TV Bundle increase, help???

[clj1410]

I just got a letter from my internet/tv/phone company letting me know that my bundle agreement is about to expire, so they are going to increase my bill by $10 a month? Is there a good way i can negotiate a better deal with them?

 

[MariDisney]

I just got a letter from my internet/tv/phone company letting me know that my bundle agreement is about to expire, so they are going to increase my bill by $10 a month? Is there a good way i can negotiate a better deal with them?

Recently I was quoted a good offer from "the other guy". I called my current company and said that I had been a good customer for many years, bill always on time, etc. I told them I didn't want to switch, but that the other offer was too good to refuse. (and I meant that) Ultimately, the original company gave me such a crazy good offer (Cable in three rooms, DVR, 2 premium channels, internet, phone for less than $75/mo) that of course I stayed with them. When the deal expires, I fully intend to call them again and ask them what they can do for me. Ultimately, a friendly phone call asking for what you want can never hurt. I didn't threaten in any kind of nasty way. I just explained the other offer and pointed out what a better deal it was. I think you may be able to just call can ask nicely for them to extend your current package, if you're happy with it, for another year.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Even simpler - just call and ask Your provider probably has deals going on all the time. Since your current bundle is ending, you should be eligible for a new package/deal/bundle. Good luck!

 

[patsal]

I called and asked last week about mine and they flat out refused. I have been a customer for over 20 years and never a bill late--I think they really do not believe me about switching. Funny thing is my sister called and they honored hers. I am so switching to another provider in October!

 

[NYCDiane]

I called and asked last week about mine and they flat out refused. I have been a customer for over 20 years and never a bill late--I think they really do not believe me about switching. Funny thing is my sister called and they honored hers. I am so switching to another provider in October!

You probably just got a bad customer service rep. Since there is so much competition now, the cable companies tell their reps to do whatever it takes to keep a customer, including giving old customers intro/promotional rates, etc. I recently did that with my cable company and they gave me their promotional rate for 24 months/no contract. It's saving me about $60/month on the "triple-play" package.

 

[tigger51276]

A few months back that happened to me also, my bundle expired and it raised my rate by $40 a month, I couldn't believe it. There was another company in town offering a bundle package for new subscribers for almost half the price so I went to the local office and asked them to please explain the bill and why the charge was so much higher (I played stupid bascially)...then I mentioned the "other" company and how I think I'd have to switch and the lady offered me every deal under the sun to stay but the savings she was offering just wasn't good enough (it would be like $10-15 less than it now was) and I didn't want to pay any more than I was paying the month previous. So she told me to call the retention department and tell them I had spoke with someone and was unable to afford the higher cost and see if they had a better offer for me....to say the least they dropped the cost for me by $50 a month and all I did was loose long distance on my phone service which was no big deal cause we never use the house line as we cell phones with free long distance.

 

[clj1410]

Should i actually call "the other guy" to get an estimate? Or do just tell the company that i am with, that i will have to explore my other options because of the price increase and see what they offer me?

We just have a basic bundle and i hate to pay $105 plus taxes for it!

 

[Bren's Mom]

We got a 'bundle deal' a year ago after we moved into our new house. It was $175 a month, including phone, internet, cable, multiple HD DVRs, HBO, Starz. I just got our bill this month and it was $263! The year was up. So I just called, said I was concerned about it going up so much, nicely mentioned that another company was in our area and was there any new deal I was eligible for? My bill is now $153 a month...same exact services, etc.

I would first call and ask. If that doesn't get you what you want, say thanks anyway and hang up.

Then look for ads from the 'other guys' with better deals then you're getting. Call back and, nicely, say that you got this offer and are considering switching to save X amount of money per month and can they match that? You can also ask for their retention department specifically...those people often have more power to make decisions.

Be super, super nice. People want to help nice people. And if you get a canky rep, tell them you're getting another call and will call back and hang up and try again later.

Good luck!

 

[Starbrite]

All good advice here.

From someone in the know....
I just wanted to add that the customer service reps know what their competitors are offering. They know what specials are out there & what the other carriers rates are. So if you call with a ridiculously low estimate from another company - they will know I suggest you always really call the competition & get a price before looking for a counter-offer.

 

[clj1410]

OK i just made the call, firstly i didn't even have to tell her why i was calling. She asked me a whole bunch of questions, about what i use with regards to the phone, internet and TV. Then she told me what bundles were available. She quoted me a price $5 less that what they said they were going to raise my bundle to ($5 more than what it is now). I said ok thinking i did good, now i am not sure, as it is still more than what i am paying! Although she did say my internet would be faster and i would get a few more TV channels!