So you're done paying for a cable box...

[bulldog]

Okay, I have no qualms about showing my bill. What can I do to get a better price? Right now I pay 165-170 per month.

You really only paying $10 month for internet or is that just a upgrade charge?

Honestly you have to be willing to go in and say you are going to cancel because you can get the service cheaper somewhere else. usually they will try to save you as a customer. Thing that sucks is they only do it for like 6 months then back to the same game. Actually time for me to call and threaten to cancel.

[Snowman]

Damn, I have that 20mbps line too and it's costing me $64.00 a month from Comcast.

How pathetic has business ethics become when the accepted model of maintaining your customer base has more to do with tricking them into paying more for a service because they don't like arguing with you over the bill?

In the past consumer loyalty meant you where doing the job right and you rewarded people for not going to your competitor. I know most small business believe in this idea but I guess once you reach a large enough size what your customers think really doesn't matter anymore.

[salsashark]

You really only paying $10 month for internet or is that just a upgrade charge?

Honestly you have to be willing to go in and say you are going to cancel because you can get the service cheaper somewhere else. usually they will try to save you as a customer. Thing that sucks is they only do it for like 6 months then back to the same game. Actually time for me to call and threaten to cancel.

That's an additional fee for "powerboost". His internet/TV are bundled above for 130/month.

[~Barn~]

Winning!

So I just called Century Link (who bundles my service along with DirecTV) to ask them about some Century Link charges on my account that I wasn't clear about [go figure]. The super nice kid named "Sean" who helped me out, spent like 20 minutes reviewing how my account was structured. While he didn't go so far as to say "Qwest has been fucking you", he made it pretty plain that my account was setup strange, almost as if it was a business acct. instead of a residental.

Long-story-short, he told me that for as long as I've been a cutomer with them, he didn't see where I ever took advantage of their "best" promos, despite the fact that I have been able to angle for the occassional 12 months of $10 Off. He said that while he couldn't do anything about previously billed charges, he made some changes to how my account is setup, that are going to save me $30/month going forward! He said that they will remain on my account too, and won't have an expiry date.

Sean told me that there wasn't anything I could do about the DTV side of things, but he at least confirmed that my account looked much better than most that he sees, and that I'm getting some good promos.

:Anxious to see next months invoice:

[vort3xr6]

Quit renting PPV movies for 6 bucks when you can get them from redbox for 1...

What's your additional services? Sports for 9/month, Outlet service for 9/month?

Also, I have the same bundle and my Service Discount is 51/month.

Yeah yeah I know. I always forget to return the redbox shit.

Additional outlet service is for the TV in my bedroom. I swear for the price I pay to rent that goddamn DVR, I could have outright bought 3 of them.

I am going to go into the comcast store with my cable boxes and threaten to cancel.

[salsashark]

^^ So do you have a box on your TV (DVR/On Demand/whatever) in the bedroom? Is that what the extra charge is for?

Reason I ask is that I have a DVR on my TV in the family room, but I only have a digital converter box on the TV in the basement (TV only, no DVR or anything else). It's on my bill, but I'm not paying anything for it.

[vort3xr6]

^^ So do you have a box on your TV (DVR/On Demand/whatever) in the bedroom? Is that what the extra charge is for?

Reason I ask is that I have a DVR on my TV in the family room, but I only have a digital converter box on the TV in the basement (TV only, no DVR or anything else). It's on my bill, but I'm not paying anything for it.

Lucky. The extra $9 per month charge is for the digital HD box in my bedroom. The DVR box is the $17 per month.

[bulldog]

Winning!

So I just called Century Link (who bundles my service along with DirecTV) to ask them about some Century Link charges on my account that I wasn't clear about [go figure]. The super nice kid named "Sean" who helped me out, spent like 20 minutes reviewing how my account was structured. While he didn't go so far as to say "Qwest has been fucking you", he made it pretty plain that my account was setup strange, almost as if it was a business acct. instead of a residental.

Long-story-short, he told me that for as long as I've been a cutomer with them, he didn't see where I ever took advantage of their "best" promos, despite the fact that I have been able to angle for the occassional 12 months of $10 Off. He said that while he couldn't do anything about previously billed charges, he made some changes to how my account is setup, that are going to save me $30/month going forward! He said that they will remain on my account too, and won't have an expiry date.

Sean told me that there wasn't anything I could do about the DTV side of things, but he at least confirmed that my account looked much better than most that he sees, and that I'm getting some good promos.

