We are always looking for ways to save money and some of those methods are harder to implement than others. I’m sure many of you have heard others talk about getting a discount on things like your telephone, cable or satellite service by calling them up. If you have not tried this before you are potentially missing out on a substantial savings. Today in a matter of minutes I was able to save $498 on my next 12-months of cable and internet service. It was easy!
It has been quite a while since I had last obtained a discount from Comcast and our promotional prices just recently ran out and reverted to normal levels and it was outrageous. A monthly bill for TV and internet was running close to $130/month now that our discounts were expired. There is no way we would continue to pay these prices, so I picked up the phone. Unfortunately with this method it can take multiple attempts at getting a customer service representative to actually help you.
The first attempt I got a hold of someone and told them I was looking to disconnect my service because I can get the same services through a dish at a much lower price, and unless they had any promotions I could qualify for, I wanted to schedule a disconnect date. Well, this rep couldn’t have cared less that I wanted to switch and simply asked what day I wanted my service disconnected. I just gave him some date a few weeks in the future knowing I was going to try calling again anyway.
The second attempt I spoke to a gentleman who was willing to give me one of their current promotions on digital cable, but since the account was in my wife’s name he wouldn’t do anything over the phone. He would not give me his direct line or extension so I could have my wife call this evening, he just insisted that any rep that answers will apply the discount, which I know is not true.
Luckily the third time was a charm, and I was put in contact with someone who was glad to help me, and I simply stated that our cost is far too high considering the other options out there and that I was considering a switch to a dish. She proceeded to ask what features I wanted and she would see what could be done as far as price.
In the end we came to a fantastic arrangement. We are not only receiving the same digital package we were before, but also two new premium channels at no additional cost for 6 months. This brings our TV package down by nearly 50% even with the addition of new premium channels. After 6 months the price goes up, but again at a reduced rate at around 25% off the full price we were paying for the next 6 months. On top of that, we were able to reduce our cable internet 30% for 6 months, and back to full price after that. Not only did they reduce the cost of the internet, they bumped us up to the 8 Mbps service for no additional charge during the first 6 months.
After all is said and done, the next year of Comcast service will be nearly $500 less than maintaining our current rate plus we now get even more services. This is a little bit better than the deal we received about a year ago so I’m quite pleased.
As always, your mileage may vary, and if you are currently on a promotional price or just recently received a promotion you may not be able to get one, but if you are paying full price for any part of your service, whether it is through Comcast or another provider or different service it is worth the few minutes it takes to try. I have had similar success in dealing with wireless phone carriers as well. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose, only money to gain.
Author: Jeremy Vohwinkle
My name is Jeremy Vohwinkle, and I’ve spent a number of years working in the finance industry providing financial advice to regular investors and those participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
