Anyone try to negotiate a better rate with the cable company? I just purchased my first HDTV so want to upgrade my cable package to digital with Time Warner. I'd prefer to stay with TW at least for now as I also use Roadrunner. My only other option is Direct TV but at this point do not want a dish mounted on my house. However, I would still like to use them as leverage in dealing with TW. I'm currently paying $35/month for standard cable with TW. Going to digital cable would cost around $50/month. Direct TV is offering a similar package of HD channels for $35/month for the first year (I think it goes to $52 after a year) with no cost for equipment. I'm wondering if I could use that as leverage and ask TW to match that price for one year, basically giving me HD cable for the same rate I'm now for standard cable. Anyone ever try something like that?

You must have a far better TWC franchise than those of us who live in Southern California.

Just bring up the comparable price for a satellite package (you might check Dish's rates, too) and see what TWC will offer.

(Personally I can't wait until FiOS internet gets to my area of Los Angeles so I can ditch TWC roadrunner -- even if it costs me substantially more each month.)

Just bring up the comparable price for a satellite package (you might check Dish's rates, too) and see what TWC will offer.



Comcast gave me $20 off/month for 3 months using that tactic...

One of my friends has a deal she made with TWC. She is paying around $85 for Digital Cable + HBO + Internet. I'm not sure what tactics she used but it's a very good deal. If U-verse is available in your area trying using them as leverage.

I've successfully gotten a 1 year price reduction from my cable company two times in 3.5 years. I start off by calling them and pressing whatever extension connects me to the cancellation department. Once they get my basic info and ask why I'm canceling- I always say it's getting too expensive and I'm switching back to satellite. They then put me on hold and connect me w/the customer retention department. The first time my "new customers get all three services for $99/month" deal was up- my bill shot up to $129/month. I stayed w/that price for six months and called to cancel, after 15 minutes of discussion with the guy in customer retention... I got the next 12 months for $109/month. So, for the cost of a 15 min call I saved $240 (which is like 2 free months of cable) over the next year. When that promo period was up, I stayed w/the the std rates for a few months and called again to cancel... this time they told me there were no current promos- so I waited a few months and called back... they then gave me my current deal which is a $30/month discount.

The higher your monthly bill and more services you have w/your provider- the more inclined they'll be to give you discounts to stay with them. Back when I had just cable TV service.... they never gave me a break, but now that I have all three services from them- I'm a better customer and they love me and can't wait to give me discounts :D

call them and put in a cancellation notice for 2-3 weeks down the line. Tell them you have D* being installed at that time and you want to cancel service as of that date.

Odds are they will try to give you a discount at that time - even if they don't, someone in retention might look at it and call you with an offer.

Bottom line, you can always call back day before and cancel the cancellation.

The higher your monthly bill and more services you have w/your provider- the more inclined they'll be to give you discounts to stay with them. Back when I had just cable TV service.... they never gave me a break, but now that I have all three services from them- I'm a better customer and they love me and can't wait to give me discounts :D

Interesting, charter charges me $172/month for internet and cable which includes one digital box and one HD DVR and the HD tier. They have a deal including telephone for $129/month for a year. I keep thinking i'll do that but doubt that it includes the HD tier or DVR, still may be worth checking out.
Does anyone have any experience with cable phone?

Does anyone have any experience with cable phone?
My VOIP line (phone service from the cable provider) sounds better than the analog Verizon copper line we had and it's unlimited local and domestic long distance coverage- with no tax/surcharges.

Does the computer have to be on for VOIP to work and is it reliable?

Does the computer have to be on for VOIP to work and is it reliable?

No, but you do need an active Internet connection which means your modem and router need to be on and working, as well as a VOIP "adapter" device. Occasionally, the Internet will go down, and if you don't have a land line for backup (I do; costs me $20/mo - good insurance), you're screwed. But all-in-all, it's a pretty good deal (I have Vonage), especially if you make a lot of long distance calls.

My cable modem is always on and I could use our cellphones for backup. We had considered ditching landlines altogether but neither of us wants to lose our old home number or walk around with our little Motorola Razrs, sheesh,you can't even cradle the thing on your shoulder!

My cable modem is always on and I could use our cellphones for backup. We had considered ditching landlines altogether but neither of us wants to lose our old home number or walk around with our little Motorola Razrs, sheesh,you can't even cradle the thing on your shoulder!

With a Bluetooth headset, you don't need a "cradle" for your RAZR, etc.:rolleyes:

As far as negotiating, all I have my friends and clients say is "I want to know what the price of my internet is without cable service?"
Then they get a better deal after mentioning the dreaded words "Directv" or "Dish".;)

I got rid of my land line several months ago, I don't miss it at all. I'm on call 7x24 with work so I need to have my cell phone on me all the time anyway.

TWC in So Cal is a rip off. I canceled my father in law TWC last month because they raised the price of his bill from $58.XX to $89.XX over the last 6 months.

The reason his bill went up so much is because TWC in his city raised the price of HD DVR lease from $7.99 to $12.99 per box and DVR fee from $4.99 per box to $10.99 per box. They also raised the price of digital cable from $44.99 to $54.99.

He switched over to Dish Network and is paying much less for more HD Channels and free cinemax.

Does the computer have to be on for VOIP to work and is it reliable?