:Anxious to see next months invoice:

How is it "winning" if they have been stiffing you for $30 in the past, but they won't give that money back? Doesn't this mean you got screwed and now that you noticed it they are going to fix it in the future. Sounds like they won for those months

I had this happen to me with Waste Management last year; were charging me for recycling (another issue I have why we are charged to recycle) charge for over a year. They said they would fix it and I demanded I get reimbursed for their mistake. Got trash pickup for free for months!


It is like what Snowman says and these places take advantage of their customers until they do complain

How pathetic has business ethics become when the accepted model of maintaining your customer base has more to do with tricking them into paying more for a service because they don't like arguing with you over the bill?

In the past consumer loyalty meant you where doing the job right and you rewarded people for not going to your competitor. I know most small business believe in this idea but I guess once you reach a large enough size what your customers think really doesn't matter anymore.

[salsashark]

Lucky. The extra $9 per month charge is for the digital HD box in my bedroom. The DVR box is the $17 per month.

not luck... it's just a digital converter. No onscreen menus, HD, DVR or anything. They threw it in the bag when I converted over to comcast.

[birchyboy]

not luck... it's just a digital converter. No onscreen menus, HD, DVR or anything. They threw it in the bag when I converted over to comcast.

Is that the small box with the remote receiver on a long cable?

[salsashark]

Is that the small box with the remote receiver on a long cable?

yep...

[Zach929rr]

Damn Brad. You are getting fucked.

[bulldog]

Good luck getting discounts from Comcast now. Just called and was told that they only offer these discounts for 6 months in a 1 year timeframe and will no longer do back to back discounts. So best you can now get is a cheaper price for 6 months of a year. Even threatened to cancel and they wer fine with it and say they have new policies

Zack, are your discounts only for 6 months or have you received them for longer?

Will be looking into Century Link now since I have DirecTV. If anyone has a hookup or promo let me know since Comcast is unwilling to save their loyal customers anymore.....

[vort3xr6]

Goddamnit. I need to call and bitch to somebody. Some bitch from india is about to get ear raped.

[bulldog]

Goddamnit. I need to call and bitch to somebody. Some bitch from india is about to get ear raped.

You should have no problem getting the 6 month discounts with a bit of complaining; it is after you use it for the year where they won't seem to budge now.

Buddy at work is claiming he pays $29.99 (plus $6 modem fee) for 20mps with Century Link if you have DirectTV.

Currently paying $60 (with no equipment fees) for 12mps....what a ripp off. We need to be like other countries and have like 10 competitors!!!

[modette99]

They have not done the back to back discounts for at least 2 years I think its been sense I walked. Dude was like "we never do back to back discounts" and my reply "funny I have had them as I'm sure you can see for 10-15 years now"...I could hear him clicking and he comes back and says "I see that, and we can not help you". I tried 3-4 different people and got the same thing. I walked the box right on in a few days later.

They rather loose a customer. Yeah I might be paying $60 for 20MB internet but they could of gotten another $20 out of me for TV...maybe even $30. Their best was $110 for 6 months and then something like $140. Nah, %60 is still much cheaper then $110...they failed to realize that. Cost them nothing to keep me paying $80-$90.

I get things int he mail all the time...oh well. It be hard for me to ever go back to them.

[Darth Do'Urden]

We're also contemplating cutting the cord altogether. We've had Dish for several years now, and though we've been happy the whole time, I'm really tired of paying for a lot of crap that I just don't care about, even with just the basic package.

So with that said, I'm too considering going with Hulu+ for current running non-premium channel shows, Netflix Streaming for some movies, older shows, etc. (already have it and love it), and TPB for a few infrequent premium shows (like Showtime, HBO, AMC). But with the HD antenna for local channels, will I pick anything up down in my basement?

Only thing I'll miss from ditching Dish is the DVR...

[Zach929rr]

Zack, are your discounts only for 6 months or have you received them for longer?

I really think it has been longer than 6 months, but I may be in the 6th month now. Can't remember if I went in during the Fall or Spring.

Worries me about the "new policies" though. I've been doing this for a while (walking into the comcast location at Pierce and Ken Caryl and asking for a discount).

If it comes down to it I'll just move the TV over to my business account and expense that shit and deal with the internet pricing.

[bulldog]

They have not done the back to back discounts for at least 2 years I think its been sense I walked. Dude was like "we never do back to back discounts" and my reply "funny I have had them as I'm sure you can see for 10-15 years now"...I could hear him clicking and he comes back and says "I see that, and we can not help you". I tried 3-4 different people and got the same thing. I walked the box right on in a few days later.

