How I Cut my Comcast Cable Bill by 33% (Without Losing Any Service)
Published on - December 16th, 2009 (Modified on - June 23rd, 2011) (by J.D. Roth) Last week, I wrote that you can negotiate anything. This guest post by G.E. Miller gives a real-life example of using negotiation to save money. For more from G.E., check out his personal finance blogs 20somethingfinance.com and microfrugality.com.
For the third of the country who has no choice but to turn to Comcast for cable television, the thought of price haggling is about as appealing as a root canal. Comcast has a notorious reputation for being unwilling to make their customers happy. Customers of other monopolistic cable outfits across the nation know the feeling.
However, the potential savings that can come from limiting a monthly subscription expense can be enormous – that’s money that goes straight to your online savings account. What’s a frugal personal financier to do?
Dealing with your local cable superpower doesn’t have to be an intimidating process. And as evidenced by the ease in which I recently cut my cable/internet costs by a third during a short online chat without losing any service whatsoever, you may have similar success.
With television service competition increasing and unemployment rates still trending upward, consumers are looking to slice discretionary expenses and service providers may be feeling the pinch to keep them on board. There’s no better time to ask than now. Here’s my actual chat with a Comcast rep (whose name has been altered to Rizzo to preserve his anonymity). Afterward, we’ll discuss some universal price haggling techniques to better prepare you for your interaction.
user G.E. has entered room
analyst Rizzo has entered room
Rizzo: Hello G.E., Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Rizzo. Please give me one moment to review your information.
G.E.: Hi Rizzo
Rizzo: Hello G.E., I will be happy to assist you today. How are you?
G.E.: Fine, you?
Rizzo: How may I assist you today? I’m good. Thanks for asking.
G.E.: I need to lower my bill. U-Verse is much cheaper. Thinking of switching
Rizzo: Alright. Let me check my resources for this.
G.E.: A buddy of mine was able to get $39.99/mo. for digital preferred for a year.
Rizzo: Can I have your account number please.
G.E.: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rizzo: Thank you for that. I will now check on the account. Please bear with me. Thanks.
Rizzo: G.E, I have checked the account. You have our Digital Preferred package for $74.94, DVR for $9.99, Internet $42.95 and Modem Rent for $5.00. I will now check on my resources to lower your bill.
Rizzo: I have checked my resources. I can offer you Digital Preffered $54.99 for 12months and Internet for $19.99 for 6 months.
G.E.: Can you do $44.99 on the cable or 1/2 price DVR and extend the internet to a year?
Rizzo: With this your new monthly charge will be $89.97. Thats the best promotion available G.E.
G.E.: Rizzo, we’re so close! =)
Rizzo: Thanks. Do you want me to process this one for you?
G.E.: Can you extend the internet to a year? That way the cable and internet are both a year
Rizzo: The Internet Code is only good for 6 months. That’s the best price I can offer you for internet. However, you can check back on us again next quarter to check if there’s another promotion available to you. Would that be okay?
G.E.: What’s my TOTAL bill now, and what would it be after your offer?
Rizzo: Your current monthly charge is $132.88. With this offer your monthly bill is $89.97.
G.E.: Preferred is what I presently have, correct?
Rizzo: Yes, the offer that I have is also a Digital Preferred package. Do you want me to proceed and process this one?
G.E.: Yes, can you send me an email confirmation?
Rizzo: Unfortunately, I cannot. The process will take effect immediately. You will see this rates adjusted on your next bill.
Rizzo: Shall I process this now?
G.E.: yes
Rizzo: Alright.
G.E.: thanks Rizzo, you’re a good man.
Rizzo: You’re welcome. I’m still processing. Please bear with me.
Rizzo: G.E., I already have processed the order. The new charges includes Preferred $54.99, DVR $9.99, Modem $5.00 and Internet $19.99. Your new monthly charge is $89.97.
Rizzo: Do you have other concerns for today? I will be glad to assist you further.
G.E.: Nope, that’s it. thanks
Rizzo: You’re welcome. By the way, to properly close this chat room please click on the END SESSION button. Thank you. I hope that you can find time in answering the 3 question survey after this chat. Thanks.
Rizzo: Bye for now.
