After Optimum announced higher prices last month, I vowed to find another option.
Our monthly Optimum bill for triple-play service of cable, telephone and internet was $263.63. With the increase, the bill would go up to $280 a month.
That was way too much.
When I called last month to complain about the higher prices, a representative gave a one-year $45 per month discount on the cable portion of the bill, which after the cable price increases kicked in amounted to a $30 per month discount, net. That still put my monthly bill at about $230 per month. A big chunk of change.
I took the discount, but I was still determined to cut the cord. My husband and I had talked about it for years, but now was the time.
And I promised to report back to you my research and my ultimate solution.
The verdict? It was a very unexpected one.
The research
The cable portion of the bill, for three cable boxes, a DVR box, the Premier package and a sports package, was $172.36.
Dropping cable would give me, with taxes, a bill of about $117 for internet and the phone.
But to find replacement television service, we needed to take a close look at what we had, what we wanted to keep and what we could live without. We already had Netflix and Amazon Prime Video/Hulu, and that wouldn’t change. We decided we wanted to keep access to the networks, the cable news stations, the sports channels that would allow our son to watch his beloved overseas soccer games, plus HBO.
We’d be able to get all that through Verizon FIOS — we are lucky to live in a town where we actually have a choice for providers — but we were really happy with our current internet service, and we didn’t want to switch. I never bothered to compare the prices.
Streaming would be the answer.
I started with a Google search, coming across lots of articles about different streaming services.
This one from tech news website CNET was especially helpful, as was this one from PC Magazine.
After comparing the available channels and our family’s needs, we decided YouTube TV, at $49.99, should do the trick. It offered all the channels we wanted except for HBO, but we could subscribe to that separately for about $14 per month.
(Note that I’m not recommending this service specifically because what works for you will depend on your family’s viewing habits. There are cheaper alternatives and more expensive ones, so make sure you read the reviews so you can make sure the service has the channels and functionality you need.)
Anyway, if we made the change, the monthly all-in cost would be $181.95 per month, a savings of $980 per year. Counting in the new discount Optimum had offered, the actual savings would be $620 a year. Still pretty good.
I went through the proposal with my husband, who said he would miss surfing through all those movie channels. But the savings were real, and we’d still have tons of viewing options, so he agreed to take the plunge.
Making the call
Before I could put my plan into play, I had to wait. Or, I had to wait if I didn’t want to lose Optimum services I had already paid for.
You see, when you pay for Optimum services, the company describes it as a subscription. If you quit mid-way through the billing cycle, there are no partial refunds or credits.
It’s an annoying fine-print policy, but one I knew about because of past consumer complaints to Bamboozled.
So I waited until Jan. 30, the day before my billing period would end.
I dialed the number, and the nice representative, after I explained why I was calling, said he wanted to see what discounts he could offer. I said thanks but no thanks, noting I was given a hefty discount the last time I called.
He asked me to hold while he spoke to the retention department.
Instead of coming back on the line, he transferred me. The next rep, after I said I wanted to cancel, directed me to call a different phone number.
So I did.
This time another rep came on the line.
I again went through my story: I wanted to cancel. I already had a discount. I didn’t tell her what services I was switching to, but I was clear that we were done with cable.
She reviewed my account and was surprised to see how old my equipment was. (She was right. We haven’t replaced the boxes in many, many years.)
She had several thoughts about how to lower my bill.
First, she said she could replace my current three boxes to new multi-room DVR boxes. This would eliminate a monthly DVR box fee. The new cable boxes had the DVR built-in so there is no need for an additional box.
Next, I could save $5 per month by doing auto-pay with my bill.
And then, she would add on yet another discount — this one for $10 more per month.
That would put my total bill at $182.45, just 50 cents more than my well-researched streaming solution would have cost.
And my husband would still be able to surf through all those movie channels.
I couldn’t believe it. I spent the next 30 minutes going through the details, the charges and how it would all change if we accepted the package.
The only downside I could find was what might happen when the year-long discounts expired.
Not a problem, she said. She said most customers don’t realize they can call a few weeks before their year is up and ask for Optimum to renew the discounts. It happens all the time, Sheila said.
So I marked my calendar for January 2021 to call Optimum to make sure the discounts stay, and then I marked the date when the technician would come to install the new boxes.
I guess we’re not cutting the cord after all. But if Optimum doesn’t honor renew the discounts, maybe next year.
Have you cut the cord? Please share your success stories in the comments section.
Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com.
2020-02-06 15:00:00Z
https://www.nj.com/advice/2020/02/i-vowed-to-cut-the-cord-and-quit-cable-heres-what-happened.html
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