this really had anything to do with promoting traffic safety, the court should be thrilled that I am dedicating a blog to Virginia’s traffic rules.

The Answers

The test consists of 50 multiple-choice questions, each with four answers. To pass, you need a score of 80% or 40 correct answers. Each test features randomly selected questions, but I estimate the bank to be only about 200 questions. At least some of the questions posted here will appear on your test which, combined with common sense, should be enough for you to pass the first time.

Part I: Meaningless number questions.

This is the most irritating part of the test because these are arbitrary standards. Common sense is no help so you just have to memorize the numbers. Here is a tip: If you have to choose a number, the answer almost always begins with either a 2 or a 5. You’ll see what I mean.

1. How think does your tire tread have to be?
Answer: 1/16th (This is the shortest number you can choose).

2. For someone over the age of 21, what level BAC is considered impaired.
Answer: .08%.

3. What is the required minimal liability coverage for injury or single death?
Answer: $25,000.

4. What is the required minimal liability coverage for property damage?
Answer: $20,000.
Commentary: The minimum liability coverage for multiple deaths is $50,000. I’m not sure if this is in the question bank or not. Why the hell would anyone memorize this? It doesn’t make you a safer driver and it is impossible to buy an insurance policy that doesn’t provide the minimum coverage for your state. Why would anyone who isn’t an insurance agent need to know this?

5. What is the required (corrected) vision to drive in Virginia?
Answer: 20/40.

6. What is the maximum stopping distance if you are moving 20mph?
Answer: 25 feet.

7. How far do you have to be able to see in all directions to make a U-Turn?
Answer: 500 feet.

8. What is the speed in a residential area?
Answer: 25 mph
Commentary: In a normal state, it would be 30mph.

9. At what distance should you turn off your high beams when following another car?
Answer: 200 feet.

10. At what distance should you turn off your high beams when approaching another car?
Answer: 500 feet.

11. You should execute your turn signal ______ before executing a turn in city traffic and ______ in high way traffic.
Answer 50/100.
Commentary: Choices C and D frame the problem in terms of seconds, not feet. This is the wrong answer because the bastards who make the test say so. But in reality this is a perfectly reasonably way to plan your turn.

12. How many mirrors do you need and how far should you be able to see through them?
Answer: 2/200 ft.
Commentary: Notice how all the other visibility questions require you to see much farther than 200 ft. This shows how the laws themselves are random and arbitrary.

Part II Trick questions.

Just look at these horrible, deceptive questions. What kind of sick person would think this is a reasonable way to assess whether you’re a safe driver?

13. When passing you can increase your speed by how much?
Answer: 0.
Commentary: This is a straight up trick question. It’s a cheap shot and it’s annoying.

14. When approaching an accident you should give aid to the injured ______
a. Always.
b. Only to the extent you feel competent to do so.
c. Only if you are a certified EMT.
d. Never.

Answer: B. “Only to the extent you feel competent to do so.”
Commentary: The course emphasizes over and over that you have a duty to help people in an accident. This answer essentially nullifies any sort of good Samaritan laws in the state of Virginia. If you have taken this defensive driving course, you have a pretty good excuse to watch someone bleed to death in a traffic accident.

15. If you feel extreme fatigue before beginning a drive, what should you do?
a. Don’t drive.
b. Take a short nap.
c. Eat a big meal.
d. Drive anyway.

Answer: A. Don’t drive.
Commentary: I missed this question. If you are taking a nap then obviously you aren’t driving! This question demonstrates the idiotic “Simon Says” logic of the test. It is not a test of your common sense or instincts as a driver—it is only a test of your ability to memorize the course material and recite it verbatim.

16. Where you put your hands on the steering wheel?
a. 10 and 2.
b. 9 and 6.
c. 2 and 12.
d. Wherever you feel like it.

Answer: D!
Commentary: Unbelievable! Apparently the people who designed this test found some study suggesting that if your hands are at 10 and 2, an airbag can break your arms. But there was no evidence that putting your hands elsewhere would be more effective, so “wherever you feel like” is the right answer. Why can’t that be the answer to every question? Seriously––this question makes me think that these people have absolutely no business designing a defensive driving course.

