The newest scam from Comcast

[Dan Mages]

Wifey and I would like to reduce our monthly bills and have decided to change our cable bundle package. I called Comcast to discuss our options and learned about how their scam works. We are currently grandfathered in at a cheaper rate. As such, we do not qualify for the promotional rates of the cheaper bundles and will therefore cost us MORE money to have fewer options than what we have now. He then went on to tell me how lucky I am that we have this grandfathered in rate because the current price is $15 more per month and does not include a channel or two that we already have.

And I thought deregulation will reduce costs and allow competition... yeah right.

Dab

[Gene Howe]

I don't know how they did it but, in AZ at least, if you are served by a cable co. (Comcast, Cox...etc) you are locked in to their service. The only option to cable then is satellite.
We are VERY rural here. We don't even have cable available. Just got DSL a few months ago. TV is via DTV or Dish. We have DTV.
Been thinking about a cellular option for all. Like I said...just thinking about it. Don't even know of a co. that offers that comprehensive of a service in our area.

[Lee Schierer]

I can't speak for Comcast, but Directtv kept advertising every where you would look for all the free stuff new subscribers would receive for signing up. All we had was the original equipment we had to buy. I was able to talk them into a new "free" DVR system because we have been a customer for many years by suggesting I might switch to their competitor. They paid for the equipment and installation, all I did was sign on for 2 more years.

[Greg Narozniak]

I have DirecTv (TV) as well as Comcast (Phone and Internet) and everytime I see those "promotions" they are for new customers only, Very Frustrating.

It reminds me of the TV commercial where they show kids playing with old broken crayons and then they introduce a new girl and they giver her a brand new set of like 300 crayons and they say "Because She's New"

Very Funny!

[Karlan Talkington]

I guess you could switch from DTV and cable every couple of years and get new equipment and new deals.

The idea of rewarding and treating long standing customers with any amount of respect is lost on the service industry IMHO.

[glenn bradley]

I simply rejoice in the absence of TV service and spend that valuable time doing something more interesting. It took years of explaining that I just don't have the need but the cable and dish companies have finally stopped calling ;-)

Don't get me wrong, if I want to watch something, I pick up a movie at he Red Box for a buck and watch it. I just can't get past paying for TV and then having to watch commercials anyway. When cable first came out in my area you paid for TV without commercials. Now they get you coming and going . . . and this is about to turn into a rant over the millions spent on lobbyists to continue this direction of force-fed . . . Oops, sorry.

[Julian Nicks]

All you need to do is know the different introductory plans before you call and tell the representative that you want the newer rate. If the representative won't help you then just keep asking to talk to a different representative till you find one who isn't lazy. By doing this I save over $60 a month on my outrageous bill from the almighty comcast monster.

[Joe Pelonio]

Rather than deal with the national call center, stop by the local office, where you would pick up equipment. Last time I was there to exchange a box, the woman offered me a bundle that included internet and land line for a lot less than we pay now and all the same channels. It seems that they have some flexibility too, I have spoken to friends here that have called to cancel to switch over to satellite and were offered amazing deals to stay. Just be careful, it may be for a short term like 6 months or one year unless you hold out for longer.

[Eric Roberge]

Cable, dish, or cell providers. They all got you all.
That's the price we pay for technology I guess.

One thing people never seem to understand is that a company like Comcast has to pay to carry channels. The more popular the channel the more expensive it is to carry. The networks like FX, Fox, CBS, Disney, etc... charge more and more to companies like Comcast to carry their networks.
As for dish, it looks like the cheaper alternative until you start to add hookups to multiple TV's.

Time Warner in my area almost dropped a local station because the station wanted to increase the rates and TW said c-ya. Half the people were ticked because they were going to lose a local channel and the other half didn't want to pay for the increase. Catch 22, but TW negotiated and got the rate reduced and kept the local on the air.

Turn off the TV and do some woodworking

[Dave Lehnert]

Time Warner keeps raising the cable bill. They advertise a savings rate and it's guaranteed rate for two years. Well the guarantee rate is nothing more than a two year contract they lock you into. Just happens that the local phone company is starting to offer cable tv service. Guess they want you locked in so you can't go with them.

