"Cable companies are EVIL. "Guaranteed bundle pricing" "
Cable companies are EVIL. "Guaranteed bundle pricing" doesn't guarantee price of all item in bundle
So last year my moms U-verse bill went super high so she called Cox and told them she was looking to get cable and internet at a set price for a few years. The important thing for her was to not have the price increase at all over the 2 years - she stressed this.
So they offered her lower tier internet service (fine for her) and a TV package with several DVRs and HBO. The price was $160 a month with a 2 year commitment (and a fee if she breaks the commitment.)
That was 12 months ago.
This month she gets her bill and the price is $198 a month.
She calls and is like"WTF??"
They told her "We guarantee the Internet part of the bundle stayed the same for 2 years, but the TV part increases after 12 months - that's what we clearly told you."
So first off - evil deceptive bullshit, right? She's almost $70, a disabled war veteran, and you are fucking her out of $450 a year with a limy deal that takes some actual bookkeeping to figure out - and doing it all over the phone? Should be illegal IMHO.
So I looked into switching her back to U-verse and they also have the same shit where one of the bundle items price jumps after 12 months.
If I switch her I can save her on average about $21 a month for 2 years (basically back to the original pricing) - but then she's right back in the same boat again.
Do you think bundling something and having different pricing guarantees for different lengths is as deceptive and wrong as I do?
Oh - Libertarians - shut the fuck up and stay out of this post - you are a human cable company.
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79762 posts
Wed Mar-01-17 11:49 AM
7. "70 year old ain't fucking with a firestick" In response to Reply # 5
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
8. "my mother is 66 and has a Fire Stick and Roku..." In response to Reply # 7
maneuvers that shit like Dale Earnhardt. Watches hella movies, shows and found someone way to make all her photographs from her phone go to her Amazon account...I never even knew that was a thing.
...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft
i have a Google stick thing plugged into my tv which is connected to my desktop computer which has wireless internet. so i could watch tv on the net if i want. but i also have hdtv cable connected to the tv. and i almost never watch tv on the internet. b/c i prefer to flip channels. i do so compulsively.
16. "Exactly. There's no one right answer, depends on both viewing habits " In response to Reply # 11
and willingness to try new technology. Cable is essentially one size fits all and you overpay for stuff you don't need just to have the convenience of knowing that it's all there.
At our house we run with multiple Fire Sticks and have PlayStation Vue (along with NetFlix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube Red) for content. Was working great until I realized that in our area ABC doesn't stream content live (on either PSVue or Sling), just on demand after the shows air. I was fine with that because the only thing I'd watch on ABC live is college football, which gets coverage through the WatchESPN app. But my wife was PISSED when she realized she wouldn't be able to watch How to Get Away with Murder live. I got around that by getting an HD antennae for the TV she uses most of the time.
All of that is just to say cutting the cable works great, but you have to be able and willing to deal with separate solutions depending on your viewing habits. The Fire Stick is basically my cable box, while PSVue is my cable subscription. But there are tons of people not trying to deal with that. Even just because of simple things like not being able to control the Fire with a universal remote (because it runs from bluetooth) is a big turnoff for many people.
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79762 posts
Wed Mar-01-17 12:22 PM
14. "she made the cut. I said 70. " In response to Reply # 8
unless you are introduced to it early on the chances of a 70 year old learning a fire stick is slim
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
3. "It's horrible and it's collusion all around" In response to Reply # 0 Wed Mar-01-17 11:31 AM by BigReg
Im forced to call and threaten to leave my cable company every year or so when they magically add 20 bucks to my bill. They bring me over to retention, I gotta do the whole acting role...etc...just to get basically the promised price (actually more) then when I moved into my apartment
What's most infuriating is I don't see it ending; when people started streaming they just raised the price of the internet service.
>Cable companies are EVIL. "Guaranteed bundle pricing" doesn't >guarantee price of all item in bundle > >So last year my moms U-verse bill went super high so she >called Cox and told them she was looking to get cable and >internet at a set price for a few years. The important thing >for her was to not have the price increase at all over the 2 >years - she stressed this. > >So they offered her lower tier internet service (fine for her) >and a TV package with several DVRs and HBO. The price was $160 >a month with a 2 year commitment (and a fee if she breaks the >commitment.) > >That was 12 months ago. > >This month she gets her bill and the price is $198 a month. > >She calls and is like"WTF??" > >They told her "We guarantee the Internet part of the bundle >stayed the same for 2 years, but the TV part increases after >12 months - that's what we clearly told you." > >So first off - evil deceptive bullshit, right? She's almost >$70, a disabled war veteran, and you are fucking her out of >$450 a year with a limy deal that takes some actual >bookkeeping to figure out - and doing it all over the phone? >Should be illegal IMHO. > >So I looked into switching her back to U-verse and they also >have the same shit where one of the bundle items price jumps >after 12 months. > >If I switch her I can save her on average about $21 a month >for 2 years (basically back to the original pricing) - but >then she's right back in the same boat again. > >Do you think bundling something and having different pricing >guarantees for different lengths is as deceptive and wrong as >I do? > >Oh - Libertarians - shut the fuck up and stay out of this post >- you are a human cable company. >
>Im forced to call and threaten to leave my cable company >every year or so when they magically add 20 bucks to my bill. >They bring me over to retention, I gotta do the whole acting >role...etc...just to get basically the promised price >(actually more) then when I moved into my apartment
very annoying. hate losing that extra money on the bill (or two) because i never see it coming. i really should put it on my calendar: "2/1/18 - go through comcast rigmarole"
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79762 posts
Wed Mar-01-17 11:48 AM
6. "the prey on older folk too" In response to Reply # 0
my dad was paying $150 a month for cable and a landline. landline stayed fucking up too.