17. What is divided attention?
a. Your attention is focused on different things.
b. Your attention is not focused on driving at all.
c. Sometimes A and Sometimes B.

Answer: C.
Commentary: It seems to me that if none of your attention is dedicated to driving, it is no longer “divided.” At this point, you are no longer thinking about safety or driving and only about the twisted logic of the bastard who designed this test.

18. Stress begins as a ______ reaction to stimuli.
a. physiological
b. psychological
c. emotional
d. mental.

Answer: physiological.
Commentary: This question is annoying and, if you have every studied psychology, actually misleading. Psychology is the study of human behavior including physiological reactions to stimuli. So if A is correct then, ipso facto, B is correct too.

19. If you are in a long line of cars, you should
a. pass all of the cars.
b. pass only one at a time.
c. pass only two at a time.
d. never pass.

Commentary: I think the answer is “a” but I’m not totally sure. I cut and pasted the entire course into a Word document and there is nothing in it about passing in a long line of cars. Maybe it’s one of the videos that I didn’t watch? It wouldn’t surprise me if some of these questions have absolutely no basis in the course material.

20. What is the number one factor of impaired driving?

Answer: influence of drugs and alcohol.
Commentary: This one seems fairly open to interpretation because the course offers no statistics to prove this claim and the question gives no definition of “impaired.” A lot of people don’t drink and drive but text and drive.

Part III Random trivia

21. Turn-outs are . . .

Answer: Short lanes for slow moving vehicles in rural areas.

22. How far ahead should you look in city driving?

Answer: One city block

23. Who can drive in a high occupancy vehicle lane?
a. Vehicles with more than one person.
b. Vehicles that use alternative fuels (sometimes).
c. A and B are correct
d. No one.

Answer: C.

24. What does it mean when there is a double yellow line and one line is solid and the other is broken?

Answer: You can pass on the side with broken line.

25. If you park on a curb facing uphill, which way should you turn your front wheels?

Answer: Left
Commentary: This question assumes you are parked on the right side of the road. This way if your car starts to roll down the hill, it will roll into the curb and not out into the street. The question demands a serious ability to visualize.

26. How you should you drive in a parking lot?

Answer: Follow the marked paths.

27. Up to what age is your child required to be in a child seat

Answer: 7.
Commentary: I could not believe this law so I went and looked it up. In the state of Virginia, children have to be in a car seat until their 8th birthday! There is a $50 fine for violating this law. Honestly, what is wrong with this state?! When I was in the second grade, I would have been utterly mortified to be put in a car seat. Also, this law specifies that the height of the child is irrelevant. There are plenty of 71/2 year olds who are larger than small adult women.

28. What information is posted on the railroad plaque?

Answer: The number of tracks.

29. When traveling downhill, travelers moving ______ should yield the right of way.

Answer: Downhill.

30. What does a red curb mean?

Answer: Do not stop, stand, or park near the curb

31. Why do you have to take a sobriety test?

Answer: Implied consent.
Commentary: This law arguably goes against the fourth amendment and should be investigated. Why does consent have to be implied? I got a drivers license in this state. They could have asked me to sign a consent form in exchange for a license. For that matter, they could have told me about all of the utterly bizarre traffic laws here.

32. Which one of these lanes is a real thing? (I’m paraphrasing).

Answer: Weaving lanes. (Mixing lanes, mingling lanes, etc. are false answers).

33. Where should your headrest be?

Answer: The middle of the back of the head.
Commentary: Seriously, what an inane piece of trivia. What if your headrest can’t be adjusted to the middle of the back of your head? Are you supposed to get a new car? These sorts of questions call the entire course into question and make the entire endeavor seem useless.