So what can you take away from this chat transcript? There are a few universal haggling techniques that are applicable to just about any price haggling scenario.
- Don’t be afraid to ask. Asking to cut my bill worked. Amazed at how simple it was to cut more than I was aiming for from my bill immediately, I asked for an even bigger cut. That request was denied (not to my surprise or dismay). Truth be told, I’m not sure that any of the techniques I used triggered the better offer, but I do know one thing — had I been afraid to simply ask for the price break, I would have never gotten one. Rule number one is to overcome your fear and just ask.
- Be pleasant. Congeniality is king when interacting with CSRs. Being rude only infuses CSRs with the desire to deny your request. CSRs aren’t paid near what they should be, and probably don’t have the highest job satisfaction levels. If you can appeal to their gentler human-side, you win. Spit fire at them, and they will slam the door on you with pleasure.
- Refer to the competition. I had heard that Comcast was motivated to be a little more giving with the entrance of AT&T U-Verse cable into the marketplace (at lower prices). I’m not sure that it helped in this specific case, but referencing the competition specifically or generically (if its offerings are weaker) rarely will hurt you.
- State the facts. More than anything else, I wanted to lower my cost, and that’s what I asked for. Someone I know had received a better price than I was paying and I stated that fact.
- Do your research. Knowing what kind of promotions the company is offering to new or exiting customers is essential to getting the best deal. When it comes down to it, if you can quit your service and then re-start it the next day at a cheaper price, the company knows it has little incentive to let you leave without matching that offer.
- Look for special circumstances. I’d heard that working with Comcast online chat representatives often yielded better results because the reps weren’t actual Comcast employees, and therefore had lesser incentive to play the hard line. That’s why I chose the online chat route versus the phone.
- Let them make the first move. Before the chat, had I not received a cost break, I was willing to cut my service levels. I didn’t offer that right away, and it turned out that I didn’t need to. Don’t show all your cards right away.
When I need to call back in, I now have two additional pieces of information that I can take into the negotiation process based on this statement form the CSR: “The Internet Code is only good for 6 months. That’s the best price I can offer you for internet. However, you can check back on us again next quarter to check if there’s another promotion available to you.”
I now know that Comcast has promotions available on a quarterly basis. I also know that there are “codes” for both Internet and cable. Both pieces of info should help me in future negotiations. Hopefully, they’ll help you as well.
Have you had similar success haggling with your cable company or ISP? What do you attribute it to? What kind of a break did you get on your bill?
Previously at Get Rich Slowly, G.E. has shared articles on the compound return marathon and what to look for when buying a home. If you’d like more cost-savings tips, check out 20somethingfinance.com or microfrugality.com. If you liked this article on how to cut your monthly subscription costs, check out G.E.’s Ooma review. The Ooma has allowed him to cut his monthly phone bill by $30 per month.
GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.
This article is about Frugality, Hints and Tips, Money Hacks, Real-Life
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Discover is a paid advertiser of this site. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the Discover online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards.
SEARCH FOR RECENT ARTICLES
Wow. I hadn’t thought of haggling with my cable company, but I surely will try now.
My total cable bill for digital cable (with starz and hbo) internet and phone is 80 a month.
So while I was delighted to read this, after checking out your bill I might be less inclined to haggle now and just thank my lucky stars instead! Wow!
loading....
This worked for me too. I was on the chat line for about a half hour, but it was worth it. My $65 a month Internet bill was knocked down to $29.99 for 12 months.
loading....
I said to them “I need to lower my bill, I’m thinking of switching”. Stayed on the chat for 30 seconds and it was all done. I am happy.
loading....
Lucky you! I called several times, before cancelling my service, and through chat signing up in my husbands name, to get a price we were happy with.
Comcast has always been unwilling to give me better deals on their price. DirecTV always been very willing.
loading....
This article was very helpful. If you are looking to save money this can help.
loading....
Very timely for us. Our cable bill (Charter) increased by over $50.00 this month as our 12 month new user rate expired. I would have appreciated getting a notice on our previous bill that our rate was about to change. They’ll only get one month’s worth of this rate. I’ll be making some phone calls this week. Thanks for the tips!
loading....
