Cable bill went up

[jamhead]

My one year "introductory" period with Time Warner is over, and my bill went from 49 bucks to $100. Soooo, I contact Directv and they are going to come out and see if we have "line of sight". Last year, when we moved, the installer of Directv said we didn't, but my neighbor has a dish......

Anyway, the cost will be 62 bucks per month for one year, then up to 82 bucks per month, plus tax.

I have a hard time swallowing that pill....so I was wondering if there are any other options at all? Uverse is not in our area (we have ATT internet and phone...not interested in changing those).

Do I call TW and try to negotiate? If so, what tactics work? Does Directv have an "on demand" feature? My daughter loves Phineas and Ferb and the On Demand is a nice option.

I have one HD DVR TV and one standard (no box). Doesn't 100 bucks seem awfully high for that?

 

[Haywood]

Dish is consistently cheaper than DTV, has excellent service, excellent hardware and top-notch picture quality. I was bummed to drop them when I moved, but my apartment doesn't have line of sight. I had a dual-tuner, dual-zone HD DVR with HD locals and about 45 channels of HD programming for less than $50/mo with Dish and that was AFTER all the promos and discount ended.

 

[Towen7]

Do I call TW and try to negotiate? If so, what tactics work? Does Directv have an "on demand" feature?

YES!!

You should definitely negotiate. Considering that you have another acceptable deal. Just tell them what they have to do to keep your business.

Yes. DirecTV has an on-demand feature but I can't say whether it compares to TWC's.

 

[-B-]

Do I call TW and try to negotiate? If so, what tactics work? Does Directv have an "on demand" feature?

YES!!

You should definitely negotiate. Considering that you have another acceptable deal. Just tell them what they have to do to keep your business.

Yes. DirecTV has an on-demand feature but I can't say whether it compares to TWC's.

:text-+1:

 

[Yesfan70]

I agree with the others. Call TW and tell them your bill is too high and you may have to consider leaving. I bet then, they will drop your bill back to the intro price. Charter done me the same way and I finally left for AT&T because I felt I should not have to call them to have my bill lowered every 6 months.


For the record, $100/mo for a ONE HD DVR and ONE standard box is just downright robbery! I have a four room system from Dish Network with HD available in 2 of the 4 rooms and DVR in all of them. If TW won't work with you, then "see you later" is what I would tell them.


I've been with Dish for about 6 years and am still happy. With that said, if I were in your shoes I would look and see what the price differences are between Direc and Dish. Two things I really like about DirecTV that Dish doesn't have are:

1) NFL Sunday Ticket (obviously)
2) Direc has, like Uverse, a way where one DVRed program can be viewed on any TV in your house that's hooked up to their system. Dish's setup is confined to the box the show was DVRed on (IOW, if recorded upstairs, you have to watch upstairs).

That's the only two things I hate about Dish that Direc has. I think Direc MIGHT also have Netflix or something similar, but I can not tell you for sure.

 

[jamhead]

Thanks guys. I think I'll call Dish as well and see what they can do (If I have line of sight with them).

Direct is supposed to come out in one week, but I may delay and get Dish out here first and see what they can do.

I'll also call TW, but I truly don't care for their service anyway.....may wait for Dish first.

Thanks guys......yeah, 100 bucks definitely makes me feel like I'm getting screwed.

The only thing I don't like about Dish...after a brief review of their site, is that National Geo. is only available on their 200 channel lineup....so I'd be paying 10 bucks more per month for that one channel....although, it's one of my favorites.

 

[hawk52]

i have had leveraged promos for a long time. i know when they are up. this month i was notified my promo price was up and my bill was going up about $40. I cqlled and i have everything i currently have plus wire maint in house. all for a $5/month more. this goes for another year. last year sametime i called got the sports tier for an added $5/month. kept what i had too. just call they will negotiate. it's like buying a car, i'll negotiate a good deal. they count on the next customer to buy at or near list.

 

[Botch]

I seem to remember, and maybe it was back at S&V, that the particular person you get on the phone when you try to deal with your current provider, makes a difference. IOW, if you can't get the deal you want, maybe call back in an hour and try again. I would think how much they bend would be set in stone, but apparently not.
My $119/mo deal from KomKrap (all three services) became around $140 with the taxes, fees, etc, and now yesterday it went up to $180; the free HBO, Cinemax & Starz aren't free anymore, and since I never watched any of them the last 6 months, I'll be contacted them this week...

