Stop Mandatory Cable TV Now !!
The Petition
STOP MANDATORY CABLE TV NOW !!!
90 signatures and growing! THANK YOU !! KEEP IT UP !!
Here's the deal: buy cable or satellite TV from your apartment landlord's PREFERRED provider or you will LOSE YOUR HOUSING. THAT'S THE DEAL!! And it's spreading all over the country! It WILL happen to YOU, and SOON!
We are Tenants United For Fairness (TUFF), and we intend to put a stop to this practice ACROSS THE NATION. We stand TUFF on this issue!
TUFF's goal is at least 10,000 signatures on this national petition to be presented to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the U.S. Congress. The petition will also be presented to the 2011 session of the Texas Legislature, with just the Texas Zip code signatures. ANY LEGAL U.S. RESIDENT CAN SIGN THIS PETITION, NOT JUST APARTMENT TENANTS.
In October, 2007, the FCC ruled that landlords could not make "exclusivity contracts" with video services providers (VSPs). But the ruling did not address "preferred provider" contracts. Landlords are using this loophole to present tenants with a so-called 'choice' of more than one VSP, but at the same time requiring tenants to purchase from the landlord's "preferred" provider, thus taking away the consumer's freedom of choice and even the freedom to have NO video service at all.
On March 01, 2010, the FCC in essence upheld the ruling of October, 2007. This is NOT GOOD NEWS for us who oppose Mandatory Cable TV, but it doesn't mean that we're licked yet. However, it DOES mean that we're in for a long, tough fight. T.U.F.F. intends to continue that fight!!! The link to the full text of the FCC Report and Order can be found under the BLOG tab at the top of this page. You need to read and understand this report.
We believe landlords have no right to impose the mandatory purchase of this luxury item as a condition of housing because cable and satellite TV are NOT essential public utilities such as electricity, water, sewer service, natural gas, or trash disposal; unlike these, cable and satellite TV are NOT required to maintain safe, healthy, livable dwellings, which is the landlord's only legitimate concern. Cable and satellite TV are therefore purely optional luxury items, the purchase of which rightfully belongs and should remain strictly within the tenant's individual freedom of choice.
"MANDATORY cable/satellite TV" is clearly unfair and absurd on its face. No one should have the right to force people to buy services they may not want.
If we don't stop the landlords and telecom companies on THIS issue, there will be NO LIMIT to the number of mandatory 'services' they force upon us.
We, the undersigned, therefore petition the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Congress to take immediate regulatory and legislative action to forbid landlords from requiring the purchase of NON-ESSENTIAL services including, but not limited to: cable TV; high-speed Internet; satellite TV; satellite radio; or ANY item not required to maintain safe, healthy, livable dwellings. We further ask that landlords be prevented from disguising the charges for these unwanted luxury services in other ways or under other categories. We ask that the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Congress take us seriously on this issue because, according to the FCC, 30% of all people in the country live in apartment houses--that's 90 MILLION people. THAT MAKES MANDATORY CABLE/SATELLITE TV A HUGE CONSUMER ISSUE AND POLITICAL ISSUE. WE VOTE!!
BE SURE TO FORWARD THE PETITION TO OTHERS USING THE "E-MAIL FRIENDS" LINK ABOVE !! OUR SUCCESS DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON YOU FORWARDING TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
WE ALSO NEED YOU TO WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS ON THIS ISSUE AND FILE COMPLAINTS WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. SEE THE BLOG LINK ABOVE FOR INSTRUCTIONS. CLICK ON THE TITLE OF EACH BLOG ENTRY TO SEE THE FULL TEXT.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome! Use the comments box below and the new BLOG link at the top of the page. Also use the "Contact Petition Sponsor" link under the Sponsor field. TUFF will respond!
Please sign below (IMPORTANT: use your correct Zip code) and stand TUFF with us !!