The customers were asked to leave. When they refused, they were LOCKED INSIDE THE BANK and 24 people were arrested for criminal trespassing. For videos, look here or on the thousands of other news sites that are already covering this story.

I’m not a lawyer, but I cannot imagine how these charges are going to hold up in court. How can you claim customers entering a bank to complete a transaction are trespassing? However, locking people inside a bank seems to be a clear case of false imprisonment. Protestors should file criminal charges against Citibank and any law enforcement who were present for false imprisonment. The police could claim that they they had a reasonable suspicion that a crime was being committed (trespassing), but for this defense to work, they would have to make the case that Citibank customers walking into a Citibank branch during business hours constitutes trespassing. Furthermore, if even one person who was not part of this protest was locked in the bank with them, that person was falsely imprisoned.

Regardless of what happens to these 24 people, there is a bigger problem here. Citigroup is now effectively at war with the American people: it views us not as business partners but as a financial liability and as a physical threat. Here is a leaked bank memo–written well before today’s protest–giving instructions for what to do if “mobs” descend on a bank branch. Note that “do not try to reason with protestors” is part of their instructions.

The banks have been preparing for this war for a long time. Another leaked memo written by Citigroup in 2005 describes their plan to invest on a continued shift of wealth to the very top–what they call “Plutonomy.” The Plutonomy memo warns of a possible “backlash” by the people that could hurt this plan. It expresses concern that either the far left or the far right might actually value “patriotism” over outsourcing and threaten the banks. It also points out that the poor have equal voting power to the rich and describes this as a liability. Chilling stuff.

Then last June, J.P. Morgan (another bailout recipient) made an unprecedented donation of 4.6 million to the NYPD. Corporations like J.P Morgan are required to do whatever is in the interest of their share-holders: they don’t make donations, they make investments. This 4.6 million dollar gift was made so that the police would be beholden to the banks in the face of a popular backlash.

So the picture becomes clear: The banks began preparing for this war at least six years ago, they have tried to buy off the police, they have made contingency plans for violent conflicts with citizens, and now they have locked their customers inside a bank–probably illegally.

I am not part of a militia. I am not suggesting that we stockpile weapons or prepare for a violent conflict with the global banks. But this cannot stand. Everyone needs to contact Citigroup and tell them this will not be tolerated. More importantly, we need to take our money out of these banks and put it in a local bank or credit union. There are also lots of terrific online banks that offer much better interest rates and have far more reasonable transaction fees than Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, and Citibank. Just go to bankrate.com and you will almost certainly find someone better to bank with. Not banking with Citigroup is patriotic, they said so themselves!

Finally, even if you think the 24 people who were arrested today are Marxist scum, you should still take your money out of Citibank. Citibank started this war and as it escalates, it is going to be bad news for all of their customers: more fees, more disrespect for customers, and possibly bank runs. Just remember to close your account electronically, so you won’t be falsely imprisoned!

Update: Here is a press release from Citibank, essentially saying they did nothing wrong today. For the moment, all this proves is that Citibank knows the world is watching. Hopefully everyone will get their day in court and justice will prevail.

Update: A Bank of America in Santa Cruz demonstrated exactly the same response as Citibank, declaring that “You can’t be a protestors and a customer at the same time.” Watch this video: Bank of America had exactly the same contingency plan as Citigroup: Lock protestors inside the bank and summon police. The manager refuses to speak to protestors/customers–exactly as described in the leaked bank memo. This is not “customer service”, it is a concerted effort to protect bank assets by using force against American citizens attempting to close their accounts.

This is not a left/right issue. This is simply about whether you want to live in a country where elected officials answer to the people, or one where they answer to corporations. Signing a petition to get money out does not mean you hate business, or that you want to “Occupy Wall Street,” or that you believe in global warming. It just means you believe in democracy and in the ability of the American people to govern themselves.

Here is the problem: In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are “people” with the same rights as actual American citizens. They also declared that giving money to political candidates is a corporation’s version of “freedom of speech” and that placing any limits on campaign contributions would violate the Constitutional rights of a corporation.