G.E.
This is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing the power of just asking, and being pleasant. It seriously can go a long way with anything, not just a cable bill.
I’m calling my provider tomorrow.
loading....
Why not get rid of cable entirely and save even more? Due to a roof replacement at my townhouse I was forced to get rid of DTV; before taking the plunge I crunched the numbers and found that I could easily save myself over $700 a year by cutting the cable bill; with the advancement of things like Hulu and Boxee there is a bountiful amount of content available on the internet at no cost, not to mention for just a mere 8.99 a month you get access to a large video library via Netflix. It takes some dedication to make it work but in the end it will save me easily 1K a year.
loading....
Cable is not something I’ve ever been willing to pay for either, but, if it were, here is how I would’ve continued the conversation with Rizzo:
“So, $89.97 is the best rate I can get with the current service level. I’m really hoping to get it lower yet. What can I get if I’m willing to cut my service to fewer channels or slower internet speed?”
Then, when you see what other offerings are available and how low you can get the prices on those, then you can decide if you are willing to sacrifice service for a price that’s lower yet.
loading....
I’m not willing to pay for TV, but if I were, I’d continue with Rizzo:
“So, the best you can do with my current service is $89.97. It’s still important to me to get it lower. What can you offer if I’m willing to reduce my service? ”
You could negotiate a price on lesser service, then decide if the service cut was worth the price savings between the discounted full service, and the further discounted reduced service.
loading....
I’ve had the exact same experience only I wasn’t nearly as organized: I just acted appalled that I was paying so much. I was actually frustrated and I’m pretty sure that came through.
I got a deal, but not nearly as good as the one you got! I would stress #2: BE PLEASANT!
Nobody likes a jerk.
loading....
I had a similar exchange with Comcast. I told them that my mother-in-law was paying $35.00 less and she had all three services while I had only two.
My bill went from $140.00/mo. to $106.00/mo. and that included adding a third service. Since the digital voice was added, I was also able to drop Cavalier’s phone services, saving me another $57.00/mo. Total saved for 10 minutes on the phone (and a 30 min. service call to install phone modem (router?) was $91.00/month!
loading....
Yes, I’ve negotiated with DirecTV the last three times they upped our rates and so for the last 2-3 years we have had no increases in our monthly service charge. And they also gave us free ShowTime or a free sports package (so more service for same cost).
But this last time they upped our rate by $5 a month I didn’t call and this is a good reminder to do so. And in fact I normally use whatever special Comcast is running in my dealings with DirecTV.
loading....
I’ve tried this with Charter a couple times. Once or twice over the phone, and once at their office. It’s never worked for me. I can’t threaten to quit because there is no alternative for HS internet at my house and I work from home. I’ve asked to sign a contract, but they can never offer me anything. They did just recently send me a notice that my cost for modem rental was increasing from $3 to $5 and that prompted me to buy a modem ($55). That will pay for itself in a year.
loading....
I’ve had one root canal. I think that dentist would take offense at it being in the same category as dealing with Comcast!
DirecTV in our area doesn’t up our fees and when we’ve had some outages a free month of whatever shows up and we’ve been fairly happy.
*I should note that unemployment recently trended downward. Just FYI. You know, economist and all that
loading....
Wow! That is awesome. I am going to give our local company a call today to try to get our bill lowered. That would be great!
loading....
Recently, I moved to a new house and was setting up all of our services there. Initially, I thought I would use a satellite company; however, after researching their internet options I decided to go with the local cable service who also offers internet.
When I called the satellite company (DirecTV) to cancel my set-up, they researched three times to lower the rates before I could finally cancel. I wish I could have stayed with them after all the reductions in price!
loading....
Add a Number 8 to the list: “Believe it when you see your bill.”
When I had my DSL through Qwest (I don’t watch much television & so do not need an expensive cable service), I called one day to see if there was anything they could do about the steadily rising cost. The CSR told me my service was not bundled. I said it should be, because the “we’ll save you money with our bundle” come-on was the reason I switched to their DSL/landline/cell phone service in the first place.
He said he would save me a lot of money by bundling my services.
Yeah.