How high will the cable bill go before we all dump it? It is a rip off now. We pay like $75 month and do not get any movie channels. Back in the 80's it was $18 and we had The Movie Channel.

[Mike Cutler]

Dan

I am going to take a slightly different point of view and say that you were lucky that you got such an honest person on the phone.
There are a lot of consumer protection laws in CT, especially concerning phone/cable/satellite. I un-knowningly restarted my Verizon service two years ago, and lost out on my initial introduction package. I didn't make the same mistake this time.
In CT once your initial contractual obligation has been fulfilled, you revert to a "pay as you go, month by month service" and the initial contract terms are still in effect. That's why I don't take the free Verizon phone upgrade they have been offering me. I'm not resetting the contract period.
I've heard rumor that the cable companies are no longer able to charge you for basic cable if you just want internet service. Have to check that out. I pay for basic cable to only get the internet. No TV in the house.

Now if the Attorney General would just get the propane guys under control here. That's like the wild wild west.

[Eric Roberge]

Time Warner keeps raising the cable bill. They advertise a savings rate and it's guaranteed rate for two years. Well the guarantee rate is nothing more than a two year contract they lock you into. Just happens that the local phone company is starting to offer cable tv service. Guess they want you locked in so you can't go with them.

How high will the cable bill go before we all dump it? It is a rip off now. We pay like $75 month and do not get any movie channels. Back in the 80's it was $18 and we had The Movie Channel.

Dave,
That is not an apple to apples comparison. When you were paying $18 a month, there was no HD and only a handful of channels. Automobilies in the 1980's were a lot cheaper too, but technology advancements raise costs, it works the same for the satellite and cable companies. One could make the argument for milk, bread, eggs, etc... Don't get me wrong, I pay $109/mo for standard service and internet and have no movie channels either, but it's all relative. Salaries are a lot higher now then in the 80's

[Pat Germain]

I went with satellite TV eight years ago and I'll never go back to cable. Cable just sucks is so many ways. Yeah, even satellite TV is overpriced. But with satellite TV, I get a crystal clear picture on non-HD channels and an AMAZING picture on HD channels. I get interactive schedules and menus which are very easy to use. I got a free HD DVR box. It's the greatest invention since bottled beer! And my satellite service NEVER goes out. When I had cable, the signal was constantly going out with no information from the cable company. No matter how often the signal was out, the bill was the same. Exept for the constant price hikes.

Everyone I know with cable gets half of their channels with snowy pictures. They just accept it as "normal". Even with digital cable, the interactive menus are lame and hard to use. The "DVR" my local cable company offers is some kind of remote service that records programs on a server back at the cable company; very slow, very lame.

One of my coworkers recently dumped satellite TV for a bundled cable package. Boy, is he steamed! He absolutely hates his cable "service". And, as I advised, it turns out he's really not saving any money after all the fees and taxes are added. But now he's locked into a two year contract.

My advice is to dump cable. Dump it, dump it, dump it! Satellite TV may not be cheaper, but the customer service and performance are just so much better than cable. That makes it a much better value.

[Dave Lehnert]

Dave,
That is not an apple to apples comparison. When you were paying $18 a month, there was no HD and only a handful of channels. Automobilies in the 1980's were a lot cheaper too, but technology advancements raise costs, it works the same for the satellite and cable companies. One could make the argument for milk, bread, eggs, etc... Don't get me wrong, I pay $109/mo for standard service and internet and have no movie channels either, but it's all relative. Salaries are a lot higher now then in the 80's

Yes, your right. Back then there were only 60 channels of nothing on now we have 200 of nothing on.
HD???? I was told back in the 80's my TV was crystal clear. Now they were just kidding. You need HD.

[Tom Veatch]

...Back then there were only 60 channels of nothing on now we have 200 of nothing on....

I'll have to take your word for it, 'cause I dropped out of TV when it was 40 channels of nothing on. Got one of those D/A converter boxes because my wife has one or two shows on broadcast TV that she likes. My TV watching has been limited to VHS and/or DVD for many years now. Books are much more entertaining/educational and no annoying, insulting commercials.

Do admit that I miss Discovery and History channels, at least as they were years ago, but not nearly enough to get a dish.