We already have a problem in that our congressmen, senators, and presidents are beholden to whatever corporations funded their election campaign–not the actual people who voted for them. But NOW corporations can actually blackmail politicians. Wal-Mart, for instance, could demand that the president subsidize building more Wal-Marts with federal funds or they will give 10 billion dollars to whoever runs against him. This supreme court decisions effectively broke our democracy and replaced it with a new form of feudalism in which we are the peasants and the corporations (who are considered “people”) are our overlords.

There is no higher authority then the supreme court. They interpret the Constitution, so the only way out of this is a Constitutional amendment.

Right now, I don’t know anyone––liberal or conservative––who thinks this would be a bad idea. Politically savvy types will argue that passing a Constitutional amendment is extremely difficult if not impossible. But it has been done in the past. Prohibition was a Constitutional amendment, and it was for a much less urgent and important cause.

Now cynics will point out that Prohibition had a lot of unlikely allies behind it. Both the KKK and the NAACP supported prohibition. But why can’t we form such an alliance to get corporate money out of our elections? Right now both the KKK and the NAACP have to live with politicians that don’t really care about them. So do environmentalists, the Tea Party, and the NRA. It is in every one’s interest to create a country where their vote matters.

Sitting on the sidelines and pointing out the difficulty of updating the Constitution might make you feel smart, but it won’t save democracy and freedom. Martin Luther King called this problem, “the paralysis of analysis.”

If this amendment is passed, all of our other problems will get better because we could at least be assured that our government answered to the people. We wouldn’t have to be so paranoid about who are politicians were serving and why. Passing this amendment would be like blowing up the Death Star—the entire empire of evil would be undone. If you have ever been screwed over by Comcast, ASF, Bank of America, your credit card company, a debt collection agency—then you have a duty to yourself and your children to get everyone you know to sign this petition.

This is a ludicrous law and many people who have lived in Virginia their entire lives are unaware of it. Like so many things in our society, this insanity goes on because no one takes the time to do anything about it or create systematic reform. In this blog, I will discuss Virginia’s reckless driving law and what everyone should do about it.

The Law

The general rule according to the Code of Virginia reads as follows:

Irrespective of the maximum speeds permitted by law, any person who drives a vehicle on any highway recklessly or at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person shall be guilty of reckless driving.

This seems reasonable, except that unlike many states, in Virginia reckless driving is a criminal offense that carries a permanent criminal record––even if you’re from out of state. The maximum fine of $2,500 is the highest in the country for reckless driving: five times the maximum fine for reckless driving in states like Alabama. But worst of all, there are about 20 sub-sections to this law describing all the different actions that constitute “reckless driving.” And they are changing all the time. When I got my license from the Virginia DMV nobody told me, “If you drive 80 in our state, you go to jail.” There are no billboards explaining the reckless driving statutes. My state senator explained to me that the only way a citizen can even be aware of the law is through searching on the Internet. No wonder the state doesn’t tell people about this law: If I had known about this law, I never would have moved to Virginia. Who knows what else they’ll put you in jail for around here?

Here are the most controversial ways to gain a reckless driving charge:

-Driving 20 mph over the posted speed limit.
-Driving over 80.

In my case, I was only going 12 miles over the posted limit, under the “over 80 clause” this was enough to receive reckless driving charge.

What to Do if You Have Been Charged With Reckless Driving in Virginia

Get a lawyer. Treat this as if you have been charged with murder. Even if you have a few thousand dollars lying around, no one can afford to have a criminal record. The courts count on people failing to appear in court or simply mailing in their fines. If you get pulled over for speeding while driving from New York to Florida, you would have to be crazy to drive back to Podunk, Virginia to appear in traffic court, right? But by not appearing in court you are pleading guilty and will receive a permanent criminal record.

