posted on February 8, 2011 09:41:33 AM new
For the last 20 years of using Comcast, both here in Portland and when I lived in Tallahassee, Florida I have called Comcast regularly to cancel just to get their lowest rates on Cable and Internet (obviously, comcast internet wasn't offered that far back). Here is a great article about saving huge on Comcast... but it also works for other service companies you may have. It never hurts to try it, as you can always back out if they don't offer a better deal.
How to Save $420 on Your Comcast Cable Bill This Year
by Jeff Reifman on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 1:14pm PDT
Jeff Reifman
Jeff Reifman: Too many Comcast Xfinity customers in Seattle overpay for broadband Internet. For the last several years, I’ve had to call the company every six months to maintain the lowest competitive rate, about $29.99 per month.
Here’s how to cut your bill by more than half, based on my recent experience.
First, call Comcast at 1-800-934-6489 and tell them to cancel your service. Yes, that’s right; tell them to turn off your service immediately. Until you ask for cancellation, their customer care representatives are not authorized to offer you their best deal.
Then, insist they give you a year of Internet at $29.99 per month. If they hesitate, tell them you’ll switch to Qwest’s competitive offering of six months of high speed Internet for $14.99 per month for six months, followed by 6 months of 12 Mbps at $40 per month. That’s about $330 for the year. Landline phone service from Qwest is required for this offer or the rate is slightly higher.
I had to insist the representative give me the low rate for a full year. While he said the Comcast system only authorized him to grant a six-month promotion, he made a note on my account authorizing the rate for one year. Accept nothing less – or switch to Qwest. Its 12 Mbps DSL service is an equivalent deal.
Finally, if you’re renting a cable modem from Comcast, purchase a Comcast-compatible cable modem as described here. For as little as $20, you can eliminate the $7 monthly rental fee Comcast charges.
With these adjustments, you should be able to save as much as $420 on your cable bill during the next year.
You’ll need to be persistent, and cut through the barriers Comcast uses to conceal its best rates.
Prior to my cancellation call, an earlier representative repeatedly insisted -- incorrectly, as it turns out -- that my only option for lower-priced service was to upgrade to their cable-plus-digital phone package. She quoted a monthly price of $39.99. I told her that I did not want the digital phone service and wanted to continue using my own modem. Only after further questioning did she reveal that her quoted price did not include a required modem rental fee of $7. When I asked to schedule my termination for a specific date, she refused
It was only when I called back to cancel my service immediately that the company chose to give me their best price. The second call only took a few minutes to complete. The key is to start with cancellation.
I’ve been experiencing these kinds of frustrations with Comcast regularly for several years. It’s unfortunate that former Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council granted Comcast a ten-year license renewal on its cable broadband monopoly (see http://www.cityofseattle.net/cable/franchises.htm) given its record of customer service. [Editor's note: See the clarification and discussion of this particular point in the comments below.]
The cost of broadband Internet should be regulated in the city so that all residents pay the same rate for the same connection speed. We shouldn’t be forced to call Comcast every six months to maintain this rate. Nor should some residents be paying more for the same service.
When I terminated my cable television service with Comcast earlier this year, they told me I would no longer be eligible for their bundled promotional broadband rate. Yet, after asking to cancel, they gave me the same low rate as before.
The Internet is becoming too vital to our daily lives for Comcast to play these kind of games with customers and pricing.
Basic broadband Internet service should not be more expensive because I choose not to subscribe to Comcast’s television services. Can you imagine Seattle Public Utilities charging a higher rate for sewage unless you sign up for yard waste?
The next Seattle cable agreement should require both transparent, consistent, affordable pricing and the strict enforcement of status-quo net neutrality principles in every region in which the provider operates. Perhaps eagle-eyed attorneys will find a way to help the city terminate its contract so we don’t have to wait until 2016.
Instead of changing its name, Comcast should change the way it treats its customers.
You can learn more about Seattle’s Office of Cable Communications here.
Jeff Reifman is the founder of NewsCloud, a developer of open source social media applications for Facebook. He recently received a $249,942 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to work with twelve news organizations to apply NewsCloud’s technology. Learn more about NewsCloud’s Ruby on Rails Facebook application at http://opensource.newscloud.com or @newscloud. Jeff can be reached at [email protected] or @reifman.
Opinions expressed in guest posts are those of the author and don't necessarily reflect the views of TechFlash.
posted on February 8, 2011 10:08:33 AM new
When I moved here 9 years ago,we have no mail box ,no cable service.