ROFL!!:D Is it reliable. As long as the power is not out or your internet connection is not down. I wouldn't trust it, especially if that ISP is Time Warner;). I've had two brief cable outages this month alone but I've almost never had a phone outage(with AT&T). I also have internet through them and that has rarely gone out. But I still wouldn't go with someone like Vonage just because of the power and "enhanced 911" issues. Take the blackout 5 years ago last week. Without a landline, cellphones last so long, then you're phoneless. No thanks! I'll stick with the technology that's worked for over 100 years. There's a reason why it's still around today.

TWC in So Cal is a rip off. I canceled my father in law TWC last month because they raised the price of his bill from $58.XX to $89.XX over the last 6 months.

The reason his bill went up so much is because TWC in his city raised the price of HD DVR lease from $7.99 to $12.99 per box and DVR fee from $4.99 per box to $10.99 per box. They also raised the price of digital cable from $44.99 to $54.99.

Holy S...!! $13 for a DVR and $11 for the service?:eek::eek::eek::eek: That's almost $25 just for the DVR box. And $54.99 for digital cable?

Here in NE Ohio we're at about $44 for digital and DVRs are $7.65(all equipment is) and DVR service is about $6(originally was $4.95). If prices here were that high I'd consider dumping TWC for OTA.

Here in NE Ohio we're at about $44 for digital and DVRs are $7.65(all equipment is) and DVR service is about $6(originally was $4.95). If prices here were that high I'd consider dumping TWC for OTA.

Sorry I forget to mention the first box is at a reduced price of $5.99 no matter what box you have. He had 2 HD DVR. Under old Adelphia billing which he was on till they converted him over to "New Better TWC" billing system he was paying much less because Aldephia used to bill just like D*. All TV in the house get the same programing as the main TV for the cost of the box lease. So he was only charged for 1 DVR fee which used be $4.99 vs under new TWC pricing he was paying $10.99 x2 and 2nd TV under old Aldephia pricing used to be $7.99.

TWC in his area charges $5.99 for non HD box, $8.99 for HD box or SD DVR and $12.99 for HD DVR now but like I said if you have only 1TV you can get a HD DVR for $5.99 + $10.99 DVR fee. Still a rip off in my opinion tho.

Funny thing is when I called to cancel his service and order E* for him. Lady at Cable company keep lying to me about how Sat is more expensive and they can raise your bill as much as they want etc.. I said just like you guys did and the lady said "No We got permission from your local City to raise the price because we are adding new HD channels" I said you raised the price back in Jan and we are in Aug now and you have added no new HD channels at all. Her answer was well we are adding new channels on Aug 15 in your area. We are adding 6 new channels. I said sorry $30 a month for 6 new channels is $5 per channel that is a rip off. She said well we can only raise your price when your local city gives us permission and E* can raise it when ever they want.

I said sure but we live in Beverly Hills and City consul thinks everyone here is rich and could careless about $20-30 a month increase to keep the cable company happy and think the whole city is clueless when it comes to Sat prices I guess too. I am sure Dish is not dumb enough to raise there prices based on the price of Cable in Beverly Hills as I am sure Beverly Hill City Consul approved some of the highest rates in the country for TWC considering TWC charges much less in City of Los Angeles for the same services and in some parts of LA has almost 3x as many HD channels as Comcast always offered more HD channels than Adelphia did anyways.

Municipal or County councils (Franchise Authority) only have the right to regulate 'Basic' (Locals) cable service. Therefore, the CSR was misinformed or lying. (big surprise, either way, I know :D)

Basic rates can vary a lot, but the $ difference is lttle compared to the total variance in $ of all of the other cable services combined, the latter $ being decided by them.

Also, I noticed from AVS, the lower the regulated price on Basic is, the more they charge for Expd. Basic and Premiums to make up for the difference.;)

Also, I noticed from AVS, the lower the regulated price on Basic is, the more they charge for Expd. Basic and Premiums to make up for the difference.;)

Thats the thing, you really cannot win no matter what you do. I called one time to explain to Charter that I wanted to see if I could reduce my bill and to drop HBO. She said I was on a package deal and my bill would go up if I did that:eek:

Thanks for all the advice. I called TW and told them I would be swtching to Direct TV and they came close ($5/month more) to matching Direct TV's Choice Package. So I am going to at least stick with TW a while longer to see how it works. I don't think their HD lineup is quite as good (for me) as Direct's Choice Package but at least I'm not tied to a 2 year contract. If I don't like TW's Digital Value package after a few months I can cancel.

OK, so I pulled the trigger. I got a call from Charter about switching over to their bundle, which is 5M internet, digital cable with the HD tier and DVR, all the movie packages, and telephone for $129.95 a month for two years. This saves me $100 a month! I am still a little apprehensive about their telephone service but we do have cell phones for backup, hopefully everything will go smoothly.

wow charter is crazy. I had TWC Columbus Ohio til june...

RoadRunner 7Mbps ( tested it at 12 tho), digital, HD, DVR, HBO/Cin, HD Gold package.. .all for $103/mo. I moved away for a couple months then moved again back to the area... called TWC and they wanted $126 for the same deal. told them i was going to look at Directv, they said ok and let me hang up.

for 126 i can get Roadrunner + directv HD/DVR .. which is better HD and more HD.. so I guess I will go with that.

I've noticed that quite a bit lately too, when I dropped Time Warner to switch to U-Verse, the CSR I talked to made absolutely no effort to keep me with Time Warner. I didn't intend on staying with TWC , but I did expect at least a little attempt to keep me. I guess they know people are bailing, and there isn't much they can do to stop it.