The good news is that if you hire a lawyer, they can appear in your stead. I hired a lawyer from the little town where I was stopped. His services cost $150. Not cheap, but much better than the alternative. Local lawyers know all of the judges in the traffic court. Usually judges are reasonable and will downgrade the charge to speeding. They may even throw it out entirely. But some judges are crazy and will give jail time. A local lawyer will know the names of judges like that. I have found cases where people had to demand a trial by jury to avoid a reckless driving charge. Right now, I feel fairly confident about my court date, but you never know. It is still possible my next blog post will be from a prison cell.

While I am grateful for my attorney’s help, it is fairly obvious that this law exists to keep attorneys in business. Googling “Virginia reckless driving laws” will bring up the pages of dozens of lawyers who make their living entirely be dealing with this type of case. Your nightmare is their bread and butter.

Don’t Stop There

If you’re reading this blog, you have to think of the greater good. Don’t just worry about saving your own ass. Take steps to end this insane law and save your fellow Americans (and Canadians) from getting a criminal record. Here’s what you need to do:

1) Warn everyone you know and create awareness. If everyone in Virginia knew about this law, it would end. Create facebook groups, tell your family, your church, etc.

2) If you live in Virginia, write your state delegate and senator and ask them to change the law. I wrote my mine and received an answer within 24 hours (it was sympathetic). There were actually two bills proposed last year that would have ended the “over 80pm is reckless driving” clause, but they died in committee. If we keep the pressure up, we can end this law forever and bring a little sanity into this dark world.

3) If you don’t live in Virginia, state politicians have no reason to listen to you. But you can still punish the state with a boycott. Write the Virginia Department of Commerce and tell them that until the law changes you will not stop for gas or food while driving through their state. Contact the Virginia Department of Tourism and tell them you’re taking your vacation somewhere else because you don’t want a criminal record. Virginia may be for lovers, but it sure isn’t for sane driving laws. This isn’t being petty or vengeful, this is about keeping innocent people out of jail. Fundamentally, this law is about money. If it’s no longer profitable, it will be taken off the books.

4) Post on my blog and tell the world what you did!

Writing Virginia Legislators

If you’re a Virginia resident there are three people you need to write: Your representative to the house of delegates, your state senator, and the governor. Tell them this is an unjust law and urge them to create legislation altering it. If you don’t know what to say, you can you just write something like:

Dear (Delegate/Senator X) or Governor McDonnell,

I am writing you in regard to Virginia’s law defining driving over 80 mph as reckless driving. This law goes against common sense, particularly in a state where the posted speed limit on the interstate is 70 mph. Charging Virginia drivers as criminals clogs our court system and hurts our economy by giving criminal records to people who are law abiding and, in many cases, good drivers. As your constituent, I urge you to support legislation to reform Viriginia’s reckless driving law.

Sincerely,

(your name/ poor bastard who got pulled over driving 82 in Virginia).

You can e-mail Governor Robert F. McDonnell here. You will probably get a personal response from one of his assistants in a few days. Last year, McDonnell did remove one of the 20 ways to get a reckless driving charge that involved passing a school bus. But as the executive, the governor can’t actually propose new laws. For that, you need legislators.

You can find out who your delegate and senator are here. This site also gives their mailing addresses. To get their e-mail address, just Google their name and look for contact link on their website.

If everyone does this, the law will change. Think how satisfying it will feel to know that you got a ticket and actually changed the law!

I’m a martial artist and I move around a lot–so I’m used to dealing with these contract companies.  But ASF is far and away the worst.  A quick search of ripoff.com will yield dozens of horror stories from people who have been victimized by this company.  KnuckleUp management said––not to me, but where I could hear it––that ASF has an informal policy in which they never allow membership cancellations.

ASF is like Comcast: they don’t honor contracts and think that their customers are slaves.  Only ASF is worse: Comcast at least provides a service, ASF makes their money by NOT providing a service.  Every piece of paper work they lose, every clerical error they make, is another month of payments they try to extract from your bank account.  Companies like this need to be dealt with aggressively and SHUT DOWN.  They are only allowed to exist because we, the people, are too lazy and too beaten down to fight back.