We have to drive to the post office to pick up our mail and subscribe to Dishnetwork to watch television programs.
Our local phone company Windstream is the only land line phone company we have.
Now Windstream is pushing a package deal -for 100 dollars per month and that rate is fixed for life,you get landline phone with unlimited phone calls including domestic long distance,caller ID,DSL service and Dishnetwork .
But now I found out DSL is not as good as broadband if you want to stream movie,it is not powerful enough,and Magic Jack for 19.95 a year can replace your landline or serve as a second line.
And one word on Dish Network,you can always count on them not functioning when the weather gets nasty outside.
So everyone wants to make sure they can lock up their customers with some attractive package?
Comcast wants to be your provider of cable,internet and phone,so does your local phone company ,the pie is shrinking as household looks for way to cut cost and trim fat!
p.s.
If you experience outage in your area and cant go online,call your Comcast for a refund,last time I got 6 days worth of refund.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 8, 2011 10:47:33 AM new
The biggest problem with Comcast phone service or any of these "internet" phone services is that when the cable goes out, so does the phone. When the electricity goes out, so does the phone.
I always recommend having a LAN line and a regular phone (not cordless) so that if the power goes out you are likely to still have phone service. You can get a basic line for $12-20 a month and use cell phones for long distance calls, phone cards for international.
posted on February 8, 2011 10:52:13 AM new
if your cordless phone is charged up,it is good enough to make a few phone calls?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 8, 2011 11:06:09 AM new
no b/c the base won't work. you should always have a basic corded phone. corded phones have low currents that are created through the phone line (not the electric company), so your phone will still work if the electricity goes out. Obviously it won't work if the phone lines go out too.
I called Comcast a few months back and asked them what happens if the cable or electric went out, they told me the phone, tv, and internet won't work. I asked how would I contact Comcast if I didn't have a cell phone (which I do). They stumbled through the answer, obviously nobody wants to admit their vulnerability.
posted on February 8, 2011 12:05:39 PM newYou can get a basic line for $12-20 a month
Maybe in Oregon but not around here, not by the time they finish tacking on taxes and fees. Most people I know have done away with any sort of landline and gone with one or two cellphones. I have a friend with an Iridium (satellite) phone too but he's a telecomm nerd.
Anyway, if you don't want/need the whole array of cable channels (which I'm hearing isn't that extensive any more with basic cable), you can dispense with cable altogether and do what we do: get HD TV signals off air with an antenna. Might not work if you're out in the boondocks, though.
posted on February 8, 2011 12:31:26 PM new
I have a land line with Windstream and yes,with toll fees and tax and whatever,it comes to 22-25 dollars per month with no long distance calling.
Buy a tracphone ? and keep it in the car and go with Magic Jack for 19.95 a year!
Shag,
if your car runs,then go to your neighbor and ask to use their landline or cell phone or internet email service.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 9, 2011 02:12:23 AM new
But don't you still have to have a landline with Magic Jack? So you are back to $20 to $22 for phone service.
I may have to try the cancellation thing with Comcast and is if it works. I recently called and asked for a discount and had it in 3 minutes. It was only $15 a month for 6 months but all I had to do is ask.
posted on February 9, 2011 05:57:48 AM new
You dont need landline for magicjack,you plug it into your PC port and then plug your phone into the magick jack.
It uses broadband,so you must have broadband service.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 9, 2011 08:29:38 AM new
Magic Jack works fine, but you have to have your phone connected to a computer with high speed access. It isn't practical as a regular phone because you have to have your computer on to use it. Basically, it works best for outgoing calls. If you shut down your puter you aren't going to get an incoming call.
There are ultra basic phone lines available, and yes with taxes it does bump up closer to $20-25. Some municipalities have laws that require LAN line phones to be able to call 911 even if there is no service on the phone line. Same for a cell phone.
posted on February 9, 2011 09:09:51 AM new
can magic jack be plugged into the broadband modem ?then you bypass the pc,and the modem is always on?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 9, 2011 09:16:55 AM new
Ijust talked to Comcast,they offer this package deal for the first 6 months-high speed internet and cable TV with 100 plus channels for 69.99 for the first 6 months before tax.
But if you have HD tv ,then add 8.50 for each HD tv you have in the house.
Dishnetwork gives you a receiver which can handle 2 HD tv sets in different rooms and I paid less than 40 dollars with over 100 channels,most of these channels are garbage but then we get free premium channels every month like HBO,Star,encore etc.
Anyone watch Spartacus on Star?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
