Cox Communications

Cox Communications

Basic information
Founded	1962
Legal Structure	Subsidiary
Industry	Telecommunications
Official website	https://www.cox.com/

Cox Communications, Inc. is an Atlanta-based American telecommunications company which provides internet, TV, home automation, and phone services. It operates in 18 states, providing service to roughly 7 million customers. They reported $12.6 billion in total revenue for 2020. Cox is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. It is the largest private broadband company in the United States and 3rd largest broadband company overall in the United States.

Consumer-impact summary

User Freedom: Every dispute must be resolved through forced arbitration. Paying users with unlimited plans et their upload speed capped if there's excessive bandwidth usage.

User Privacy: Cox and affiliates collect extensive private informations and share it with third parties suck as data brokers.

Business Model: Customers can't cancel their subscription easily as there isn't a click-to-cancel policy.

Incidents

Difficult cancellation process

Cox does not have a click-to-cancel policy for canceling services, instead requiring users to either call support, live chat with an agent online, or visit a physical store. During the call, chat, or visit, the customer service representative will attempt to convince you to keep the service. If you live chat from the website, they will request your account information even if you are signed-in.^{[citation needed]}

Data collection

Cox and its affiliates collects certain information, such as, "referring URL, clicks, cursor movement, and scrolling activity" to "deliver relevant ads and other content to you on the Online Service and certain third-party services." This includes Nielsen, which is a registered data broker in the state of California.

Binding arbitration

Cox has a forced arbitration clause in its terms of service:

A.   YOU AND COX AGREE TO ARBITRATE — RATHER THAN LITIGATE IN COURT — Any and all claims, disputes, or controversies between you and Cox, including any parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, or agents of Cox, whether based in contract, statute, regulation, ordinance, tort (including, but not limited to, fraud, misrepresentation, fraudulent inducement, negligence, or any other intentional tort) or other legal or equitable theory, except as expressly provided in Sections 4(G) and 4(H) below (“Dispute”) that arise out of or in any way relate to this Agreement, any of the Services provided under this Agreement or any other Services or products that Cox provides to you in connection with this Agreement (including but not limited to amounts that Cox charges you for Services or products provided, any alleged breach related to the collection, retention or disclosure of your personal information, and any alleged violation of our Privacy Notice). You and Cox also agree to arbitrate any and all Disputes that arise out of or relate in any way to any services or products provided to you by Cox or any of its affiliated entities under any other agreement, except as specified in Sections 4(G) and 4(H) below.

Opting out requires sending a letter to Cox's headquarters within 30 days of starting services for new customers:

B.   Opt Out: You may opt out of this Dispute Resolution Provision (except for the jury trial waiver contained in Section 4(K) below) by notifying Cox of that intent during the Opt-Out Period by sending an email to Cox at [email protected] or a letter via U.S. mail to Cox Legal Department, Attn: Litigation Counsel, 6205B Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30328 stating that you are opting out of this dispute resolution provision. Exercising this right, should you choose to do so, will not affect any of the other terms of this Agreement with Cox, and you may remain a Cox customer. If you opt out of the Dispute Resolution Provision, that opt out will remain in effect if Cox modifies this section in the future or you agree to a new term of service under this Agreement. If you enter into a new agreement with Cox that includes a dispute resolution provision and you want to opt out of that provision, you will need to follow the instructions in that agreement for opting out.

There is also a clause barring class-action lawsuits:

C.   Class Action and Mass Action Waiver: All Disputes between us must be resolved on an individual basis. Except as specified below, you and Cox agree that all Disputes between you and Cox will be arbitrated individually, and that you will not file or participate in a “Class Action” (as defined in federal, state, or arbitration procedural rules), any other form of class, collective, representative, or consolidated actions (collectively “Mass Action,” which term includes, but is not limited to, any action in which twenty-five or more similar demands for arbitration are filed against Cox or any of its affiliated entities and representation for the parties is consistent or coordinated across all cases. The twenty-five or more demands for arbitration need not be filed simultaneously. A Mass Action expressly includes any mass action as defined under National Arbitration and Mediation (“NAM”) Comprehensive Rules and Procedures (including its Mass Filing Supplemental Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures). We both agree that it is a material breach of this Dispute Resolution Provision to file or participate in a Class Action or Mass Action, and Cox may enforce this prohibition as set forth in Section 4(H) below. If you or Cox brings a claim in small claims court, this Class Action and Mass Action waiver will apply. Nothing in this subsection bars any claims by you for public injunctive relief, which must be decided in court under Section 4(H) below. We both agree that this Class Action and Mass Action waiver is an essential part of our arbitration agreement and that if this Class Action and Mass Action waiver is found to be unenforceable by any court or arbitrator then the entire arbitration agreement set forth in this Section 4 will not apply to any Dispute between you and Cox, except for the provisions of Section 4(K) waiving the right to jury trial. This Class Action and Mass Action waiver may not be severed from our arbitration agreement.

Applying arbitrary bandwidth limitations

Despite customers paying for unlimited usage, the company has decreased the upload speed of entire neighborhoods from 35 to 10 Mbps due to a few customers using excessive data (8 to 12 TB per month).

See also

• AT&T
• Optimum
• Spectrum
• Verizon