Get A Better Cable TV Rate

This past month our cable/phone/internet bill through Time Warner increases 40%! The jump was up to $140 per month since our promotion had ended. Now I enjoy all these offerings but this was way to much to pay. I ended up taking the advice of the Personal Finance Advice Blog to lower my cable rate. I called up Time Warner last Friday and choose the option to remove a feature then the option for cancelling my service. I greeted the CSR who was helping me and explained the large increase had made me consider a direct tv offer which i mentioned in passing. I asked if she could get back to what I was paying before my rate increase rather than asking for a direct match. She immediately offered me my same service for $95 per month. I countered ans asked what kind of deal I could get with HDTV service included and she was able to offer it to me for $105 which I gladly accepted, though I eventually added the DVR functionality since that is the only way I watch TV nowadays for a total of $111 monthly. The killer part of this deal is that my rate is locked in for 18 months, thats a year and a half! That is even better news since the Personal Finance Blog is reporting that some cable companies are putting in a 2 month buffer between your promotion ending and the next one beginning.

Some Tips to Remember:

• Be Nice to the CSR
• Don’t make demands, ASK for a better deal
• Know what you want before you call
• Find out the length of your new rate, set this date as a reminder to call again in your calendar program.
• Have a competitor’s price and plan handy mention it but don’t focus on it.

Remember, only YOU can prevent high cable rates.