Here’s what we can do:

1) I will never again join a gym that works with ASF.  There are other companies that do the exact same thing and are far more pleasant to work with.

2) I filed a formal complaint with the FTC.  EVERYONE needs to do this.  The FTC looks for patterns and if half the people ASF have victimized did this, the FTC would intervene.

3) DO NOT speak to ASF on the phone.  Use e-mail.  Not only should customers not have to spend 30 minutes on hold, but ASF are liars and every communication from them must be in writing so that they can be held to it.

4) You don’t have to tolerate automatic debits.  Call your bank and get them cancelled.  Hell, the bank WANTS your money to stay in the bank. This will turn the tables on ASF and force THEM to deal with YOU.

5) Below is a transcript of my e-mail correspondence with ASF (Names and faces have been changed to protect the innocent as well as the guilty).  I am reposting it here to show that A) these companies try to bluff you into paying them and that B) standing firm by the terms of your contract does get results.

Before I go on, let me explain my specific situation: My gym told me they wanted a copy of my lease as well as an out of state driver’s license as proof that I moved.  This in itself is ridiculous: I only signed a three-year contract because I was told it was void if I moved more than 25 miles–not if I took up residence in another state.  Furthermore, requesting a driver’s license is an obvious stall tactic: you can’t get a driver’s license until you have a lease or a utility bill.  So the whole system is set up so that ASF can get something for nothing.

I’m only moved as a student and I don’t want to claim residency in Massachusetts.  I explained this to KnuckleUP and they told me I could send in a student ID instead of a driver’s license.  ASF refused to honor this.  Here’s what happened:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am contesting this charge of $27.23 on the grounds that it is not representative of any contract, written or oral with Comcast Cable. I have spoken with your representatives, who stated that Comcast has not even stated what this charge of $27.23 is for. This is part of a pattern of Comcast breaking agreements and demanding arbitrary amounts of money.

Comcast Cable does not list a price for the services I have received on their website. They also apparently do not issue contracts or receipts. In the absence of any written documentation, I have relied on the oral contract made by telephone with Comcast representatives and in person with their installation personnel.

The product I purchased was unbundled internet service. The price I was quoted for this service was $30/month. I have paid this price, along with taxes and installation fees, because those were the terms of our oral contact. Comcast, however, has billed me for $60/month. This price was never quoted or suggested by Comcast’s personnel or literature. Had they stated at any time that their product cost $60/month I would not have purchased it. I understand that Comcast’s prices are subject to change, however, I was not billed the quoted price even once.

Furthermore, Comcast Cable denied my demand to cancel my subscription to their service and continued to bill me. I am currently not certain whether I still have an account with Comcast or not. They have, however, billed me for late equipment. Again, I have never signed and never been shown any documentation stating a) when the equipment was to be returned by, b) what the charges are for late equipment, or c) the address to which the equipment must be returned. A responsible company would have provided this information when they installed the equipment.

Please note copies of the following documents:

A: Comcast’s prices as currently listed on their website. Note that these prices are specific to my address. The product Comcast sold me—monthly internet access without cable or phone service, is not listed among their services.

B: My e-mail correspondence with Nick P and Randy C from Comcast customer service. Please note that when I stated I would pay $30/month in following with our oral contract, Nick P did not reject this offer or present a counter offer. Also note that Randy C’s response to a customer service inquiry contains an order not to share his response with anyone else. This willful attempt to conceal information is not consistent with a company that is honest with its customers.

C: My notice informing me that my service has been scheduled for disconnection. I received this note after I had already demanded that my service be disconnected. Note that the box indicating that Comcast was attempting to retrieve equipment has not been checked. Also note that no date is given on this notice.
D: My receipt stating that all equipment has been returned to Comcast.

If Comcast can explain what this latest charge is for, and can demonstrate that I am in error and have, in fact, agreed to pay $27.23, I will, of course, pay the bill.

Sincerely,

Anonymous Rex