Senator wants cable and cell phone providers to give you a hurricane discount

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) has asked the CEOs of AT&T, CenturyLink, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Enterprises, Frontier Communications, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon to offer rebates for service interruptions and put a 60-day moratorium on late fees and other penalties for customers impacted by Hurricane Irma.

“I’ve been heartened by the many stories of Floridians helping Floridians as I crisscross the state to survey the damage,” Nelson wrote in the letter. “I ask that you follow their example and do all you can to ease the burden on those suffering from the storm.

“Now is the time to lend a helping hand to your fellow Americans — to help them meet their immediate needs without the added stress of excessive financial demands,” Nelson wrote.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), at least 8.1 million cable and wireline subscribers were without service in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia due to Hurricane Irma on Wednesday. The FCC also reported that 18 percent of cell sites in Florida were out of service.

“As we begin the recovery process, it’s important that consumers not be saddled with late fees and other unnecessary costs—particularly those without the means to deal with such costs,” Nelson wrote. “Therefore, I ask that you provide a 60-day moratorium on late fees, interest accrual, penalties, and any other unnecessary costs, to give people time to recover and get back on their feet. I also would request that your companies provide rebates or credits to your subscribers for any interruption in voice, video, or internet service that occurred due to Hurricane Irma.

“I’ve been heartened by the many stories of Floridians helping Floridians as I crisscross the state to survey the damage. I ask that you follow their example and do all you can to ease the burden on those suffering from the storm. Now is the time to lend a helping hand to your fellow Americans — to help them meet their immediate needs without the added stress of excessive financial demands.”

No word yet on whether any of the companies would heed Nelson’s request.

Last week, AT&T announced it was issuing credits and waiving additional fees to give its wireless customers unlimited data, talk and texts from Sept. 8-17 with billing zip codes in Florida. Payment dates for AT&T prepaid customers with voice and text services were extended to Sept. 17.

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Senator wants cable and cell phone providers to give you a hurricane discount."