[MacinTommy]

I've had DirecTV for a year now. No problems with it. Have plenty of channels and it's had to storm REALLY bad to temporarily knock out service. I knew the day was coming when my rates would almost double. I went from paying $45 to now $79 a month after the "one year" promotion was over.

Has anyone had experience/success/luck with getting them to drop that monthly rate back down? Not necessarily all the way back to $45 but maybe some sort of discount? Budget is tighter these days since my rent went up, internet went up and cable went up but pay has stayed the same. I was just wondering if any of you have a good strategy... Maybe a threat to change providers?

Thanks for any input.

[Thorzdad]

The common wisdom on this always says to simply call them to discontinue your service. You'll be transferred to a retainment specialist who, so the tales go, will miraculously find a lower-cost deal for you. YMMV, of course.

Of course, you have to be prepared to actually cancel your service, if they stonewall you.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

Of course, you have to be prepared to actually cancel your service, if they stonewall you.

To sexy this up, prepare to have your bluff called.

[andi*pandi]

There's usually some other plan or combo you can switch to, depending if you are already bare bones or not.

That said, we switched, were with comcast a while, switched again, and it hasn't been too bad adjusting to Fios.

[ghporter]

Call DirecTV's customer service and ask about what deals are available. Tell them about the newspaper inserts/TV ads/etc. you're seeing for Time-Warner, Dish, etc., and that you're considering changing because of the promotional rates.

And note that DirecTV is connected to AT&T; if you have an AT&T phone, you can get a reduced rate by mentioning this and having your accounts linked. It worked for me quite well.

[cgc]

I am with Dish and after my first 2-year contract ended I called asking for an upgraded DVR. They said they'd sell me one so I said no thanks and that's I'd sign into a second 2-year contract if they'd hook me up. They waffled around enough to make me threaten to go to FIOS so they put me on hold. When they came back I was on a new contract with a nice new DVR/Receiver. Now that 2-year contract just ended so I may do it again. There's gotta be something in it for them and if you like DirecTV and are willing to give them something (e.g. a contract renewal) they will probably hook you up.

[MacinTommy]

Thank you for the suggestions... I think I'm going to look into what kind of deals they have going and say I saw comcast was offering (insert offer)... Blah, blah... I guess we shall see.

[driven]

I called to cancel. They didn't come down on the rate. I switched to Dish and the Hopper DVR. *now* DirectTV sends me endless offers to come back including paying my Dish cancellation rate.

Sadly for them, I *love* Dish and my DVR. I don't want to go back.

Moral of the story: You can try to get them to lower the rate by calling and threatening to cancel. But be prepared to jump to another provider. On the plus side: It may end up being a gift for you, like it was for me.

Why do cable companies and sat providers work opposite of other businesses? Most businesses reward people for loyalty. These companies reward people for dis-loyalty. It's insane.

One day: I'll cut the cord entirely and just work off of streaming.

[el chupacabra]

Originally Posted by MacinTommy 

Has anyone had experience/success/luck with getting them to drop that monthly rate back down? Not necessarily all the way back to $45 but maybe some sort of discount? Budget is tighter these days since my rent went up, internet went up and cable went up but pay has stayed the same. I was just wondering if any of you have a good strategy... Maybe a threat to change providers?

Thanks for any input.

I know someone who never pays more than the introductory rates. They are very good at negotiating. You might start with calling and saying "is there any way I can keep this rate? I just don't have enough money to afford this increase, I MAY have to cancel since I dont know how I can make this work". If they don't deal with you hang up look at other deals in the area and decide if you want to call and cancel; in which case you will get a different person who may be more willing to deal. If not, cancel and go to dish etc. (make sure to negotiate you wont do the deal unless they waive setup fees). You can go back and forth between all the providers every few years on their intro rates even though it says first time costumers only.

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by driven 

Sadly for them, I *love* Dish and my DVR. I don't want to go back.

That is the s***, isn't it? Best hardware/software in the business.

[driven]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

That is the s***, isn't it? Best hardware/software in the business.

Agreed. (and cheaper than DirectTV)

The only thing I was going to miss was the Sunday Ticket (NFL), but fortunately, I can now get that on the PS3. #Winning