Use The Recession As A Bargaining Chip

Anyone try this with Crapcast? If it does I'm dialing them right now.

tok3ninja

No way dude, they are jackasses I wouldn't even try, they told me once that they didn't need my business and I had been with then 8yrs with no late payments (If I had ANY other options I would have dropped them like a rock). I think they employ morons with no education, they cant make executive, intelligent decisions, good luck.

Furious911

@tok3ninja: Did it work?

greatodinsraven

I tried this with Time Warner Cable and they wouldn't budge. So, I told them I wanted to cancel my cable completely (I kept my internet). Three weeks later a sales rep came to my door offering a price of $25 less than I was paying originally. Just takes a little patience sometimes!

Nick Yezza

@Nick Yezza: I like this answer better than Furious' rant. I do know someone who works in a Comcast call center so I might be able to pull some strings.

tok3ninja

Yeah this works!! My wife an I just reduced our Comcast TV and internet bill from $120/mo to about $70. One tip, if CSR does not budge, ask for the supervisor. Or (as we found out this last time) call back and talk to a different CSR.

We spoke to three CSRs and one supervisor. First one offered us a deal, but we had to call back to talk to the retention dept. The second said no as did his supervisor so we downgraded to crap service for $80. We called back two days later with an issue and while on the phone the third CSR gave us the original deal. An upgraded package for $70.

We ALWAYS call when our promotional price runs out. They almost always will offer you the new customer promotion going on now. Just threaten with Dish/Direct TV.

OSUpwnsUM

@Nick Yezza: They did this to me, too! I had been an internet only subscriber and they offered me cable w/HBO for only $40 more. When the promo price ran out, I called and cancelled the HBO and retain internet + digital cable for about $25 less then other, new customers would have to pay!

See, I want to talk to my apartment complex about the possibility of lowering my rent. I'm 4 months into my 2nd lease with them paying ~$700 the whole time.

I'd like to see it go down.. $50-100 a month? More would be nice but I feel like if I ask, they will get the feeling I can't pay and then treat me like crap / evict me.

I know there are several empty units in my building, and across the complex.

What should I do so they don't toss me on the street thinking I can't pay?

TWC is easy to barter with. My bill went from $120+ per month to around $70 per month (Digital cable, choice tier, HDDVR and 6M internet). No hard bargaining, just letting them know I have options like Verizon DSL and soon FIOS in my neighborhood. The key is to speak to the retention group. They have the power and system access to get things done.

MerleHespera

I don't know that this jibes with TW's decision to impose a bandwidth cap and charge significantly more than their costs per GB over the max. It sounds like what they're actually saying is "OK, we understand you're strapped for cash because of the recession so we'll charge you less for cable programming but we're gonna take it all back and more by dramatically increasing your costs to access to alternative streaming media via the internet."

Doesn't sound too benevolent to me.

gmerin

Up here in Canada - Anyone have any luck with getting Cogeco to reduce rates?

Freezen

I'm not sure where you live, but thinking you can't pay isn't typically grounds for eviction.

VayaConQueso

@OSUpwnsUM: No sh*t Ted? We're paying about $80 for broadband and the basic digital cable package. Not sure if it's just a deal price or what but I'm about to look into it. Thanks!

tok3ninja

I absolutely hated "bargin hunters" when I work at lowes. No, you can't get this shed for 20% off because you ask. Damn, I'm happy to be out of retail.

@VayaConQueso: I'm in Florida.

I understand that they probably can't realistically evict me, however, it may decrease the quality of service I receive from the office - such as repair calls, pest control calls, etc.

I don't want to be put on their watch list because I ask to have my rent lowered.

@gmerin: bandwidth cap? I would like to know more about this. I know if other cable companies that have a cap, but as far as I know of. TWC doesn't have one

Just got $31 per month taken off my TW NYC cable bill, and HBO and Showtime for 30 days - no contract too! Just mentioned the possibility of canceling phone service, and added that Verizon's prices were much better. After some nice akward silences, rep just made me a deal.

OrvaCadish

@Nick Yezza: I did this with TWC Raleigh. I was calling to reduce my internet from 6MB $49.99 to 1.5MB $34.99. They offered to me to keep the 6MB for the 1.5MB price. Let's say I was pleased but 1.5MB would have been OK to work with boxee/hulu. I guess once you are at 1.5MB @ $35 then it is a small jump to use another service. Curtis

WrightHaele

@Oranges w/ Cheese: If you are in a lease with them, don't expect them to lower it unless you have no penalties for canceling the lease. They have you on the hook for 12 months at that price. When your lease is up for renewal is the time to negotiate a lower rate.

Michael Barry

@Cino: Consumerist has been running stories about them starting a test market in Texas.

@VayaConQueso: I was just hit with a rent increase. New owners. Curse them.

jupiterthunder

@MerleHespera: TWC sucks but they ARE willing to drop heir prices and give credits for every little thing. Thats the only reason I stay with them.

Paul Hibbard

I'm currently using comcast. No big problems so far concerning the internet. Their customer support is not good at all though. :/

Wilson Perdomo

@Oranges w/ Cheese: 2 more cities in Texas, Austin and San Antonio, Greensboro NC, and in NY ( not sure of the last one and I am too lazy too look) If the start he cap in Charlotte I'll dump them PDQ.

