Bend, Ore. – The Prineville Review has been investigating following numerous tips from Central Oregon residents who say their TDS internet bills unexpectedly increased despite being enrolled in so-called “Price for Life” or similar long-term promotional plans.
Over recent weeks, readers have contacted the Prineville Review describing a recurring $5 monthly increase, prompting confusion and frustration among customers who believed their rates were locked in.
One widely shared Facebook post from TDS customer Sarah Long captured the sentiment expressed by many:
“Everyone with TDS ‘price for life’ internet, check your TDS bills! I just spent a [sic] half an hour on the phone arguing with a customer service representative that ‘price for life’ doesn’t mean it goes up $5/month whenever they decide. They ended up changing it back, but I had to make a big stink about it first. Just FYI. TDS sucks.”
Long later described a lengthy customer service experience that she said required persistence and a credible threat of cancellation:
“You just have to see an offer and call customer retention, tell them your friend signed up and got such-and-such price and you want the same deal or you’re going to cancel. It’s a pain and takes forever … they kept transferring me and putting me on hold and I finally got to talk to a supervisor.”
Similar complaints have been shared directly with us. Several readers reported needing to contact TDS to correct the issue, and that the request for the fix and refund was not easy with TDS customer service.
On Tuesday, we reached out to TDS for comment. Hours later, in response to the inquiry, TDS acknowledged a billing issue affecting a limited group of customers and released a statement.
“A small group of customers enrolled in price promotions, including Price for Life, were incorrectly charged up to $7 more on their last statement due to a billing system error,” said Mark Schaaf, Manager of Communications for TDS.
“We sincerely regret this mistake and took immediate actions to resolve the issue. As we communicated to impacted customers on Feb. 3, they will automatically receive credit for the overcharged amount on their next statement. No action is required on their part, and customers’ price promotion remains in place.”
We then followed up with several of those who reached out to us over the last couple of weeks, but not a single source was able to find any reported communication from Feb 3rd. We have reached back out to TDS for information on the reported notice to customers, but have yet to hear back.
Some of the Central Oregon TDS customers alleged in recent days they had to deal with customer service agents who were often dismissive or took 30-60 minutes before agreeing to correct their bills.
Other customers told the Prineville Review their increases exceeded the amounts described by the company in its statement released yesterday.
TDS customer Diana Pullen of Redmond said her bill rose more sharply than expected.
“Mine went up $10! I thought we had price for life, too. What a crock!” said Pullen.
Another local customer reported on social media an even larger discrepancy tied to bundled services. “Can’t stand TDS. They did something very similar with me. Was supposed to have a locked-in price because I chose to get a house phone through them as well, but they started charging me 30 dollars more every month.”
Billing concerns are not entirely new for the company in the region. In August 2024, TDS upgraded Central Oregon customers on certain 300 Mbps and 600 Mbps plans to gigabit service. At the time, customers reported inconsistencies in pricing, noting that those already on the 600Mbps and 1Gig plans had to call into TDS to request the adjustment to the same pricing that those who had been on 300Mbps plans were getting now that customers were all on the new 1Gig plans.
Many said they were unaware that better rates were available at the time.
TDS did not indicate how many Central Oregon customers were affected by the most recent billing issue, but readers continue to advise fellow subscribers to closely review their statements.
According to the Better Business Bureau, TDS maintains an A+ rating, which primarily relates to its handling of customer complaints, although it is not an accredited business. The business’s customer review ratings are currently at 1.84 out of 5 with the BBB.
Have a news tip involving consumer protection, government transparency, or another issue affecting the community? We’d like to hear from you. Visit our Contact Us page. If you wish to help support our local reporting which is provided for free without a paywall, please consider supporting us so we can continue serving the community.
Mr. Alderman is an investigative journalist specializing in government transparency, non-profit accountability, consumer protection, and is a subject matter expert on Oregon’s public records and meetings laws. As a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, he brings a disciplined investigative approach to his reporting that has frequently exposed ethics violations, financial mismanagement, and transparency failures by public officials and agencies.
