I have been a Comcast cable subscriber for several years now. Does anyone find it so difficult to get a lower rate on your bill after each promotion ends? I hate it I have to call and email several times before I can get an okay deal. They offer extremely low rates for newcomers but the existing customers have to pay so much sometimes. Can anyone relate to that? What do you do to try and keep your cable bill down?
Those promotions are designed to to attract new customers to get you in and try their service and hopefully you will like it enough to keep it. I think cable is better than Direct TV. Direct TV does the same thing, they give you a special to get you in, and they also make you sign a 2 year contract. So even if you hate it later, you can't cancel it until your contract is up, and you will never get another special with them again.
I was able to get good deals when I was with Comcast. All I had to do was call in and explain why I would be cancelling them and they would do whatever it took to keep me. You need to call with real offers from another company though. They are very aware of what is available and to whom, so don't try to trick them. I've also heard of people simply asking for a for a deal because they explained that it would either be a deal or cancellation due to finances.
That is exactly why I ended up canceling their services. I had success the first few times, but last April, the girl I spoke with would not lower my rate and was extremely rude about it. I've had so many issues with them. I do love their product, but their customer service sucks, as do their prices.
I have Dish TV and I am only pay about 10 bucks per month (super basic pkg). I rely on their occasional 'free' channels for entertainment. I am assuming cable is A LOT more. I just refuse to pay tons of money just to watch tv. If it was me, if they refused to offer me a great deal I would cancel. There is getting to be lots of on line options such as Netflix and Hulu. Even Amazon is getting into the movie rental business. IMO, keep your money!
I hate being a slave to COmcast...I've had Comcast service for probably 20 years now and I feel like the model is jsut antiquated. By now you should be able to choose the channels that you want without having to bundle...which isn't happening. I am in the process of determining whether or not I can get the same programming using Roku/Hulu/Netflix etc. and cut my ties to cable altogether...of course I will still need them for Internet...ugh.
I live in Canada and the cable companies here are complete sheep. When you are legitimately making a call to cancel because you're switching to another company, they give you crazy offers! Last time, Shaw gave me a free month of internet, TV and home phone, a bunch of premium movie channels for three months and $20 in PPV/VOD credit. Sometimes it's pretty awesome living in Canada!
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There will always be specials and promotions available but they are there mostly to get new clients to join and once they expire you need a good argument to get them back.. Its just pure marketing which is fine, they have to get clients somehow. I am considering turning on cable just for a few months because Sons of Anarchy is about to start again and I never miss an episode!
It sucks that you even have to use Comcast. They're like bottom of the barrel compared to the big kids on the block like Dish, Cablevision, and Direct TV. That's why they charge you and other customers so much. They know they're the only game in your area probably. Competition is a good thing, it drives down prices because it enlarges the market.
I would like to be able to get ANY cable where I live but when we do have paid TV other than Netflix we're slaves to satellite since we live in such a rural area.
I got rid of cable entirely for now because I'm saving up for a better apartment, and Comcast's prices were not helping with the saving because they kept going up. Now I mostly watch shows on Hulu, Crackle, Drama Fever and Crunchyroll on my computer. When I do move to a new place, I won't use Comcast again. Their prices keep getting higher. There are other options.
That sucks. Here where I live we can have Cablevision, Direct TV, Dish, Time Warner or anything else. But for some buildings, Direct TV or DISH is not an option since the landlords won't allow the dish to be installed on their properties. Plus bad weather will kill the life span of a satellite dish. That's why I stick with digital.
Our household can definitely relate. We have called other cable companies and have gotten competitive rates. We then call Comcast and break down the numbers for them. We have had success in doing this once. Also, I have heard people simply canceling their service and opening a new account under the name of someone else in their house so that they can get the promotional rate. I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel doing that, but I have heard about quite a few people that have worked the system that way. I suppose you could also bounce between companies just to get the promotional rates, but between installation and everything else, that seems like kind of a hassle. A lot of people are trying things like Netflix and Hulu, which saves a ton of money. If my significant other didn't love sports so much, I would probably cancel traditional cable as well. It's really frustrating. I remember a point in time when my cable bill was no more than $30 a month.
It's only going to get worse with their recent proposed merger with Time Warner. Comcast raised their rates late last year - supposedly to cover the higher costs of rebroadcasting OTA channels through Cable, which is BS, why should cable subscribers pay for channels that are already available for free over the air at a higher quality? Time Warner is following suit with a $2.50 increase tacked on below the line on people's bills. Seriously, my internet and cable used to run me under $70 per month 10 years ago, now it is easily double that with TWC, and I haven't even added anything to my account since then - they just keep upping their rates and tacking on more fees.
I feel your pain. Time Warner Cable is even worse. That is how they hook you in. Offer great introductory prices. When the promotion period is over. They are free to charge you whatever they want. Unfortunately we have no choice but to pay if we want to keep enjoying our favorite shows.
I can definitely relate. I think this is the norm with most cable companies and the like, though. They give you low rates to get your business and then they jack the prices up in order to make money. To keep them down some, just call and tell them that you're considering switching to a cheaper company and they'll likely lower your renewal price again.