he had all those channels even tho he only watched 5 of them.
The problem is most older folk aren't fucking with apple TV, roku, firesticks and they refuse to go without cable because it's the #1 form of entertainment.
I pay $60 for internet (about to get a router/wifi) to cut my bill by $10 and that's it. Once my people stop paying for cable and won't give us their sign in it's a wrap.
I tell everyone I know it's best to get a family members sign in and throw them a few dollars.
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
9. "I ran with Playstation Vue" In response to Reply # 0
$35 flat rate. Taxes included. They had an outage last night, but it was due to the AWS thing.
My internet bill did just go shy high though. Bastids. They offered me a "deal", where I could get basic local channels for $5 more per month plus HBO. They neglected to tell me that that didn't include any HD channels. I hate them. It doesn't really even matter, because I just watch everything through the other methods, and use the HBO Go app for most of the shows.
You're such pests...now, what is it you want? In your depths of your ignorance, what is it you want? Well, whatever it is you want, I can't deliver because I just don't see it. - Orson Welles
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79762 posts
Wed Mar-01-17 04:08 PM
30. "wtf, you must have every channel on earth" In response to Reply # 24
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
20. "Sling largely does this already " In response to Reply # 10
Add hulu to the mix and you're covering an awful lot of bases.
Not sure if Sling offers the DVR though. I don't see a cloud DVR service on mine so if they do it might require a higher end Roku or other such box. I know Vue has DVR but it's $40 as opposed to Sling's $20/25 bundles.
The interesting part here is the DVR and the inclusion of YT Red at $35, which is an excellent all around deal IMO. It just depends on who's onboard
36. "I know, but it's $40 entry. Sling is half that. " In response to Reply # 34
Youtube would offer cloud DVR and Red, which for some is quite valuable. Vue lags far behind for me because it’s overpriced compared to other available options, though the PS4-as-DVR is nice.
42. "I wanted to like Sling..." In response to Reply # 36
Really I did. But their service was way too glitchy for me to roll with them. And the lack of DVR was a problem. I did a trial with them, and didn't even last a week. I couldn't even get through an entire program. It was sad. Until Sling gets their program together on a device I own, I'll be rolling with Vue.
You're such pests...now, what is it you want? In your depths of your ignorance, what is it you want? Well, whatever it is you want, I can't deliver because I just don't see it. - Orson Welles
46. "If you live in a major metropolitan area, then Vue usually includes the ..." In response to Reply # 45
Then it's an extra $5 for the service. Where I live, it's $35. In the closest metro area, it's $40.
You're such pests...now, what is it you want? In your depths of your ignorance, what is it you want? Well, whatever it is you want, I can't deliver because I just don't see it. - Orson Welles
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79762 posts
Wed Mar-01-17 03:05 PM
21. "it's prolly glitchy as fuck like Sling" In response to Reply # 10
as long as you are ok with that then cool
my applw tv is old so it restarts from time to time. Sports freeze every so often but I can deal with it.
I wouldn't have a superbowl party at my crib tho...
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
27. "Youtube and Sling don't have DVR that work as well (or at all)" In response to Reply # 10
And she DVRs everything.
Even stuff on just local TV, and the list of channels I had her make that she needed are pretty basic but the cable companies purposely split them all into different tiers so you can't get them cheap.
She lives in a hug condo building so she can't put an antenna up and she can't get satellite.
Cable TV is the perfect example why capitalism does not work without regulation: Each year they do less (they aren't rewiring the houses and neighborhood a lot) and charge more. They buy from people who buy from other people who buy from other people and at each step the cost increases to get profit. they have set their systems up to where if a mistake is made it is ALWAYS in their favor. the use every shady legal (and often times illegal) strategy to separate the customer from their money.
And Trump's FCC head is going to allow it to get much, much worse.
P.S. She's the least capable person of figuring ANY technology out and when it changes (like a minor update to the cable box) it confuses and angers her. She is not capable of getting TV via Vue or Sling or torrents/etc.
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