Interactive Post: Fix my cable bill! (Comcast)

[Mike Lowe]

I really like my Comcast cable and internet service but man, they're getting expensive! My wife and I have thought about switching to something else but wanted to weigh the options first. It's a hassle to switch obviously and hard sometimes to get straight answers so I thought I'd try to ask for some advice here...

We have 2 HD boxes, one being a DVR, with on-demand on both. Here is the channel lineup we currently have as well as our bill:

Channel lineup: Digital Classic (with Standard Cable) (use drop down for details)



My wife watches a lot of the home/garden type channels, along with the usual sitcoms etc. I watch mostly sports and things like Discovery, History, National Georgaphic and other educational channels. We have a ton of channels but watch probably 40 of them max? We like having the music channels too but is obviously not a must.

Option 1) Downgrade (or continue to haggle) Comcast. What could we easily cut out?

Option 2) Make the switch to Dish, Direct TV, or other.

I digress...looking forward to the replies as I know there are better options available (Comcast or other!)

[Mike Lowe]

[Axxon]

Still nope.

[Mike Lowe]

Ok, I think I fixed it (originally tried to copy and paste the entire channel lineup to no avail)

See first post for details...thanks again.

[SteveMax58]

That billing statement looks confusing, but couple of questions...

What tier (or up/down speed) is your high speed internet? If you dont download massive files(i.e. full-length movies and the like), host a high traffic volume website, or stream high res video often, you may want to consider downgrading.

Do you use your DVR functions often(or ever)? Most cable companies charge a pretty solid monthly on these functions, and if you dont really use them(or only use them on one TV typically), you're really throwing money away.

[billethius]

I ordered DirecTV at one point, called comcast to cancel because DirecTV was cheaper and they offered to lower my price. I told them it was still too high for me and they lowered it again to their promotional price for new customers. I took that price and called DirecTV to cancel their installation.

So you could give that a try.

[SteveMax58]

Your Standard rate of $29.99/mo does not look to be correct as they are only subtracting $15.86 instead of the $28.00 that would seem to make sense in the context. I imagine you signed up (or extended) for service and it was supposed to be a base rate of $29.99/mo. It looks to me that they raised the rates and did not properly update the billing system's credits to you.

[Mike Lowe]

Thanks everyone, keep them coming.

Steve, what happened was I called and did the "I'm going to switch" bit and they told me I could downgrade to qualify for a discount (since I had been on a discount for 6 months already and could not just "have" a new one again). With the new lower plan, I received a discount and then they let me upgrade again to my classic package. The $29.99 + $15 or whatever it is was still cheaper than the $75 I think they were going to charge for the classic package straight up.

Does that make sense?

[SteveMax58]

I think I understand.

Geez...that Digital Classic package sounds pricey.

I work for a different Cable co(on the engineering side), and while I dont really pay too close attention to the package pricing, I bet you would likely be able to get a better bundled package from somebody else.

Do you mind saying where you live, roughly?

[Mike Lowe]

NW 'burbs of Chicago.

[SteveMax58]

Hmm...you might know better than me...but I believe your only choices are Comcast, Dish, DirecTV, and possibly AT&T(or at some point maybe).

If you cant find a sensible price point via Comcast, I'd suggest calling DirecTV. They typically have reselling deals(varies per area) with AT&T...so they could possibly offer a bundled deal that works for you and, when installed properly, have a very solid product.

Just my 2 cents.