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OT: Any tips on canceling cable TV quickly?

 
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Mike Harrison
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Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:37 pm    Post subject: OT: Any tips on canceling cable TV quickly? Reply with quote

I say "quickly" because my last experience when attempting to cancel part of my cable TV package was time-consuming and aggravating. Maybe it's because the cable TV companies are losing an increasing number of customers to streaming. When I said I needed to cancel, I was connected to the "Retention Department," whose purpose is to throw all kinds of deals at you in hopes you won't cancel anything.

Reading scores of customer reviews, I see that another tactic often used is, once they hear the word "cancel," you are placed on hold and left there... perhaps, they may feel, until your subscription's next renewal date comes up, making it necessary for you to pay for another month.

So, apart from outright lying and claiming I'm calling from my deathbed, does anyone have any clever ideas on how to cancel cable TV (I do intend to keep the internet, the rate for which will absolutely go up) without actually dying while on the phone?
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Kim Fuller
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Joined: 29 Jan 2011
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Location: Portlandish, Oregon

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is there a local office? We've got one in our town for our cable company. I'd put it in writing, sign it and take it there. Found out when canceling a credit card that they can keep you on the phone for ages without canceling while they throw those offers, but if they receive the cancellation in writing, they have to comply.
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Bruce
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
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Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe things are changing. When I quit Xfinity/Comcast of just my cable TV side and not the Internet service several months ago, they said "Sure", and made it happen. They didn't drop my total bill much... I'm paying $82 per month for slower service than when I had the whole package... but there was no rigamarole. I'd switch to another ISP but there's no reasonable competition in my neck of the woods.


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Last edited by Bruce on Sun Oct 21, 2018 8:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mike Harrison
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Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, I'd thought of submitting my cancellation request in writing, but only if they try to give me the runaround on the phone. I may still do that as a backup. I'm also considering disconnecting the TV box and bringing it to their local office, which will absolutely end TV service to my home. The local office gave me a receipt when I recently dropped off my cable modem, so a receipt for the TV box will serve as additional proof should I need it).

As for switching to another service, it seems the way things are in NJ, where one lives determines which cable TV provider one gets. Where I am now, it's Cablevision (aka Optimum). Before moving here from the next town, it was Comcast. Now, of course, there's Verizon FiOS, but it's not available everywhere (definitely not here). And then there's satellite, which I hear is equally disappointing in one regard or another.

I'm attempting to cancel ASAP, well in advance of my subscription's next renewal date of 11/7.
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Bish
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
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Location: Lost in the cultural wasteland of Long Island

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have Cablevision on Long Island. I know a few people who have done the "I want to cancel" and been handed to the retention officer and landed a sweet deal... only to do the same thing again when that deal ran out. I also know people who have cancelled with no game-playing involved. Putting you on hold and avoiding you so you can't cancel seems like a kindergarten game and I'd wager that these reports are apocryphal and just people venting with some embellishment.

How about going on line with their text chat service... cancel via that, keep a capture of the conversation (they send you one anyway), send them an email as well... and just stop paying?

Seriously... are you looking for a problem to be there? Why not just do it and be pleasantly surprised when it all goes according to plan? Worry about them playing stupid games if/when they do.
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Mike Harrison
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Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bish wrote:
Seriously... are you looking for a problem to be there? Why not just do it and be pleasantly surprised when it all goes according to plan? Worry about them playing stupid games if/when they do.

Not looking for a problem at all. Based on previous experience, if all goes according to plan, I most definitely WILL be pleasantly surprised.
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todd ellis
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 8:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i made a call & was ostracized that very day.
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Mike Harrison
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 8:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's how it went:

I made the fateful call. After holding for just under four minutes (not bad), I explained I wanted to cancel my TV but keep the internet service. Of course, they tried and tried to "interest" me in several other options, but I declined. They informed me my internet rate would now increase because I "broke" the package. I was fine with that. But, when I asked for confirmation that the internet rate quoted would include the (alleged) higher speed for which I've been paying $4.95 per month, the representative suddenly vanished.

After optimistically waiting in silence for over 2 minutes, the call disconnected. I called back, got a different rep and had to explain all over again. Desperate to keep me connected to their TV service, still more options were thrown in my path; one, she said, that would include internet and basic TV and would be $6 cheaper than what I was paying now. But when I called her bluff and said that rate was a promo rate that would hold for only a year, and would then revert to normal, she was silent. I politely insisted that I did not want TV at all and asked that she please process my request for internet-only at $85 per month. She said she would. I politely asked for and was promised an email confirmation.

And, when I got off the phone and went to the TV, it was no surprise that the service had already been disconnected, probably before I even hung up. Technically, I'd paid until November 7th, but I'm certainly not going to attempt to get that credited.

And they know that. Kindergarteners. Sore losers.
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Lee Gordon
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some time last year, while I was calling Comcast to report an outage, the guy I talked to noted that my modem was outdated and offered to send me a replacement featuring the latest technology, in the form of a self-install kit. When I went to the Comcast store last week to return the old unit, the CSR did her best to try to upsell me to add their phone service to my bundle. But I resisted. Comcast has been generally reliable, but on a few occasions, it has gone out on me for as much as a few hours. When that has happened, I access the internet by tethering my computer to my phone. If I were getting my phone service from the same provider as my internet, when one service went out, I expect they might all go out, and I would be S-O-L. So, I'll continue to get my cable from a cable company and my phone from a phone company.
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Mike Harrison
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Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lee Gordon wrote:
I'll continue to get my cable from a cable company and my phone from a phone company.

Bingo. I think I may have actually guffawed (or spit out my drink) the last time Cablevision tried to sell me on the package including phone. In a storm or other emergency, a cable TV company is the LAST entity I would trust for dependable communications. But I'm old school: while I do have a cell phone, my home phone is a good ol' copper landline. In emergencies, even cell phones are good only as long as its battery and the power at the nearest tower are good.

EDIT: A short Comcast story. They were my provider before I moved to my present location. One weekday morning, TV and internet both went out, so I reported it. When service remained out for over an hour, I called back to ask they look into it, and they told me they essentially don't do anything until they receive at least three other reports. This was noon. I asked if they really intended for me to wait until other people in my apartment complex returned home from work to discover their service was also out and report it before I could expect any action. Interestingly, within about 20 minutes or so, service was restored. Just amazing.
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Mike Harrison
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just got back from dropping off the TV converter box at my local office of "Optimum" (a contradiction in terms).

They tried to upsell me again. I replied: "May I have a receipt for the box, please?"
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Tre M.
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Joined: 01 Nov 2017
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Location: Vegas, the desert part.

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 7:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I worked for Comcast at one point...knew all the tricks. Told them if they send me to retention I would personally drive up there and drop my stuff off. They transferred me. While on the phone I drove to the nearest office and started to unload all boxes and remotes. I needed the internet so I bought my own modem for their service. I still get sweet packages to this day. I'm good, no thanks.
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Jack Daniel
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Joined: 23 Jun 2016
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am a dinosaur. I love my cable TV and get all the channels. Fact is, here in LA, I pay $75 (!) less than I did in San Francisco (now an unlivable city, but that's another post) and get not only all channels, but incredibly fast internet. So to me, all of this *appears* like a great deal. And it's all about the feels, right?
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