My cable/net intro period just ran out, and my bill shot up $25/month

[ErinH]

I signed up for the 12 mos intro @ $65/month. It's now $90/month.

The account is actually under my wife's maiden name, since she lived here alone before we got married. But, I think I had them add me to the list... not sure.

I'm considering having her call, cancel the connection, then I'll call back and have it put in my name so that I can *try* to get the intro price again. I think they'd have to come back out and connect us, but if it would save 25*12=300/year, it's worth the trouble. Someone at work told me they had done this before, but I'm not so sure. Ever done this?

I'd call the Cable company and ask myself, but why would I want to "tell" on myself? See what I'm saying?...

 

[markw]

If it's at the same address and/or tied to the same POTS line, I doubt it'll work but good luck.

 

[10010011]

As long as you are not anywhere on the subscriber information it should work. Someone I know just did that by changing it from her ex husbands name.

BUT she had to have it disconnected first and then reconnected.

You might have to go a week without cable service of any kind and lose your phone number if you are also getting digital voice phone service.

 

[Midcow2]

Cancel immediately !!!

if you love to watch crystal clear TV go to satellite ( DishNetwork or DircecTV) of fiber (AT&T Uverse).

Cablr, eventhe hD , is very low resolution and they are shysters on pricing.

 

[ErinH]

I actually am looking into it.

DirectTv is used by my in-laws.

Just wonder if I should keep our Tivo or go with their DVR service.

 

[highfihoney]

We have cable along with 3 premium channels,we also have the HD package,internet & phone service,all through cable,we got the introductory price then they tried to raise our bill,i called them & told them no way jose,if that was their plan they could cancel me out asap,the lady extended our plan to cover 6 more months of the lower price.

6 months later we got another raised premium bill,i did the same thing & told them in no uncertian terms,i have 4 cell phones,i do not watch tv ever & i could easily live without any of their services or any other tv service for that matter, i also told the rep that if i had to pay even 1 month of the higher bill they could close my account & stop service asap,my bill will stay at the lower rate permantly & i have a direct contact extension number incase the billing office tries to raise my premiums again.

I dont care what service it is,sattalite or cable,the prices they attempt to get people to pay are crazy,i'd sit in my front yard & watch traffic 1st,you could buy a nice used car once a year for the cost of cable tv,people need to shut the tv off once in a while instead of vegging out in front of it,they know people cant live without that thing,if more people turned off the tv or treated cable/sattalite service as an unneeded luxury the service providers would make the cost more affordable.

Call them & throw a fit.

 

[jinjuku]

We have cable along with 3 premium channels,we also have the HD package,internet & phone service,all through cable,we got the introductory price then they tried to raise our bill,i called them & told them no way jose,if that was their plan they could cancel me out asap,the lady extended our plan to cover 6 more months of the lower price.

What did you think 'Introductory' price meant? Of course that's their plan. Cable companies always advertise a 6 month intro rate. Were you caught off guard?

6 months later we got another raised premium bill,i did the same thing & told them in no uncertian terms,i have 4 cell phones,i do not watch tv ever & i could easily live without any of their services or any other tv service for that matter, i also told the rep that if i had to pay even 1 month of the higher bill they could close my account & stop service asap,my bill will stay at the lower rate permantly & i have a direct contact extension number incase the billing office tries to raise my premiums again.

If you don't 'watch tv ever' and 'could easily live without any of their services' Why would you keep paying them money instead of giving to the needy or something like that?

I dont care what service it is,sattalite or cable,the prices they attempt to get people to pay are crazy,i'd sit in my front yard & watch traffic 1st,you could buy a nice used car once a year for the cost of cable tv,people need to shut the tv off once in a while instead of vegging out in front of it,they know people cant live without that thing,if more people turned off the tv or treated cable/sattalite service as an unneeded luxury the service providers would make the cost more affordable.

Call them & throw a fit.

Agreed. I spend $8.99/month on netflix and $35 on my DSL. I have friends that spend $119 month on cable. Really nuts... I commend you on beating the cable company over the head however. I hope you are getting a rate that you simply can't walk away from for that particular service offering.

 

[chadnliz]

Here is a better idea, call them and say you are in financial straights with gas costs, and economy in a mess you are thinking you have no choice but to cut back.............I got my Sat radio and my TW cable free for 2 months so thats nearly $250. That way you dont have to go without service.

 

[Midcow2]

The DVR service on DishNetwork is excellent!

I actually am looking into it.

DirectTv is used by my in-laws.

Just wonder if I should keep our Tivo or go with their DVR service.

I can't speak for Tivo or DirecTV but the DVR service on DiskNetwork is excellent. You can pause what you are watching and it will hold an hour's worth. You can push record and record the rest of what you are watching.

If you have two TVs the 622 or 722 allow you to record on two TVs or just one with a picture in a picture from satellite.

Only problem is you are recoding a show on a tv then you have to watch that show. But if you are recording on TV2 and you are on TV1 you can watch whatever.

Now, for a really slick feature. You have a show that statrs at a certain time say 8:00pm and you get home at 8:15pm. You can go back to the strt of the shows and start watching it while iti is still recording ( agin you areo nTV1 and recording on TV2).

Anyway your chice but 1 722 + 1 LCD TV + 1 AVR all connected via HDMI = 5 barrels of fun with high quality audio and video ( synergy at its best)



Keyword search is good, but I understand Tivo is better with Boolean logic.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

What you do it go to another company, get their intro price. Stay with them until they raise their rates, then switch to the next company that has a nice intro. There are enough of these companies around, cable, AT&T, satellite, that you could get away with this for several years or more. Probably indefinately if you keep switching providers. They all want to take you away from their competition.

The only drawback is you'll keep getting a new email addy each time.

 

[Halon451]

I can't speak for Tivo or DirecTV but the DVR service on DiskNetwork is excellent. You can pause what you are watching and it will hold an hour's worth. You can push record and record the rest of what you are watching.

If you have two TVs the 622 or 722 allow you to record on two TVs or just one with a picture in a picture from satellite.

Only problem is you are recoding a show on a tv then you have to watch that show. But if you are recording on TV2 and you are on TV1 you can watch whatever.

Now, for a really slick feature. You have a show that statrs at a certain time say 8:00pm and you get home at 8:15pm. You can go back to the strt of the shows and start watching it while iti is still recording ( agin you areo nTV1 and recording on TV2).

Anyway your chice but 1 722 + 1 LCD TV + 1 AVR all connected via HDMI = 5 barrels of fun with high quality audio and video ( synergy at its best)



Keyword search is good, but I understand Tivo is better with Boolean logic.

The DVR service through my local cable company is better than that - they've recently implemented a new thing where it will offer you the option to start a show completely from the beginning on some channels if you're just tuning in and have missed half of it, which sounds similar to the feature you mentioned, not sure.

Plus, you can stop, pause, rewind live TV just as if it were a pre-recorded event; they haven't yet figured out how to allow the user to leap into the future, so the FF function does not work at this time.

I can record two shows simultaneously, while watching a third if I choose, and the box doesn't even have to be on for it to pick up and record a pre-scheduled show.

Yeah, I've had a few nuisances with the box here and there, but overall I think it's a pretty solid machine. I'm certainly not complaining.

 

[Halon451]

What you do it go to another company, get their intro price. Stay with them until they raise their rates, then switch to the next company that has a nice intro. There are enough of these companies around, cable, AT&T, satellite, that you could get away with this for several years or more. Probably indefinately if you keep switching providers. They all want to take you away from their competition.

The only drawback is you'll keep getting a new email addy each time.

That's a ridiculous pain in the a$$. Why would anyone go through that much trouble?

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

That's a ridiculous pain in the a$$. Why would anyone go through that much trouble?

I wouldn't, but some people might if it saves them a few hundred dollars a year.

 

[rnatalli]

if you love to watch crystal clear TV go to satellite ( DishNetwork or DircecTV) of fiber (AT&T Uverse).

Cablr, eventhe hD , is very low resolution and they are shysters on pricing.

Second that. We had to give up satellite TV when we moved and now have cable which we hate.

 

[Sheep]

We have cable along with 3 premium channels,we also have the HD package,internet & phone service,all through cable,we got the introductory price then they tried to raise our bill,i called them & told them no way jose,if that was their plan they could cancel me out asap,the lady extended our plan to cover 6 more months of the lower price.

6 months later we got another raised premium bill,i did the same thing & told them in no uncertian terms,i have 4 cell phones,i do not watch tv ever & i could easily live without any of their services or any other tv service for that matter, i also told the rep that if i had to pay even 1 month of the higher bill they could close my account & stop service asap,my bill will stay at the lower rate permantly & i have a direct contact extension number incase the billing office tries to raise my premiums again.

I dont care what service it is,sattalite or cable,the prices they attempt to get people to pay are crazy,i'd sit in my front yard & watch traffic 1st,you could buy a nice used car once a year for the cost of cable tv,people need to shut the tv off once in a while instead of vegging out in front of it,they know people cant live without that thing,if more people turned off the tv or treated cable/sattalite service as an unneeded luxury the service providers would make the cost more affordable.

Call them & throw a fit.

Yeah! And too many people sit in front of computer monitors, playing games, watching porn, and talking on forums. These people are lazy, fat, and most likely gassy. It's people like this that cause problems in the world. Instead of doing something good for their body/environment, they indulge in needless, selfish, luxuries. For shame!

SheepStar

 

[highfihoney]

Yeah! And too many people sit in front of computer monitors, playing games, watching porn, and talking on forums. These people are lazy, fat, and most likely gassy. It's people like this that cause problems in the world. Instead of doing something good for their body/environment, they indulge in needless, selfish, luxuries. For shame!

SheepStar

Agreed but you can get internet service with realistic monthly payments,try that with cable tv,they've got us hooked like crack heads & they know it.

 

[highfihoney]

What did you think 'Introductory' price meant? Of course that's their plan. Cable companies always advertise a 6 month intro rate. Were you caught off guard?

If you don't 'watch tv ever' and 'could easily live without any of their services' Why would you keep paying them money instead of giving to the needy or something like that

Nope,wasnt caught off guard at all,i knew it was comming thats why when it did i had my speel all worked out in advance.

The reason i keep tv & cable service in my home is for the enjoyment of others,if it was just me i would not even own a tv set,if i want to give anything to the needy i do it on my own as oposed to writing a tax deductible check, then letting some paid manager dole out my funds to whom he thinks is needy.

 

[Audioholics]

Many of you are assuming that the $8/hour person on the other end of the telephone is going to give a rats bottom whether you stay or leave.

That's the problem with most customer service these days - there is no thought put into customer retention. More power to you if you catch smeone who cares. More likely than not they'll tell you that they can't do anything and simply disconnect your service.

 

[Halon451]

Many of you are assuming that the $8/hour person on the other end of the telephone is going to give a rats bottom whether you stay or leave.

That's the problem with most customer service these days - there is no thought put into customer retention. More power to you if you catch smeone who cares. More likely than not they'll tell you that they can't do anything and simply disconnect your service.

No doubt Clint, I'm guilty of attempting to hold on to what hope I have left that there are still those who have a sense of pride in what they do, be it the $6/hour fry guy at Wendy's or a NASA Engineer. I keep getting reminded, however...