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How to Cancel Cox Internet

Though we all rely on it, getting the internet to your home in a way that fits your needs and budget can be trying at times. On top of that, it’s not at all uncommon for people to get stuck with hidden charges, extra fees, and other costs lurking in the fine print of that seemingly perfect internet plan they purchased.

In the article, we discuss the popular internet provider, Cox, and an overview of how to cancel your service. Cox has a strong presence in southern California, Arizona, the central state, and various parts of the East Coast. No matter where you are, however, we will help you figure out how to cancel Cox internet as quickly and easily as possible.

What is Cox Internet?

Cox High-Speed Internet is provided by Cox Communications, a broadcasting company based out of Atlanta, Georgia that provides cable television, telecommunications, and home security / home automation systems to some 6.2 million customers. Its internet services have been provided to some 21.8 million people across 18 states.

Cox Internet is the fourth largest provider of internet services in the United States. Though there are only a few markets (Southern California, Louisiana, Texas) where it is the dominant provider, the company still has a commanding presence in most major areas. From a popularity standpoint, Cox is third behind Comcast and AT&T.

Cox is unique in its internet offerings in that it provides five levels of speed. These include Starter, Essential, Preferred, Premier, and Ultimate. It’s worth noting that Cox won the PC Magazine Readers’ Choice Award for High-Speed Internet five times, mostly in the early 2000s. Since this time, Cox has doubled internet speeds in all markets and increased many of their offerings.

Reasons for Cancelling Cox Internet

Cox Internet’s popularity has remained high, but that hasn’t kept the company from experiencing criticism. Just recently, customers have considered filing a class-action against the company due to the many hidden fees they’ve discovered on their bills. These fees and Cox’s association with questionable marketing techniques like “drip pricing” have not helped the business’s image at all.

As with many other providers, the main focus of complaints seems to revolve around poor customer service, pricing issues, and frequent service outages. Depending on how much these particular factors might be affecting you and your family, you might consider getting out of your contract earlier than expected.

Of course, there are always reasons to cancel a service that you no longer want. Your income situation may have changed, you could not be happy with the service, or you could be moving to a part of the country where the service isn’t available. No matter the reason, you should feel confident in being able to stop using a service if and when you want to.

How to Cancel Cox Internet

In the following section, we’ll attempt to cover the best ways to cancel your Cox internet service. Depending on the type of contract you have and how much longer you have in your commitment, this process will vary dramatically. Also, though there are literally hundreds of different situations and individual plans, we will attempt to be as comprehensive as possible.

Know Your Consumer Rights First

In the United States, certain consumer protections have been put in place to make sure no one is taken advantage of. These protections, often in the form of laws, exist at both the Federal and State levels, the latter of which can vary quite a bit. For instance, in California, you can cancel certain contracted services within a time known as the “cooling off” period.

So it’s very important to make sure you’re aware of what rights you have before you write an e-mail or call Cox customer service. Take your time to study up on these matters, and make sure you write down anything that looks like it might help you when you go to cancel. If you must, you can call the Consumer Protection Agency or the FTC, but you will need a legitimate (and legal) grievance.

Know the Company’s Policies

One of the things that makes exiting a contract so difficult is that big companies like Cox Internet often have teams of very talented lawyers writing up those contracts. That’s not to say that they’re completely ironclad, of course, but they will likely have the advantage if you were to take the matter to court.

When you sign any contract, you are legally obligated to receive a copy of what you signed upon demand. If you still have the paper you put your signature on (or the e-mail you signed digitally), make sure you peruse it for what are known as “Terms and Conditions.” These are the various legal protections the company can claim should you attempt to get out of your contract early.

If you’re very lucky, there may be an early termination clause or waiver section of the Terms, though those are rare. Still, at the very least, you need to have a working knowledge of these terms and conditions before you contact Customer Service about cancelling. You can certainly expect them to refer to that “fine print” almost immediately if you say something they don’t like.

Talk to a Person

You’re not going to make a lot of headway when you argue with a computer or automated system. The same goes for e-mail (though there are exceptions if you consider yourself to be a particularly persuasive writer). In general, if you want to get something done via a Customer Service number, you need to talk to a living, breathing, human being.

Even the best-trained Customer Service personnel make mistakes, and some of them will even empathize with your situation. The goal of your conversation (of which there will likely be several) is to take good notes on precisely what the representative says and feel out the situation to see if there’s any sense of leeway.

Keep in mind, as far as the representative is concerned, you are attempting to cancel a service you are contractually obligated to pay for for “X” amount of time. Their job is to make sure you either pay the remainder of the contract, or pay the early termination fee. If you want to avoid paying either, you’re going to have to give them a darn good reason why.

Know if You Have a Valid Complaint

Speaking of good reasons to get out of your contract. You must know which ones will get the ball rolling in your favor when talking to a Customer Service rep. Of course, these complaints only work if they’re valid. Not only would we never suggest you be dishonest in a situation like this, but there are legal implications whenever a contract is involved.

Nonperformance – If your service isn’t living up to what those stipulated in the contract you signed, then the law is as much on your side as it was formerly on the internet providers. The hard part of taking this route, however, is proving it. If they promised you a certain speed or bandwidth and you know you aren’t getting it, you might need a third party to analyze your connection to provide proof.

Unsatisfactory Service – Unsatisfactory service can refer to a lot of things. For instance, you might have suffered multiple internet outages in a single week, causing you to miss a deadline at work or suffer some other inconvenience. You might have had to replace your router several times in a given period. Whatever the reason, you’ll need to have evidence to back it up.

Other – There are a lot of reasons one might have to get out of service that has nothing to do with the service itself. Perhaps the installer was rude or inconvenienced you in some way? Perhaps you were insulted by customer service? No company wants to have things like these hurting their reputation, so they may give you the leverage you need to get out.

When All Else Fails, Ask for a Manager

If you’re not making any headway in the cancellation process, consider asking the representative to speak to their manager. While companies train them to provide a little resistance at first (think, “they’ll just tell you what I’m telling you), they almost always have to oblige you. Just continue to be polite and firm when you make the request.

Managers not only have a better idea of when the company they work for is culpable, but they are also in a better position to give you what you want. Repeat your complaint and be insistent that you feel you should not have to pay an early termination fee. If your argument holds any water at all, a manager is more likely to let you go free.

Consider a Contract Buyout

If you plan on switching services to a competitor, you might be able to convince them to buy out the remainder of your contract or (if applicable) pay your early termination fee. Convincing them might take a little bit of time, of course, but if you’re not making any progress with the company you’re leaving, you might as well try the one you’re planning on joining.

Consider Arbitration

If you feel there’s been a misrepresentation about your service or what it costs, you can consider arbitration. This is a situation in which a trained, neutral party acts as a judge and renders a verdict that both parties agree to adhere to. There is, of course, no way to guarantee that they’ll rule in your favor, but – if you believe in your argument, you will not get a fairer outcome.

Final Advice

As you can see, there is a lot to consider if you’re looking to find out how to cancel Cox internet. If anything, it should be clear to you by not why the majority of people simply cancel the service and pay the early termination or contract fees. Still, if you feel the company has done you wrong, there is not mistaking that all contracts go both ways.

If you plan to put up a fight against a company like Cox, you have to have all of your facts and figures in front of you, know your rights and their terms and conditions well, and be prepared to spend a lot of time talking to customer service. In the end, if you are tenacious enough, you might end up winning your way to internet freedom.