He saved me a lot of money on what the load of unnecessary, unwanted services he dumped on me would have cost had I asked for them. In the process, he raised my phone bill by $20 or $30 a month.
It took three months, complaints to the state corporation commission (which, BTW, does not regulate Internet services–these services are completely unregulated, which is why these uncaring and faceless corporations can shaft you every which way from Sunday), appeals to Qworst’s CEO, and threats of a lawsuit to get quit of the mess the guy created.
On Consumerist, I discovered that someone else had been subjected to the exact same scam, so apparently it was not the result of one dishonest CSR.
Don’t know anything about Comcast; once I got quit of the Qworst mess, I switched to Cox, which provides far better services for less than I was paying at the outset.
loading....
I cut my cable bill by 100%. How? By cancelling service. I think the real cost of cable is not the $50 or $100 per month, but the opportunity cost. Anyone could invest the TV time to build a business, start a successful blog, or learn to invest. They could retire in a few years.
But, come to think of it, once I cancelled the service, they went crazy. They called me back regularly for about 6 months offering me unbelievable pricing. They offered me services for $5 per month. I had previously been paying $70 per month. It was pretty funny.
loading....
Cable modems are pretty affordable these days – purchasing one usually makes more sense than renting one.
loading....
@George – I cancelled my cable entirely this year too.
Lately, Rogers has been sending me some really hilarious cards in the mail (though I think they are supposed to be endearing, not funny) that say things like “we miss you” and “we’re lonely without you”. It’s like I broke up with them!
They haven’t offered me any ridiculous deals like you, though.
loading....
I’ve also found that online customer service chats are better. I get less frustrated and you’re able to keep a transcript of the conversation as opposed to voice calls that MAY have been recorded.
@Funny about Money, I wrote a rant about cable last month. In my case we only had two choices, satellite or cable. There was only one cable provider in our area. We pay $80 for 200+ channels. We only care about 20 channels. The rest is useless to us but we don’t have a choice. You’re right about these companies doing whatever they like. I feel trapped. It’s kind of like a necessary evil.
loading....
Here’s a slightly related question: What do you do when you don’t have many ISP options where you live? We only have two ISPs that service our area, and both of them suck. We would actually pay MORE for service that didn’t aggravate us.
loading....
JD this is great advice that I tell friends all the time. Any time Comcrap increases my rates, I call and get onto a new plan. Decreases like this are very common. If you get push back and they won’t put you on an existing customer plan, this is where the research comes in. If Comcrap tells you that they have no lower prices or promotions for existing customers, you need to be ready to quote competitor’s prices to get onto a new customer plan.
By the way, this can also work with trash companys, cell phone companies, etc.
loading....
I do this same thing with Charter Cable, and it also works. If you simply ask, then insist, you will get a promotional rate. The only pain is that you have to do it again every 6-12 months as the promotion runs out.
loading....
Wow. After reading this post, I tried this exact approach with Comcast via chat. I was very polite, and stated that I was thinking about cancelling service entirely due to the high cost. This is true, even though there are no other service providers in my area. The customer service rep, who was also very polite, cut my cable from 62.25 to 29.99 per month!!!! Thanks for this great post.
loading....
Unfortunetely, now you cannot negotiate online with the customer service reps they tell you that you have to call existing customer service they only help with new service.
loading....
3DOGMOM, I have to disagree. I just used Comcast’s chat service to get my bill down from $160 a month to $90. I was polite and offered them information from Verizon on a comparable plan.
loading....
I had the same experience as 3dogmom. I spent a considerable time with the chat rep, citing the killer offers I was getting from DirecTV. I was very polite, but the rep only offered to downgrade my service. I was told that I would need to call the toll-free number to discuss pricing.
loading....
@lostAnnfound
Actually, the bill you got from charter should be for NEXT months charges, so you should call ASAP. Even if they were for this month, you could get them changed as of the day you call, so calling ASAP is in your favor. I had charter for a while, I never really liked them and was super happy when I moved and could switch to FiOS.
Another suggestion, if youre paying $5 a month to rent a cable modem, look on craigslist for one. I was able to find one for $12, paid for itself in three months.
loading....
