TWC Promotions

[TPK]

Well, its that time of year again...  I have to call TWC and complain that my bill is too high now that the promotional period has ended from last year, and its time to either restructure my services or I am going to move to Dish network (where there are more options for those with high definition anyhow)...

Currently, I use Road Runner and I have the Digipic 2000 package (with Showtime and HBO)..  I also have the HD package with a HD DVR, and a second cable box on a secondary television..

I do enjoy the services, but right now my whole bill comes out to something like $156 a month...  I have a feeling I could do a lot better with Dish Network with their better HD package and all...   I know I do have a lot of services from TWC right now, but still its getting close to something like $2k a year for television and internet...  I just have a hard time justifying that..

Unfortunately for me the only thing I want from TWC is the stuff I have to pay 'extra' for...  All I care about is the HD channels (most of which I can get over the air for free anyhow) and HBO HD and Showtime HD...  If they could get rid of all the 1000 other SD channels and just give me the rest for half price I would be happy I think...  But in order to get that extra stuff, I need to buy all the other uselss crap that I dont want...

So my question is, what promotions are they having right now at TWC (even for a new customer) that do NOT include the digital phone service??  What should I suggest to the customer service rep on the other end of the phone??  I just want to come at them with something better than "lower my bill or I'm leaving"...  Do I have to get the digital phone service if I want any of those promotions??  

Im probably going to get rid of my land line entirely, I dont need it I never use it, its a waste of money, I have a cell phone that works great and costs a lot less..

Gosh TWC really wants you to switch to their phone service...  I just simply don't want to give them any more control over my life than they already have...  Is there any way I can get them to lower the bill without having to sell my soul and get their phone service which I really don't want (and no, Im not going to go with that 'road runner lite' crap that will cripple the speed below what I can get from DSL for $15 a month)...

[StarvingForHDTV]

Unfortunately for me the only thing I want from TWC is the stuff I have to pay 'extra' for...  All I care about is the HD channels (most of which I can get over the air for free anyhow) and HBO HD and Showtime HD...  If they could get rid of all the 1000 other SD channels and just give me the rest for half price I would be happy I think...  But in order to get that extra stuff, I need to buy all the other uselss crap that I dont want...

I would love to see them let us order only the channels we want, and nothing else.  I would subscribe under those conditions.  Good luck to you.

[murdoc]

Well since SBC and AT&T have merged, there is now another DSL option.  As a new customer you can get AT&T yahoo high-speed Elite Package.  Details are 3.0-6.0 Mbps down and 384-68 kbps up for $27.99/month with a 1 year commitment or $39.99 month-to-month.  If you go with the 1 year commitment, at the end of your year, you can re-commit for another year and keep that promotional price (or pay less as the prices for DSL have steadily fallen the past 2-3 years)  

I believe these speeds are on par with road runner, plus AT&T also packages Dish Network along with Cingular to compliment their DSL.  So if you are thinking about switching to Dish, you should get a package discount going with DSL, and you could save more if you have Cingular for your cell phone as well.  Just something to look into.  Good luck!

[picopir8]

Too bad you have to also get phone service with DSL.  They dont usually list those prices and then they really give it to you after taxes.  With the growing number of people using VOIP and the even greater number getting rid of people dropping land lines and only using cellphones, I wonder if phone companies will keep that requirement to squeeze an extra dime out of people or if they will drop the requirement to become a viable option for all of us who no longer have land lines.  (BTW, I dont know the technical requirements of DSL, I was told it has to have an active phone line for the modem to register, but they could esily block you from placing calls and then not bill you for that line).

Luckily I have about 6 more months on my cable plan as I now use sunrocket and I could never switch since they have one of the best prices around ($200/yr for 2 incomming lines, all the features, free long distance, and 100 minutes of international for free).  And their service has been rock solid since last summer.  I just signed up for another year so once my cable bill goes up, Im either going to have to eat the price increase or hope I can find a DSL plan that is cheep enough to offset their rates for a basic phone line.

[murdoc]

I did not think phone service was an issue since TPK alrady has a phone line.  As long as it is with AT&T you are good to go.  You can drop down to the basic phone plan that they have (I'm on this plan).  I have a local phone line for around $13/month with a charge of $0.02/call.  Like TPK, I rarely use my home phone, so this is the best option for me.  I have the DSL Pro package ($24.99/month) and my total phone bill with taxes, surcharges, calls, etc. is $43/month.  For the extra $3/month to upgrade to the Elite package the bill would be around $47/month.  Considering roadrunner runs anywhere from $35 to $40/month, plus the cost of TWC digital phone, the AT&T package is quite a good deal.  I imagine that if I HAD access to TWC and roadrunner I would have went with them as well as for cable, but I am currenty stuck with overpriced Charter "digital" cable as a provider here in West Bend.  :bang:

[gyoung]

I just called TWC to restructure my deal.  I got $40 lopped off just for asking.  I was paying roughly $90 per month for video services (1 HD DVR, 1 DVR, DigiPic 1000, HBO) and $45 per month for internet.  I changed from the 5Mbps to 3 Mbps service for $27 per month and got the cable down to $70 for the same services.  

I shouldn't notice the difference in internet service.  Just need to be firm and tell them what you can get from other providers.  I checked and could get roughly the same video setup through DirectTV with no startup costs.  They were less firm on discounting the internet but offered up the other service.

[kevbeck122]

So now the $27 Road Runner is 3mbps, or did you request that?  Last I checked it was 768k.

[gyoung]

I thought she said 3mbps.