If I am already in a contract, and the company alters the price on me during that contract period, how was I capable of making a decision?
The right answer is that the other side broke the contract and voided it, but if it was through a "confusing notice of the fee in a junk mail postcard they’ll throw in the garbage" then I may have missed the window to politely exit the contract.
Then again, if I went to all of the trouble waiting for a cable man to show up and install my new cable, only to have the price altered a few months later, they have not only wasted my time but also set themselves up for a potential run in with the FTC by advertising something as $XXX a year which really turns out to be $YYY a year. Price differences are often what make a consumer choose one service over another so it most certainly matters in that regards.
<post type="devils-advocate">That's not even getting into the fact that it's a backdoor rate raise, but cmon. There's nothing sneaky about it as far as the customer is concerned.
It seems like if they are amending your contract, the sender should at least need proof that the reciever got the notice and has agreed (snail mail with signature required, phone call, email with link to website, etc..)
What happens if a bill gets lost in the mail and never delivered?
If it was important it should have been included in the bill - like virtually every other sane company would do.
Meanwhile, rate hikes in many areas are regulated by state/local governments, so it certainly looks like a way to raise revenue without triggering government reviews.
It seems if you push enough, they'll give up the model/brand that they support and provision.