Has anyone renegotiated their cable bill lately?

[MrsPete]

Tried.
Failed.

 

[maux]

Called Comcast in February to see if they could lower my bill. They lowered it by $20. Fast forward to August, I went to watch something on HBO and it was turned off. Seems back in February, they changed my HBO to a six month free promotion and didn't tell me that's what they were doing. Told me it would be $15 a month to get it back. Complained on Twitter, they gave me HBO for free for a year. Really need to change companies.

 

[mom2rose&john]

I tried to negotiate last week. They were "willing" to decrease my bill $10 but I would have to sacrifice some channels that we watch. No thanks. I switched to Spectrum (bought out Time Warner) and hopefully will be happy for the year. My fios internet/phone is $110 and Directv was $145 (no premium stations included). My total per month will drop $80+ and we will get HBO for the yr. It's a pain but I felt necessary. We were with each company for over 4 years.

 

[SharonZ]

I have DishNetwork, and have been successful at getting them to reduce the monthly rate for years. It's usually a $40-$50 a month discount, for six months. I call back and re-negotiate for the next six months, etc.

 

[HarperLeigh]

I tried to negotiate last week. They were "willing" to decrease my bill $10 but I would have to sacrifice some channels that we watch. No thanks. I switched to Spectrum (bought out Time Warner) and hopefully will be happy for the year. My fios internet/phone is $110 and Directv was $145 (no premium stations included). My total per month will drop $80+ and we will get HBO for the yr. It's a pain but I felt necessary. We were with each company for over 4 years.

Good luck with Spectrum. They're awful all the way around.

 

[mom2rose&john]

Good luck with Spectrum. They're awful all the way around.

I've heard that from a few pple. I figure I'll try for a year and see what happens because it is saving us a significant amount. It's either Spectrum or Directv because my husband needs the YES network to watch the Yankees and DISH doesn't carry them. Not much option where we live.

 

[HarperLeigh]

I've heard that from a few pple. I figure I'll try for a year and see what happens because it is saving us a significant amount. It's either Spectrum or Directv because my husband needs the YES network to watch the Yankees and DISH doesn't carry them. Not much option where we live.

Our options are Dish, Directv or Spectrum. None of them good.

 

[kymom99]

Our options are Dish, Directv or Spectrum. None of them good.

I've had directv since 1999. I don't have any real complaints. They are all too expensive.

 

[eyor44]

We had Charter for many years and the price just kept going up. We recently switched everything to ATT/Uverse. It was a rocky transfer but so far so good and the price is MUCH lower.

 

[dalstitch45]

I also have Spectrum, and I don't like it. They raised my bill by $35 this month when the promo ended. I want to cut the cord on cable, but not sure of the options I have. Was going to try Directv now, but for the channels I watch it seems expensive.

 

[Wubar]

Currently have direcTv, but just had FIOS (internet only) installed to replace the current DSL. Plan is to eventually cancel DirecTv and go to a different streaming service, like Roku, Amazon fire stick, google chromecast. Already have netflix and amazon prime now. Regardless of which streaming service we switch to, we'll still be saving over $100 month.

Had comcast before directv, dropped them pretty quickly. HATE that company, even though i live in the Philadelphia suburbs, and apparently Comcast is the city's crown jewel.

 

[OhMari]

Spectrum just went up,$3.00. I know it is a small,amount, but when you renegotiate to get your bill down, then you get these price increases it is unfair. I pay $164 for HD cable channels, internet, 3 cable boxes and DVR. We do not have any extra special channels. I hate scrolling channels and they tease you with channels, but I have to upgrade if I want to watch certain channels. The one channel I do miss is DIY channel.

 

[colormegreen]

Lmao. Spectrum( we only have internet with them now) is under my husband’s name and they keep calling with deals. The thing is, I was not asking for additional channels, I was just asking to keep my rate which they said they couldn’t. I’m very thankful my coworker introduced sling to me, because now spectrum keeps calling to give us our old rate, but no need as with sling we pay sling $59.99 for both colors and get to watch more things then we did before. You add the cost of internet and sling equals my old spectrum bill, but feel like I’m ahead as I get more channels.
I think if people keep canceling and not returning they’ll eventually budge on their “there isn’t anything we can do” when people ask to keep their rate.

 

[MillauFr]

People just need to call and cancel. It is outrageous how much they charge and still require to watch commercials. Those 3.5 hour football games probably have 2 hours of commercials. Why are people paying hundreds of dollars for the privilege of watching commercials?

 

[jujubiee4]

Just received an email from direct tv that due to rising costs there will be a
"small increase" in bill starting in January. I'm getting tired of all the increases also.

I would cut entirely but i wonder what to do about live tv. I like to have Cnn and
other channels come in crystal clear. I like direct tv and rarely have any problems but
seems like i call every few months wanting them to lower the bills. Have too many
"nothing" channels just to get the few i want.

 

[belle032]

We have Spectrum because it's the only option in our rural area. Was paying $135 for internet/tv/phone (because you HAVE to have phone for whatever reason). Went up $20 to $155 because our "promotion" had ended, so at that point I had had enough. Called to cancel cable and just keep internet. They said they could offer me pretty much exactly what I already had, just with a little faster internet for the same price. Honestly, there was very little negotiating and a lot of hard selling. I imagine its because they don't have to compete out here.

Eventually ended up with their regular internet and what they called a "Streamers Package" which is the low 20 channels for $97 a month. We're giving it a try, but honestly I think we could go out and buy an antenna and it would do the same thing. Between an antenna, "jail broken" Amazon Fire Stick, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu...all bases are covered.

P.S. Has anyone given Hulu Live a try? It's looks intriguing. 40+ live channels and the entire Hulu library for $40 a month? Definitely considering it.

 

[runwad]

The only thing about giving up cable and just going with streaming...now that net neutrality is no more I think streaming people are going to see their bills go up with their increased bandwidth use. They're going to get us coming or going.

 

[kaytieeldr]

When they raise my rates I tell 'em "You got a real nice family there, be a shame if something were to happen to 'em."

Not even mildly amusing.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Spectrum here.
Had negotiated with Time Warner in the past with no problem
2 years was up in Nov, called in and got the same exact thing we had before for $13 a month less. It literally took a minute.
I was prepared for battle and was surprised at how easy it was with them.

 

[Miffy]

Optimum here--in NYC. After our intro package ended 2 years ago, the bill went waaaaaaay up, so I called to negotiate. The only things they offered were getting a lesser package and/or getting rid of the DVR, which, to me, was one of the only reasons to have cable. The savings were minimal.

So we cut the cord. We use Optimum now only for Internet. Ooma for our "landline." Streaming Netflix and Amazon Prime. Lots cheaper, and we don't miss cable TV at all.