rebeccmeister: (Default)
[personal profile] rebeccmeister
I got a friendly letter in the mail today from Time Warner Cable (you know, that giant media conglomerate that is trying to disguise itself by rebranding as Spectrum) that our "promotional discounted rate" is coming to an end after a year and now they're going to charge me $180 more per year for teh internets.

I mean, I'll give them a call and declare that I will cancel no matter what, but at the same time, when we moved in I couldn't find any alternative ISPs for my area (city of Albany NY). There's an awesome-sounding ISP called Hudson Valley Wireless in Upstate New York, but they said they don't have coverage within Albany (maybe somebody drove them out, ahem).

Am I really stuck with a terrible monopolistic media conglomerate that spams me with unwanted advertising for the television set I'm never going to get? I told them as much from day one, but still the stupid junk mail comes.

And for those who don't already know this, this type of business scheme is very common for insurance providers: punish anyone foolish enough to remain loyal to your business for an extended period of time, reward the twitchy people who will cancel and switch periodically (usually, what, about once a year?). They do it because it works, but it's stupid and I hate it.

Subscription services are generally evil.

Date: 2019-07-31 01:41 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] rainswolf
Ugh, that sounds even worse than Comcast! There's got to be a way to pay less than that.... do you at least get great internet? (Ours is awful, but it's closer to $70/month).

Date: 2019-08-01 01:03 am (UTC)
conuly: (Default)
From: [personal profile] conuly
How do you buy your own modem, and can you get one that has proper channel changing buttons?

Edit: I'm a doofus. You said modem, I said modem, and I think it's clear that for some reason I thought you meant the cable box. We have our own modem and router, because it was easier to replace our own than to ask them to come out and do it when theirs fritzed.
Edited Date: 2019-08-01 01:05 am (UTC)

Date: 2019-07-31 01:41 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] rainswolf
Also I hear you on insurance. We paid SO MUCH more than we should have on car insurance because we were loyal to a company. Never again!

Date: 2019-07-31 10:28 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] annikusrex
Looks like one of the best strategies might be to really cancel and then have Scott subscribe under his name. https://tvnerd.com/how-to-negotiate-with-spectrum/

Date: 2019-08-02 05:02 am (UTC)
scrottie: (Default)
From: [personal profile] scrottie
Back and forth every year between the two of us could work.

One snag is the laptop there is a bit of a work server. When exactly is the shut-off date as it stands? At the very least, I should try to coordinate around that.

It would be nice not having to be online.

Date: 2019-08-01 01:02 am (UTC)
conuly: (Default)
From: [personal profile] conuly
Huh. Coincidentally, they just came to our door and offered us a new plan that's $50 cheaper than what we're currently getting, plus we get HBO and a landline.

It's the landline that's the real draw, as I'm constantly misplacing my cell and this makes it irritating for my mother to call me and ask me to let her in.

Date: 2019-08-02 05:03 am (UTC)
scrottie: (Default)
From: [personal profile] scrottie
Is that an introductory rate thing that'll wind up costing even more after the year is up?

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