This is a great approach. I did the same thing with Comcast when Verizon FIOS rolled into town. I did a similar post and you’ve covered all the key points. (and you saved even more than I did!)
Here’s one extra add-on though. I did this over a year ago and they cited the 6-month deal as well. All I do now, is each time the 6 months comes up and the price jumps due to expiry of our agreement, I call up and again and re-up. I basically say (politely) that the only reason I’m still with Comcast is because of our previous agreement. Each time, they find a new “promotion” to adjust the bill and it works like a charm. So, essentially, I’m saving a few hundred per year for life on a service I planned on staying with all along.
loading....
Does Comcast have a penalty for cancelling service? It seems that this strategy only works if you can switch to U-Verse or Fios without paying Comcast a penalty. If that’s the case, then I’d consider haggling.
loading....
After reading this, I just spent 1 hour on comcast online support, I was very pleasant, using your tactics, and their response was this:
“I have just checked everything and As much as I want to help you reduce your bill right now but I am sad to inform you the we don’t have any promotional offers as of the moment. The current service you have is the best rate being offered right now. What I would suggest is for you to chat with us every now and then to check and be updated for special deals that might be offered in the near future. ”
Bummer.
loading....
You can do better.
Threaten to close the account and they will transfer you to the retention department.
They can offer even more.
loading....
Thanks so much! this is incredibly helpful.
loading....
Here is a tip – if you get a chance to go to a Comcast service center, they have more options than what is available online.
When I was there earlier this year, they had a brochure the size of a take-out menu. You can order the cable, internet, and phone a la carte rather than the bundle. They’ll try to sell you the bundle for cheaper, but just ignore them.
They had this cable package called Digital Economy, which may not be available now, but it’s much more than the Basic Cable. For internet, we picked the cheapest connection (I think it’s $10 a month, called Economy xxx) and it works just fine for the two computers and the Tivo box. For a while we even had the “Sports Entertainment” package for an additional $10 a month. The total of our cable and internet is less than $60, including taxes.
And the good thing about all this – there is no 6-month or 12-month deal. It’s permanent from the start!!!
loading....
I did this a few months ago with Comcast over the phone and it works like a charm.
My goal was actually to cancel cable and just keep the internet package, but after some discussion they cut my bill so it was only $10 more with cable then without (just basic cable, no DVR or anything fancy). Still though, it saved me about $40 a month and I have the same service I had before.
There’s really no reason you shouldn’t try to negotiate your cable rates.
loading....
Comcast just raised my internet rate back to their regular rate. Just had a live chat with a rep and decreased my bill for another six months. However, I was unable to get the $19.99/month rate for internet.
Usually I call for stuff like this, but find the online chat works much better. It does take the stress out of haggling.
We still have digital cable, but it’s still at a promotional rate of $29.99/month. Currently looking into buying a digital converter box and antenna so we can cancel cable completely.
loading....
We’re doing everything we can to cut back on expenses.
We canceled cable entirely and asked our cable company (RCN) for a discount on high speed internet (can’t go with dial-up because my son takes school online and needs to stream video/audio). Since we don’t have cable, we also canceled TiVo. Just with that, we saved ourselves $1,260 over the next year.
We also dropped Netflix down to the minimum level (saving $228 a year) so we get one DVD out at a time and stream the online content through my son’s PS3 and our computers. Monthly cost about $9. Didn’t need to buy a Roku to get this service. Plus we’ve started re-watching our extensive library of DVD’s. Netflix seems to be adding more streaming content every day. Every time I look at my queue, a more few movies have “coming soon” in the streaming column. And it’s mobile too. If you have a laptop and travel, you can stream Netflix anywhere. (Makes me wonder how cable companies are going to be able to stay competitive at all, given their high cost compared to Netflix.)
We also dropped Vonage phone service a couple of months ago (saving approx another $384 a year). Kept the cell phones, but plan on taking a look at the cost of that service next. Skype is pretty cheap per month if you want to be able to access landlines/cell phones through that service.
So far our total annual savings is $1,872. And the minute I called RCN to cancel, the first thing the guy did was to ask if I wanted a discount. So they’re VERY willing to talk to you. They must be losing lots of customers in this economy.
