I just spent 10 minutes on the phone with Verizon’s “Elite team” and lowered our Internet bill *and* increased the speed (not that we need more speed).
We have FIOS Internet, and have since we moved into our house. In fact, one of the “requirements” for our house when we were looking was that FIOS was already in the neighborhood, or being put in (not just in the planned stages). We started at a small 5/1 speed for $59.99 – you couldn’t do any better without bundling, and we didn’t need TV or phone, so that’s what we got. Over the years, We made it up to $64.99 for 15M/5M – I honestly haven’t noticed the difference in speed – at most, we’re streaming *one* show/movie/music at one time, so 5 really was just fine for us (I’m also reminded of when DSL speeds were 384k/56k and we liked it – get off my lawn!)
I got the notification of my new Verizon bill, and I was being charged $72.99 – whoa! With no notice, my rate goes up, so I checked online to see what the new prices/rates/bundles were. I could get a 3/1 for $69.99, but for $3/mth, we were going to just stay with the 15/5. Nothing much available for us through their web page. So, I looked over at Cox – our local cable company: they had 25/5 for 48.99/mth for 3 months, then 59.99/mth after that. I don’t really like the cable company, but we use them for our office, and it’s been stable and we haven’t had to deal with their customer service, but hmmm..
I called Verizon and got transferred to their “Elite team”, and spoke with a nice gentleman who asked me how I’m liking the FIOS and what I’m using it for. He did try to up sell me to a TV package, but I told him we just don’t watch TV (and anyway, our house isn’t wired for TV – I’d have to run the wiring myself – yech!). I told him what Cox was offering, and he said “let me see what I can do for you”. He looked through his computer and was able to offer me 20/5 for $57.99/mth for at least one year, but after that, it’d go up to whatever the current rate was at the time. I accepted and set a reminder in my calendar to call again next January!
The whole call took me about 10 minutes, and some of that was BSing with the guy who lives in Pittsburgh about Pittsburgh (I gave him my Pittsburgh area code cell phone for a callback number).
Twice this year, I’ve been able to save money by talking to a human on the phone for about 10-15 minutes. Have you called the services you use to ask for a better rate?
Nice Job!
We had Cox Cable for years and did the same thing as you. They lowered it for 6 months. Then we got an offer from Verizon for FIOS 3/1 bundle that gave us $69/month for 24 months. AND they gave us a $300 debit card. And yes, my calendar reminder is set to look at going rates at the end of the 24 months !
I wasn’t able to get a 2 year deal – even with a step up in price at the end of the first year, so I took the 1 year deal. That’s still $180/year in savings! And I’m hoping that the rates next year are in the 59.99/64.99 range.
Nice work! We (well, I) do this sort of thing all the time. I’ll successfully negotiate rates on just about everything, except my utilities. Electric, gas, water…those companies don’t want to hear it. I think they know they’re providing a necessity and have a monopoly, so why bother? 🙂
Yep – anything that’s a “natural monopoly” or regulated won’t give you any breaks. Although, at one point, phone service (and therefore Internet service) was considered a “natural monopoly”, and it no longer is thanks to the FCC and wholesale rules though. Things may change in the future!
I have AT&T for internet. They gave me a great intro rate years ago. Since then, I adjust my internet speed to stay at around $50 a month.
AT&T does seem to offer $5 off for 6 months often, so I continue to accept that offer.
Have you had to adjust downwards often to stay within your price range or does it vary by season/moon phase etc?
Nice work!! Calling these companies is so effective but so many people seem to never do it… thanks for your post, it was a great reminder that I need to call Comcast to get them to lower my bill!
I’ve already got the reminder in my calendar to call them back next year. I need to start thinking of other services I might be able to talk down a bit.
I currently have 5 down, 1 up on Cox Internet. I was concerned whether these speeds would meet my streaming needs. I’m glad to say that I have not seen any hiccups yet.
I was paying $43.99 for a while (standard rate, no bundling allowed). But I did the same thing as you. I called Cox to ask about spending a little less money. After about 5 or 10 minutes, they dropped my monthly rate by $5. Easy enough!
I need to do it more often – although the only other “house” service we pay for that’s not a monopoly is trash (and it kind of is, because the other choice is *horrible*)