[djl8412]

Comcast (Xfinity) just notified us that we will now be charged an additional $17.95 per month for the second HD/DVR service in an additional room. They had not been charging us for the extra room but stated they are changing that policy. I have acquaintances that have had Century Link/Prism for about a year and are satisfied thus far. We are going to be making the switch next month. It will definitely be less costly for at least a couple of years. Then, just like Comcast and others, their costs will increase and eventually we may switch to another co. which will have promotions for new customers.

[Steve & Deanna]

First of all, mark on your calendar when your 'promotional period is up (usually a year). If I were you, I would call Comcast and ask them what promotion am I eligible for. If the rep says that you're not eligible for any, tell that person you need to speak to a supervisor. Here's an example (and I sort of got screwed on this one). I told them that the only important services I wanted were high speed internet, HD and DVR and On Demand. The package I received were those items and HBO and Streampix for $89/mo; but, then they tacked on charges for HD and DVR and a modem hence $120 range. Be very, very clear and ask them how much your package will cost you monthly. I do the same up north and down here and always get some sort of deal.

[Carla B]

Originally Posted by JourneyOfLife

We've been whittling down our Cable TV bill over the last 5 years a little at a time, dropping services and replacing them with Netflix and TIVO (DVR). We are down to Standard cable (70 channels)... most of which we do not watch.

I am dropping cable TV altogether this summer along with our TIVO contract. I will use Windows 7 with Media Center as a free DVR and Over the Air Transmission (OTA) for the major networks.

BTW Windows Media Center is a great DVR!

Netflix streaming + Netflix DVD + Amazon Instant (The Pay per View for certain movies and TV shows) + OTA/DVR TV

We will try it for a year and see how it goes. We will save a little money, but Comcast will probably just cap internet usage bytes and get those dollars back.

Thanks for the idea of using Windows 7 media center as a DVR. Not technologically savvy, but I'll check it out and if I have questions, perhaps I may PM you?

[Villager Dude]

Originally Posted by Steve & Deanna

First of all, mark on your calendar when your 'promotional period is up (usually a year). If I were you, I would call Comcast and ask them what promotion am I eligible for. If the rep says that you're not eligible for any, tell that person you need to speak to a supervisor. Here's an example (and I sort of got screwed on this one). I told them that the only important services I wanted were high speed internet, HD and DVR and On Demand. The package I received were those items and HBO and Streampix for $89/mo; but, then they tacked on charges for HD and DVR and a modem hence $120 range. Be very, very clear and ask them how much your package will cost you monthly. I do the same up north and down here and always get some sort of deal.

This is getting out of hand. I think a group of Villagers should get on the agenda at a Sumter County Commissioner's Meeting. I think they are the ones that regulate the prices or approve them for cable .

Unless I am in a dream world 200 bucks per month is entirely too much for a bundled service.

I just got done dealing with Comcast customer service, they have the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with!!!!!!!!!! Our bill jumped by over 100%!!! The person from Comcast said we had to cancel our service and sign up the next day as new customers to get a discount!!! While I was on hold with customer service I was watching CNBC and they said that if the Comcast deal went through the comcast ceo would get 60 million dollars!!!!!!!!!! I HATE COMCAST!!!!!!!!!

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Villager Dude

This is getting out of hand. I think a group of Villagers should get on the agenda at a Sumter County Commissioner's Meeting. I think they are the ones that regulate the prices or approve them for cable .

Unless I am in a dream world 200 bucks per month is entirely too much for a bundled service.

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on what dog you have in the fight, Cable was deregulated some time ago so prices would be lower. I wonder how that's worked out.

[IADCathy]

Ours went up $80.00 and now we have Century Link. They use our phone lines, higher speed (!) and very easy installation (outside box). Everything remained the same... except we are paying less for more value than we did with Comcast before they raised their fee. Till the bitter end we had problems with Comcast when they billed us for two weeks past the time they picked up their equipment. Took two hours to get that resolved--but knowing that this would be the last of EVER having to deal with Comcast again made it tolerable.

[Skip]

Ask for the 30% Senior Citizen Discount.

Skip

[JourneyOfLife]

My latest cable bill had a notification of price increases across the board for TV services and equipment.

It indicates that people on promotional pricing will not have the increase until the promotional period ends.

They put me on a promotional price if I agreed to another year last year because I complained.

I will have news for them, my cable TV bill will drop to $0

[djl8412]

Originally Posted by cordenny

Thank you everyone. I called Comcast about my bill and they gave me their promotional deal, but it still costs $20 more than I was paying but it includes more channels and faster internet. If I didn't get that deal, it would have cost me $30 more for the service I previously had. I said "That doesn't make any sense". They had no answer for me. They play too many games. I am stuck because I don't want a dish and our neighborhood doesn't offer Prism.

Hang in there. Prism will eventually be available in your area. They are still installing necessary fiber optic cable in TV so there are still some areas where that hasn't been completed. If you are in the newest villages south of Rte. 466A you may have access to Brighthouse cable.

[djl8412]

Originally Posted by Steve & Deanna

First of all, mark on your calendar when your 'promotional period is up (usually a year). If I were you, I would call Comcast and ask them what promotion am I eligible for. If the rep says that you're not eligible for any, tell that person you need to speak to a supervisor. Here's an example (and I sort of got screwed on this one). I told them that the only important services I wanted were high speed internet, HD and DVR and On Demand. The package I received were those items and HBO and Streampix for $89/mo; but, then they tacked on charges for HD and DVR and a modem hence $120 range. Be very, very clear and ask them how much your package will cost you monthly. I do the same up north and down here and always get some sort of deal.

Good advice. After the end of your promotion you can probably get a promotional upgrade of services and/or channels for a length of time. When that runs out and your bill suddenly skyrockets, tell them you want to cut way back on your package to save $ and they may offer you a better solution. Believe it or not, I got that advice from a Comcast rep 2 years ago. I'm tire of playing the game with them now and I'm getting Century Link "Prism."

[perrjojo]

Originally Posted by justjim

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on what dog you have in the fight, Cable was deregulated some time ago so prices would be lower. I wonder how that's worked out.

Remember years ago when the. Government broke up AT&T because it was a monopoly? That didn't work out so well either.