How to reduce your Comcast bill

Tips for saving money

Yesterday, a rep from a local cable competitor called dropped by our house and explained how we could get the same cable and internet service we got from Comcast for half price if we switched providers.

It was a pretty compelling argument — $29.95 for standard cable (plus they threw in Starz and Encore, even though they’re channels we don’t care about) and $22.95 for internet for 12 months, with no contract. With Comcast, we’d been paying $59.95 for standard cable and $42.95 for internet.

I looked at the , and they were positive overall, although some people complained that their internet speeds were more comparable to DSL than cable (we’re on the 12Mbps package).

However, since we’d been happy with Comcast, I figured it was worth calling them up to see if I could get better pricing. After selecting the “downgrade or discontinue your service” option on the telephone menu, I explained to the rep that we’d been happy with their service but that Astound was offering the same services at half the price, which we had to consider. I asked if there was anything they could to to price match or decrease my monthly bill.

It turns out Comcast doesn’t do price matching, but they were willing to drop the rates we were being charged. They offered 12 months (and no contract) at $39.95 for cable and $34.95 for internet at the same speed, meaning I managed to knock almost $30 off my monthly bill. I also could have downgraded our internet speed in exchange for an even lower bill.

Negotiating (either a bill or your salary) basically much involves the same basic steps: doing some research to find benchmark data, whether it’s a similar position you’re applying for or a competitor’s services, being polite and respectful but asking for what you want, and seeing where it goes. If you’re a reader in the Bay Area, you might be able to reduce your bills by giving the quotes from Astound to your provider and seeing if they’ll budge.

The worst that can happen is that you get declined, but it can’t hurt to ask.

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3 Feedbacks on "How to reduce your Comcast bill"

Mr.Choice

Too bad we are utilizing Optimum Online now.



Charlie@PayLessForFood.com

“The worst that can happen is that you get declined, but it can’t hurt to ask.”

Loved your article. Couldn’t agree with you more. However, I don’t think there is a “worst that can happen” in this situation because you can always switch to the competitor and save money =)

Oh and you can also use the same technique by using the company’s introductory rates to get your own rate lowered. I actually did this with my cable modem service. I told them that I wanted the rate they were charging new subscribers and they gave it to me. (Your mileage may vary)

Great website.



Chris

Great post. I had a similar experience with Comcast in Chicago when I first signed up. An error in their appointment scheduling system made them think I didn’t get my service when in fact I had, so after about 24 hours, my service was turned off. Then they billed me for the install after I’d given the technician a check.

Needless to say, I’ve been getting “promo pricing” for a quite a while, and have the direct line of a senior customer service agent if I get too riled up ;)