Frankly, now that we don’t have cable, I don’t really miss it. With sites like Hulu and Fancast plus the TV stations’ own sites, we can still see about 99% of what we were watching while paying for cable. And most if it WITHOUT commercials. Fully 1/4 of what we were watching on cable was commercials (which we used to just fast forward through with the TiVo anyway).
loading....
I do this every 6 months!!!! it works, they are so great a ripping people off and giving shitty service I dont feel bad at all.
loading....
“Be polite” is one of the best, and sometimes hardest, things to keep in mind. More than once when I have been too frustrated to remain polite (or wanted the person to know how upset I was) I frequently said, “I know this isn’t YOUR fault, but…” When you make it clear that it isn’t personal and you aren’t going to berate the CSR simply because they work for the company in question they are so much more helpful. I have even had some hint at something they weren’t allowed to volunteer (like “I know the deal expired, but you might be able to get it extended if you asked for it.”)
We need to do something about our cable. I never watch it and DH only watches football, but my mom lives with us and she’s addicted to the TV. Not only is it expensive but she loves gory crime dramas that I don’t want my daughter watching.
loading....
This whole topic reads a bit like “How I cut my cigarette cost by 33%” to me. Sure, you could find cheaper cigarettes, or you could quit smoking. It’s not even the shows that are poisonous (well, it’s some of them, but some are pretty good), but the commercials. I honestly think the reason I can leave $4000 in my checking account without being constantly tempted to spend it has a lot to do with the fact that I don’t watch TV commercials, or hear radio commercials.
loading....
Why you’re renting a cable modem? ($5 per month? Really?) Also, are you geting HD?
With TWC (up until November), I was paying ~$114 for HD programming, DVR rental (which was cheaper overall than getting cable cards and buying an HD TIVO), and 8 or 12 Mbps internet.
loading....
I got a 100% reduction in my cable bill over two years ago when I canceled it completely. I haven’t had a land line phone since 1995, either, but I’ve had the fastest internet connection I could get my hands on for over a decade.
TV is a waste of time. You’re wasting your life in the superficial embrace of marketing witchcraft targeting the lowest common denominators of our society. Spend more time online connecting with others. You’ll find that you can still access all your favorite programs (and some you never heard of) minus the commercials, and on your schedule.
Watch out for Comcast. They’re out to control as much of the TV and internet market as they can. They’re already throttling your internet connection depending on what they think you’re downloading online (everything is a download, by the way, even this page). Soon they’ll be able to slow down your internet connection to competing cable networks with impunity.
Really. Do you want to give these fat cats another dime so you can watch another “reality” show or manufactured medical drama?
Kudos to those who have got off the couch and got online.
loading....
“Kudos to those who have got off the couch and got online.”
This made me LOL.
loading....
I also live in Portland and have Comcast. My husband recently called and essentially got the same price break you mention here. In our case, a six month promotional price was about to run out. He called and stated that because the promo was expiring, we’d like to downgrade our plan. They offered to extend the same promo price for another six months. So, we’re essentially paying for “expanded” but getting “preferred.” Unfortunately, now I’m kind of hooked on some of the higher channels so it will be more difficult to want to downgrade in the future. Of course they know that, which is why they offer the better packages at lower rates at first–to get us hooked!
loading....
I’m taking George’s path at the end of the month and canceling service with DirecTV. The $75/month just isn’t worth it to me anymore.
loading....
We did that with our cell phone. Called and asked for any and all discounts (and to finally fix it so we weren’t being taxed for two states). They gave us a 10% discount, which balanced out the higher cell phone tax in our new state.
I definitely agree with Funny about money’s #8. Believe it when you see the bill. It took 3 months for them to fix things so that we didn’t have to keep calling to get things corrected every month.
Re: Whether or not to have cable. We have to have internet. We don’t have cable, but do have a landline we don’t need (that annoys DH because it only gives us sales calls). The internet bundles are always cheaper than the things alone where we live. We occasionally re-evaluate how to get our internet but haven’t seen a better package.
loading....
We were planning to dump Comcast for AT&T after AT&T started sending us all kinds of mail to our house– but then when we actually went to do it, it turns out that they did NOT service our address! Um, so why were you sending us mail, then?
That meant we had to go crawling back to Comcast and pay $50 installation for them to just flip the switch.
On the plus side, Comcast recently offered (with no solicitation on my part) to lower our bill by $5 a month if we got cable (we previously just had internet.) We don’t own a television. The service guy sure was happy when we asked him not to install a cable splitter or any cable, and just lowered the bill.
loading....
I ditched cable years ago and have never looked back. We are now on the 3 at a time unlimited plan with Netflix. Total cost? $19/month, and we’re very happy with it. Sadly, the streaming does not work for us, as my partner is deaf, and Netflix does not make their streaming content accessible.
When I wanted to cancel my Comcrap account, I had to threaten them with going to the consumer protection agency in my county before they took me seriously. They are thieves and have a monopoly where I live. It sucks.
loading....
I’m actually surprised by this. I find it very easy to negotiate rates with my cable company (and I’m a terrible negotiator). But it also helps that there are two major competitors here, and they are always offering promos.
loading....
I had a very similar experience to Nick. I wanted to just drop cable TV altogether and use Hulu and Netflix instead, but it turned out that, after some haggling, retaining the TV only cost $10 more per month than internet alone–and I actually got ~100 more channels, including some commercial-free movie channels. (Go figure!) I saved about $40 compared to the regular rate I had been paying. With the bundling they do, it’s impossible to get “internet only” for a reasonable price (at least in my area).
If you’re renting a cable modem, go on Craigslist and buy a used one to save that $5/month. You should be able to get one for under $30.
I have to say, despite their bad reputation, my dealings with Comcast have been mostly very good. Their customer reps and technicians have been competent and generally agreeable, and when we had some recurring problems with our service they were willing to discount that month’s bill.
loading....
Thanks, JD! I just called Comcast (they wouldn’t talk about my bill in online chat, which was weird), and got my internet bill lowered from $48 to $24.99 – not quite as good as your deal, but it matched the offer I had received from Clear WiMax the other day. Thanks for the tips – I’m marking my calendar for 5 months from now to renew the offer!
loading....
You are so right Tyler! We have an almost zero desire for new “stuff” without commercials. And without network/cable news shows, things are a lot less depressing around here lately! LOL (And we’re on unemployment.) All that stuff just brings you down or makes you feel like you’re missing out on the latest/greatest gadget.
For anyone who’s streaming Netflix, check out the British TV show Good Neighbors. They are the ultimate in frugality!
loading....
Who is frugal spending $132.88 a month in cable????
Give me a break!!!
loading....
When I originally signed up for Comcast cable internet 8 years ago, I did it through a retailer to get the free cable modem promotion. They were running it at Best Buy, Circuit City,etc. I think it was $49.99 with a $50 MIR- or something like that.
Even if I just bought the modem outright, it would have been 50 bucks, maybe 79.99 tops. It was a Motorola modem.
I moved out of the Comcast area and got a new cable company. I wasn’t going to start renting then. I insisted they make it work with my existing modem. They did.
I have Uverse now. They use their own 2Wire gateway. I can’t use my Motorola modem with it, but it still works. I used it for almost 7 years and 2 cable companies. If I had rented, it would have cost me an additional $400+. Maybe you can’t expect a modem to last that long, but even if it breaks after 1 year it is still cheaper to buy the modem. If the modem broke, I could then always choose to buy another or start renting one at that time- no reason to rent one indefinitely and throw away money.
Now if anyone has a solution for the monthly fees ATT charges for each box…
loading....
#45,
I consider myself frugal and spend close to that. However, mine also includes telephone ( which is a necessity for my wife) and internet ( which is a necessity for both of us) and the lowest priced TV package.
loading....
Greg C, if you have high speed internet, you may want consider a wireless headset and Skype for your wife. You can call landlines and cell phones from Skype and I think the rate is around $3-4 a month.
We’re still pondering what to do about our cells. I know there’s room for improvement on the cost of that.
loading....
Just wanted to add, we tried MagicJack for phone service. Couldn’t get it to work, even with their tech support staff helping.
loading....
PA Mom…I have MagicJack…the problems that I have before were when my computer didnt recognize the usb connection. After that is fixed the service works great!
loading....