They rather loose a customer. Yeah I might be paying $60 for 20MB internet but they could of gotten another $20 out of me for TV...maybe even $30. Their best was $110 for 6 months and then something like $140. Nah, %60 is still much cheaper then $110...they failed to realize that. Cost them nothing to keep me paying $80-$90.

I get things int he mail all the time...oh well. It be hard for me to ever go back to them.

Yeah same with me and have had back to back discounts before, but now they wouldn't do it. Hoping CenturyLink is a decent competitor since they now offer speeds as high as cable.

I really think it has been longer than 6 months, but I may be in the 6th month now. Can't remember if I went in during the Fall or Spring.

Worries me about the "new policies" though. I've been doing this for a while (walking into the comcast location at Pierce and Ken Caryl and asking for a discount).

If it comes down to it I'll just move the TV over to my business account and expense that shit and deal with the internet pricing.

Maybe the key is to go into the office; I was told this over phone. I may try that when I cancel and give them one last shot.


Anyone have opinions on CenturyLink?

[FZ1Guy]

Yeah same with me and have had back to back discounts before, but now they wouldn't do it. Hoping CenturyLink is a decent competitor since they now offer speeds as high as cable.


Maybe the key is to go into the office; I was told this over phone. I may try that when I cancel and give them one last shot.


Anyone have opinions on CenturyLink?

Gave them a shot... Got a great deal for 29.99 for their highspeed 40-50 megabits... but when the promotion ended they wanted like 80 bucks to keep the high speed... told them to shove it. Went back to comcast and got the 25mb speed for 45 bucks... and thats not a promotion. Cool thing is free local channels if you just hook up a TV to any cable plug in.

[~Barn~]

<Snip...> Anyone have opinions on CenturyLink?

I'm a fan, now that I've moved to their VDSL service (12Mbps advertised). Based on what I've seen in my tests, it is consistently double the throughput of their ADSL (7Mbps advertised) and it's only $10 more per month.

Their price point for me always had seemed a bit high (even when I was on their lower-end service), but apparently I've just received a major hook-up. We'll see if it holds true when the next invoice comes.

[modette99]

CenturyLink Online Quote:
Internet (20Mbps) $24.95, Phone $45.00 = $69.95 a month
That is to get their locked in 5 year deal
Changing it to 12Mbps Internet drops it to like $64, so not much more to get their best service.

One-Time Charge of $99.99 to buy their modem or one can rent it for $5.95 a month (no way cheaper to buy it).

I'm interested but at the same time hate making these type of changes.

The downside is their upload speeds is like 898Kbps where as with Comcast I get 4-5Mbps

[bulldog]

Gave them a shot... Got a great deal for 29.99 for their highspeed 40-50 megabits... but when the promotion ended they wanted like 80 bucks to keep the high speed... told them to shove it. Went back to comcast and got the 25mb speed for 45 bucks... and thats not a promotion. Cool thing is free local channels if you just hook up a TV to any cable plug in.

See this is where Comcast (and other companies) make me mad. I'd be down for 25mbps speed for $45, but that is not a option or you just have to get the right agent (or was a pas deal). Rate was just raised to $59.99 for 12mbps and claim that is their nornal price they offer. 25mbps was ike $79.99 when I called yesterday.

I'm a fan, now that I've moved to their VDSL service (12Mbps advertised). Based on what I've seen in my tests, it is consistently double the throughput of their ADSL (7Mbps advertised) and it's only $10 more per month.

Their price point for me always had seemed a bit high (even when I was on their lower-end service), but apparently I've just received a major hook-up, where Comcast cable internet does not have that issue. We'll see if it holds true when the next invoice comes.

Cool, thanks Barn. Did you ever have Comcast to compare? I am more worried about how they say speed depends on location to the hub. So basically I am being told I need to have them test my speed for my area to be sure.

[modette99]

See this is where Comcast (and other companies) make me mad. I'd be down for 25mbps speed for $45, but that is not a option or you just have to get the right agent (or was a pas deal). Rate was just raised to $59.99 for 12mbps and claim that is their nornal price they offer. 25mbps was ike $79.99 when I called yesterday.

Cool, thanks Barn. Did you ever have Comcast to compare? I am more worried about how they say speed depends on location to the hub. So basically I am being told I need to have them test my speed for my area to be sure.

We pay $62.95 for 20Mbps Internet from Comcast. although my speedtest show we are usually around 25Mbps. So maybe they upped it.