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Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

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MWmetalhead
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Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Jan 12, 2019 12:25 pm

So, I've been on my current cable plan for just over two years. I did the two-year contract thing.

First year - the quoted price (before add-ons) was $119.99, subject to signing a 2-year contract. With broadcast TV fees, adapter fees, DVR fees and taxes, the all-in price was about $165. Not terrible! This is for the Digital Preferred Triple Play, which includes 230+ channels, many of the sports channels, Starz, Encore, Blast! internet, and unlimited phone. I also have the X1 platform, although I only have an X1 DVR box connected to one TV in the house. I use my own router, not Comcast's. During all of year 1, I did use the Comcast ARRIS telephony modem.

Second year - the all-in price went up by a little more than $10. I negated that by dumping my Comcast modem rental and purchasing my own from Amazon for $90. That brought my monthly price back to around $165.

At end of year two - my fee skyrockets by $25. Why? Simple. My promotional rate expired. Just one month later - my fee rises by another $10. Why, you ask? Well, my two-year contract term was over. So, the $10 discount from being under contract went away.

I simply cannot tolerate a $201 per month cable bill. The only thing I use their phone line for is my burglar alarm system. (I use Ooma for everyday phone service inside the house, but ADT and Ooma don't always play nice together.) I highly recommend Ooma, by the way! I've had little issue with call clarity, and all of the telemarketer calls I had been receiving pre-Ooma have completely disappeared! :D

I don't need the crappy Starz and Encore channels. I can get all the movies I could ever want thru Netflix or On Demand.

So, within the last hour, I called up Comcast customer service. I have to admit - I'm quite pleased with what resulted!

The call went something like this:
- At voice menu prompt: "cancel service"
- Overseas call center clerk picks up. I got thru immediately. Zero hold time. She was extremely polite. I kindly inform her that I've been investigating cord-cutter TV options such as Sling and Directv Now. I mentioned that my bill has increased quite a bit recently and I cannot justify paying $200 per month. I indicate that I will consider staying if I can be offered a more reasonable rate.
- The clerk politely asks me about my TV viewing and internet usage habits to find a package that "will better suit me" at "a price I can be happy with."
- After a few minutes, she offers me the Digital Starter triple-play for two years at $94.95 per month, before add-ons. The all-in price was roughly $155. OK - great! She tells me Big Ten Network and multiple other sports channels are included.
- I ask: "But what about NBA TV and NFL Network?" She responds - please give me a minute or two to look and I will let you know. Ultimately, she informs me those channels are NOT part of the package.

So, I then ask - what type of deal can you give me on the Sports Entertainment Package? She says, "normally, we sell that for $9.99, but since you've been a great customer and have been with us since 2013, I'll be glad to offer that to you for just $4.99 per month for the first year."

SOLD!

I then find out that the price she originally quoted me was before considering the $5 monthly discount I receive for being on Auto Pay.

So, long story short...
- I lose some channels I almost never watch.
- I pick up some regional sports nets, niche sports channels, and some outdoors channels that I didn't receive previously.
- I keep MLB, NBA TV, NFL Network, et al.
- No change to my internet, DVR, or phone service.
- Taxes and all fees & services included, my bill will be right around $150 per month for the next year and $155 per month for the year after that.

Sure beats the $201 I had been paying! :)

If I were to cut the cord, my guess is I'd be paying at least $55 per month for IP-based TV, I'd have limited if any DVR functionality, my channel options would have been dramatically curtailed, and then I'd probably still be paying $80 - $90 a month to Comcast for internet & phone service.

I am satisfied with how things turned out. In Q1 of 2021, I'll be calling them back in hopes of cutting a similar deal.



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Re: Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

Post by TC Talks » Sat Jan 12, 2019 12:57 pm

Internet $50
Roku ($99 one time)
Antenna ($59 one time)
Netflix $9.99
Amazon Prime (included with prime acct)
Hulu Lve $39 (HBO +$5)

Then, add your sports...

Goodbye cable, hello vast choices


“The more you can increase fear of drugs, crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.”
― Noam Chomsky

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Re: Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

Post by Deleted User 14896 » Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:22 am

MW, looks like it's too late for you to do this.
But I keep seeing people on Facebook posting that if you go into the Xfinity office in person before the promotional expires, they can keep it at that rate for another 2 years, or whatever the promotion period is.
They say you can't do it over the phone.
And you can't wait until it expires, or the walk-in office can't do anything for you.
I'd probably need 2 hands to count the number of times I've seen someone post that on Facebook.



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Re: Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

Post by craig11152 » Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:03 am

About a year and a half ago when my promo went away and my price went to 1$185 from about $120 I tried to negotiate but I was not very good at it. So I dropped to just internet month to month at $79 for their "blast" that was 75mbps and I think is now 100 or maybe 150. I put an antenna on my roof we we watched OTA. A few days in Comcast called and offered me a very limited TV package along with Showtime. Same price as I was paying but I had to commit to 12 months. When that was up the same thing happened. Only I couldn't have Showtime but I could have Starz. Another 12 months. The bonus this time is they forgot to turn off Showtime so now I have it AND Starz. Most months my bill is just under $80. I rent their modem/router box for $10 in that price. I can't DVR, fast forward or pause with the box includeed. For another $10 a month I could upgrade the box. Since we can't record now we catch up on demand and watch the commercials.
We also have Amazon Prime, Netflix at going rates and a Hulu promo at $1 a month for a year.
Last edited by craig11152 on Mon Jan 14, 2019 7:10 am, edited 1 time in total.


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craig11152
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Re: Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

Post by craig11152 » Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:06 am

Right now my only other option is ATT DSL but they can only get 18mbps to my address. They are actively doing Fiber optic in Ann Arbor so some day they will hit my street and I will have another option for Internet.


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MWmetalhead
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Re: Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:55 am

MW, looks like it's too late for you to do this.
But I keep seeing people on Facebook posting that if you go into the Xfinity office in person before the promotional expires, they can keep it at that rate for another 2 years, or whatever the promotion period is.
They say you can't do it over the phone.
And you can't wait until it expires, or the walk-in office can't do anything for you.
I'd probably need 2 hands to count the number of times I've seen someone post that on Facebook.
Under my promotion, I was paying $165 (inclusive of the $5 auto pay discount). Now I'm paying only $150. The channels I'm losing are mostly channels I never watch.

Took me all of 10 minutes.

The bricks & mortar office closest to my house is usually super busy on the weekend.

I'm happy with the outcome. $150 is a good price for a package that includes all of the sports channels, HD, an XI box plus two adapters, blast internet (which I believe is rated for 100 mbps, but you need a router with a super strong signal or a hard-wired connection to get that speed all the way to your actual devices), DVR and unlimited phone.



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Re: Negotiating Comcast rate discounts...

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:11 am

I do have to say, Hulu Live's channel line-up looks pretty enticing. Where I live, all the major network affiliates + Fox Sports Detroit are now included for the $39 monthly price. They have a cloud DVR option as well (not sure of the cost).

If I can find a way to get my Ooma phone service to play nice with my ADT alarm system, I will strongly consider dropping Comcast for real in two years.

Among the online live streaming providers, my guess is we'll see some consolidation in that space over the next few years. Then, the price hikes will commence.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... hit-a-wall



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