 

[jamhead]

Just got off the phone with Time Warner. The past 12 months was their "introductory" offer of 52 bucks/mo with HD / DVR (one) and one "digital" service (no box).

Keeping the same service I have, they dropped it to 77/mo. I wasn't happy, so they dropped it to 64/mo for 3 months, then 77/mo. I wasn't happy. They threw in Showtime for a year.

I reluctantly agreed to the terms...but will call Dish ASAP. Think I'll cancel the appointment with Directv as the cost will be about the same averaged over a 2 year plan.

If I like Dish's service, I'll cancel TW as they don't have service contracts.

Still feel like I'm getting screwed. 77 bucks/ mo for one HD/DVR; one no-box cable; and Showtime (I know I won't watch Showtime).

How much are people paying for TV nowadays?

 

[Towen7]

Still feel like I'm getting screwed. 77 bucks/ mo for one HD/DVR; one no-box cable; and Showtime (I know I won't watch Showtime).

How much are people paying for TV nowadays?

I felt screwed too. I no longer pay for cable TV. All I use is an OTA antenna connected to a computer that acts as a DVR, a couple of Xboxes allow me to watch live TV or DVR content. I also subscribe to Netflix which I can access from any TV in the house. My total monthly TV bill is $8 per month (excluding $30 internet access, because I'd pay for that anyway).

 

[Yesfan70]

.....How much are people paying for TV nowadays?

With Dish Network:

4 Room system consisting of 2 dual tuner HD-DVR boxes (tuner 2's outputs are SD only) for about $108/mo.



I think I'll go to Uverse when it becomes available. One of my supervisors has it and I think he was telling me he pays about $135/mo, but that also includes high speed internet (12Mbps speeds).

 

[jamhead]

.....How much are people paying for TV nowadays?

With Dish Network:

4 Room system consisting of 2 dual tuner HD-DVR boxes (tuner 2's outputs are SD only) for about $108/mo.



I think I'll go to Uverse when it becomes available. One of my supervisors has it and I think he was telling me he pays about $135/mo, but that also includes high speed internet (12Mbps speeds).

I've been leaning towards Uverse when it becomes available as well.

Is your dish on the roof?

 

[Yesfan70]

Yes. I didn't mention the package, but I have the top 250 with HD gold.



One thing I hate about Dish (which pretty much applies to all TV providers) is how HD packages are extra and comparable in size to their SD counterparts. For instance, I can't get the HD Gold if I have the smallest SD package. IMO, that's a waste of money as I won't even think about the SD version if I have a channel in HD.

 

[Flint]

I hate Time Warner!

I feel like a victim with them and I have no alternatives for the way I like to watch the TV I like.

 

[Towen7]

^

What brought this on? Has your bill been raised?

 

[Flint]

Well, the bill went up a month ago for TV service. I am pissed because they have not fixed the Tivo cablecard issue and when I got home from Ireland my shows had not recorded. Whenever they do and update to the cablecard or cable tuning module the system has issues until you manually reset everything with a full power off and power on cycle. If I am around I usually notice something and get it fixed in a day or two. When I am away nothing gets done and shows stop recording. I am pissed they haven't fixed this.

 

[Barney]

^
Flint, I thought you had AT&T uverse. I use OTA only also. But soon will have wifi & Logitech - Revue google tv STB. I also have an account with Netflex & will use either the revue or our XBOX for Netflex.
To be honest, over time all providers will make you upset for whatever reason. Also the prices are all just about the same, just different packages & different gear & issues.
Understand with DSS systems, a Dish will be mounted (holes in your roof etc) & they have 2 year contracts & major charges to your credit card if you decide to cancel for whatever reason.

 

[MatthewB]

I hate Dish with a passion (as I guess Bryan does now too) my folks have it and hate it, they hate the channel lineup, hate the service techs. They love my Directv, everytime they come over they say how much better it is but are too damn lazy to make the switch. If you recall Dish hooked up my folks HD box with a S-Video cable WTF? and then insisted that the picture was HD. I actually had to travel 100 miles back home to fix that issue myself because the tech they sent out again (at my request) was the same dimbulb they sent the first time and still insisted that they could get HD via S-Video.

I will never have Dish, I know people here love it, but i just don't see it. Everytime I spend the weekend at my folks and turn on the TV in the guest room I just roll my eyes and finding a station is next to impossible.