Paul Hibbard

Anyone successfully negotiated twice? We did this over a year ago sucessfully but it's now lapsed back to the original price, as agreed on. Would they go for it again?

@tok3ninja: My Comcast internet bill is about to jump from $20 to $60 / month, which I certainly can't afford. Has anyone had luck convincing them to led you keep the promotional rate? If so how did you do it and what medium did you use?

danep

Unfortunately I'm locked in a two year contract. Damn.

beala

@danep: I had the exact same thing happen to me a few months ago- the 6 month promo offer of high speed and cable for $55/month ended and I received a bill on month 7 for $118. I cancelled as soon as I received the bill in the mail, and got a call the very next day from Comcast offering me the same $55/month rate plus $3/month HBO from there on out. I even mentioned that if the rate went back up I would cancel again, and while it's month to month, they made no indication that it would ever go back up... (I'm sure it will eventually, lol)

CelesteCroakster

@greasypigarvin: Update: got the price back to our old lower price. Had to go as far as the cancellation department but once we got there, it was pretty simple. Got 20 bucks a month taken out.

I called them 3 weeks ago and told them I can no longer afford their residential 6Mbps Internet at $46/month. I was offered the Economy Internet 2Mbps at $28/month. It's not advertised anywhere on their site. I took it.

I also downgraded to basic cable and handed in my DVR [I'm using an old Mac to run Front Row in my living room and downloading/streaming everything - it's great]. ComShaft bill went from $120 to $43.

@tok3ninja:

Johnnymac239

Just got my garbage collection bill after calling 3 months ago asking for lower cost plans. The service rep dropped it from $70+/quarter to $40/quarter with no change in the service. In fact, because I'd paid the $70 already, the bill for this quarter was only $26. I think she put me on the "retiree" plan. Allied Waste.

TheFu

Here is all you have to do.. Ask for the retention group and state the following: I am honestly looking to get a better price on my service. I'm looking to cancel strictly due to the pricing since I'm not longer able to afford the service at the way the economy is. I would like to keep the service but it is just too expensive. Is there anything that you can do for me? 9 times out of 10 they're willing to help..

BessAleus

I had it work for me- my bill almost doubled when the promotional period was up and they were pleasant on the phone. They reviewed all the great upgrades I could add on, and I explained I wanted to cancel since I couldn't justify paying that much. Two minutes later I had my adjusted rate close to the promotion (+$7 )which was a bargain.

TiffanyKabobber

@Paul Hibbard: That is so true. That and I've heard their promo logs expire after 3 months so just call them back after the 3 month promo ends and say you can't afford it.

Next time the bill goes up I may just cancel part of it. When I move out of the 'rents house (I'm paying rent and for cable and internet) I'll probably switch them to DSL since they don't need the extra speed and can get by on $20 a month better than paying $40.

I told TW that I was switching to DSL because it was cheaper and she said "We'll give you the faster speed for $20 a month."

Sweetness! :)

@danep: I also have Comcast and it worked for me. Actually, it worked twice. When my promotional rate was up I called and threaten to go with AT&T. They lowered the rate for six months. Did that one more time after that.

@VayaConQueso: It's not legal anywhere in the US (and prolly Canada) for a landlord to evict a tenant because they think the tenant can't afford the rent.

@tok3ninja: Currently, I am on a promotion from Comcast for HSI, HDTV and 1 HD DVR (no premium channels). I pay $90/month. When the promo is over, I will call the Customer Retention dept back and ask to be put back on a similar promo. I have been doing this for 5 years.

@Nick Yezza: Twice I've tried to negotiate a better deal with TWNYC and they did not consent either time. I'm sweet as pie on the phone, and the reason I want a lower cost -- other service providers -- *is* legitimate, but they're not interested. I guess I'll try one more time by contacting the retention department, but if that fails then I'm going to see what Verizon's FIOS is all about.

missbeyond

@gmerin: Yeah, negotiating is a waste of time. You always get less than what you pay for.

orlo

I have seen over and over again that whether it's Verizon, or BofA or almost any company, if you ask and ask and ask you can get discounts, refunds, etc. For example with BofA and their overdraft fees, if you got 5 for $35 each--you call and they tell you "well, for a one-time thing, we'll take out two of them." So I said I wasn't happy, and asked for their supervisor. They transfered me--you have to be patient and curtous--and when the sup came on I said "Look, I have been a customer for a long time, I have several accounts, I don't want to have to look anywhere else to start a new account..." or something to that extent, and she quickly authorized the remaining three charges, saying that it would be a one-time thing. (BTW I have done this several times over the past year--however poorly that reflects on my ability to maintain my checkbook right.) Basically, I know from someone who works at banks that they can really take out ANYTHING, it's a matter of talking them into it. Once I got transfered to three different levels to get what I wanted.

UmaGraeae

@tok3ninja: I sort of did it. I told them to cancel when they wouldn't extend the promotional rate. We went a month withount then we started getting the mailers begging us to come back.

My neighbor was cool with me mooching his wireless signal, and a month without tv was actually kind of refreshing.

chargernj

@Paul Hibbard: I can't believe it.. But it is true :-( I had to check with some internal sources but its going to happen from what I was told. Update NY is going to have the cap. I was told NYC area may start near the end of the year but its still up in the air. Its sad, I work for the company and didn't even know about it..

I called to cancel my overpriced basic services in Sept 2008. They stopped charging me, but I'm still getting their signal - free.
@Freezen: