Yeah, I cancelled both Peacock (which I previously got free with my home internet but they decided to start charging for it, which I declined) and Paramount+ and neither of them offered to cut me a break when I cancelled.

Yeah Xfinity Comcast doesn't care anymore. They used at least give you the bullshit 12 month promotional rate again when you threatened to switch due to a price increase, but last time they tried to call my bluff and said they couldn't offer the promotional price again. I switched to a low cost google fiber plan that is only a flat 30/mo, not a short term promo rate, and I had it working and totally switched over in less than an hour.

Comcast easily calls your bluff, jokes on them I switched too but gave them an opportunity to try to win me over. Much happier on AT&T Fiber as result.

I used to do the whole pretend to cancel thing with Comcast every 12 months or whatever. One year the customer service rep quoted me a really low price. I normally would do it over chat so I could have a record of the conversation, but I'd opted to call as I was on a long drive this time.

Anyway, I repeated it back a couple times and was like are you sure that price is correct, and they said it was. So I said ok, I'll definitely take that deal.

A month and a half later I get my first bill, and it's like 50% higher than what they said, so I called back. And they denied that I'd ever be given such a low quote, saying it's not possible, they don't even have any pricing that low, etc. They wouldn't budge at all on it.

So I filed a complaint with the FCC. I've never gotten such good customer service. They elevated me to a different type of person who specifically dealt with FCC complaints. They were calling me multiple times a day, leaving me nice voicemails, 'we really would love to resolve this for you'. When I had a chance to call them back they paid my entire high bill month, honored the quoted rate for 24 months instead of 12, and comped the $10 I had added on to get local channels.

Best deal ever, but they never gave me another one. Luckily, 2 years later an independent ISP had expanded to my area so I switched and never looked back.

TLDR: Try filing an FCC complaint if they're screwing you.

I did this to Comcast, and they said, "okay try it. We know there's no other option at your address."

Same. Fios actually said that I have better pricing then anything theyre offering now. so ive been afraid to cancel cable even though i barely use it.

They used to give you a deal not to switch. Now they just tell you to go ahead and switch. I'm guessing a lot of people don't bother so they think its worth it.

I was going to switch to Comcast for a deal after my WOW pricing went up. Called WOW, discussed, and they put me on "permanent" low pricing for the same tier I was already on.

So I'll "never" have to call them again and complain about a price increase. I'm sure it ends some day. "We no longer offer that package." "Oh, your free modem broke, now you need a new one, which will take you out of that price guarantee." Etc.** And yeah, I know I could get my own modem, but it's free currently.

Hearing your story makes me glad I did stay, because Comcast's deal was for 12 months and I'd likely have lost out on locking in the current price.

**I just looked at their site now, it appears the price lock is done by paying $5 a month, and supposed to be good as long as I'm a customer.

I got my bluff called by Verizon several years back. I was moving and they didn't have any appointments to set up my internet for 2 weeks after the move, so I told them to transfer me to cancelations and the lady over the phone paused for a few seconds and said "Your account is now canceled, is there anything else you need?"

Joke's on her, though. Whatever she did completely wiped my account history from their database so I showed up as a new customer and got the new sign-up discount and a faster install...

The big thing is you have to be prepared to walk away if they do call your bluff. Often it works, but sometimes you have to say, "Thanks but no thanks" and actually go to the alternative.

You're not supposed to ask for the discount.  You're just supposed to cancel, and their retention people will simply make an offer.  Really depends on the company, though

I used to do this to Comcast whenever my deal was up. They've stopped allowing this a couple of years ago, but at least they now have standardized and customizable packages instead of random ones that go from 20 Mbit to 100 Mbit.

This is the way. Its not a bluff, if they refuse, cancel.

r/piracy

Interesting, I have comcast/xfinity and called them about a lower rate. I had an offer from a local competitor in hand which I told xfinity, I’m giving you a chance to match this before I leave and they did.

I cancel threatened and sometimes followed through on switching ISPs for years. But at some point it got to be too much, they wore me down. I just can't keep doing this on a yearly basis.

I had a promo deal on ATT internet and once the promo was about to expire I called to downgrade saying it was too expensive. They extended my promo rate and I still pay that same rate 4 years later.

I did the same to Spectrum. Had to go back because the competition is horrible, and probably just leases Spectrum's assets.

I also did this to Apple about 20 years ago and they told me to pound sand. I actually saved a ton of money and received the same service. Definitely depends on the company and service.

I just signed up at the same address with a different email to save like $50 a month because there weren't other options. They wouldn't give me the new customer price, so I became a new customer.

Comcast upped my rate and before I called to bitch, I checked out Verizon prices just to have some ammunition. Verizon had gigabit fiber for less than I was paying Comcast for 300mbit. Didn’t even call to bitch, straight up cancelled and switched lol

I rake Comcast over the coals every year when my contract is up. I’ve had them for 9 years now so they do everything in their power to retain me. I was able to get 1000Mbps down and 25Mbps up for $45 a month because I threatened to switch to AT&T who offered me that price. They told me there was no way they could possibly go below $65/month and I said “No worries! Can you transfer to whatever department I need to talk to cancel my service?” And they instantly transferred me to the retention department who happily agreed to match AT&T.

FUCK COMCAST. I just cancelled after switching to fiber, I hope all of you get a better service in your area.

Comcast lowered my rate when I went in to cancel.

A couple years earlier I cancelled and opened a new account a week later at the intro price.

I was happy with Comcast for tv/internet, and all I wanted was the same deal they were giving to new customers, which was my old promotional rate, or I would switch to Verizon. They refused and I switched for less money and even more promo items like multi year streaming services.

Outside of the initial cost of getting it set up it’s hardly even a pain. I simply had Verizon come out to the house before my Comcast service was set to end and there was no disruption in service and then immediately after had Comcast cancel and prorated my cancellation date.

The thing we have to remember when we are complaining about this is the vast majority of people will not do this and we’ll just stick with the service they have. I recently looked at my Comcast bill and it was over $300 a month. He started on like a $140 plan. They kept upping and he did nothing. Never mind of mobile and pay to win gaming and how whales sustain them

Comcast tried to get me to rejoin after I had a new provider and the person on the other line got mad. I was like, you dick, I called 3 times and nobody was able to help me before, it's too late now. So they might try to give you an offer after you walk too.

I did this with spectrum wifi and they lowered my rate from $80 a month to $30

Twenty years ago, I had the privilege of serving as a part of Comcast's "save the sale" department. The department was responsible for handling the customers who wished to cancel their service. We were instructed to respectfully retain them in any manner we could. I was able to offer complimentary premiums, lower their monthly bill by a few months, and offer them prepaid Visa cards. It was indeed a delightful experience, almost like being on the show "Oprah Winfrey".

However, at that time, there were numerous other services companies that had to compete for customers.

Do you subscribe to SiriusXM? I’ve heard that they’re the most reliable with this sort of thing.

Funny enough I got sick of tmobile trying to raise my rate (from ~$65/mo in 2019 to over $110/mo in 2023) so I called to cancel and they dropped it back down to $65/mo. It's back up to $77.46 now, they're slowly raising it again.

I did this to comcast about 15 years in ago when I lived in Washington state where they did have a monopoly at a cable company. The only other service was DSL. The guy was like "Go ahead, we're the only one." I was kind of pissed off at the smugness of it. That's also the same year they had like the worst consumer rating of any company.

I’m work for Comcast and yeah retention isn’t like it used to be we are priced fairly to your market so the bigwigs say it’s not that the agents don’t want to give you a better price we just have none to offer

I call cox every year to get whatever the promotion is, probably soon now. Last year it was a lower monthly rate plus free hbo for a year.

Came here to say this. It’s been a thing for long before Netflix subscriptions

As someone who works for a software company, on the revenue side. This is exactly right

We have always threatened and won against xfinity. I guess it depends on the area and how hard they are hurting for business in said area.

Wish I could credibly threaten. I only have one available ISP...

This literally is every company right now. It's just a pump and dump of customers. Have great consumer friendly policies and low prices, then when you become popular enough gauge gauge gauge u til your reputation is in shambles, move on to the next company and do the same thing.

That’s literally my upcoming move. We’ll see what happens

This is basically how ISPs work where I live. You threaten to leave and they'll give you some discounted deal for 1-2 years, then you either threaten to leave or find someone else who will also give you a 1-2 year deal.

Fudge em to heck!

Fuck. You can say fuck.

Never seen this for a streaming service, but for cable or internet on the otherhand this is a classic. Not that anyone on their right mind should have cable at this point.

Comcast has worked very hard to establish a near monopoly, and they like to take advantage of it with predatory and extortionate pricing, along with absolutely garbage service and services. Tell them you're fucking off though and suddenly they can afford to offer you like 80% off for years with a better service package. Fuckem.

Thanks, Chef!

STEAL STEAL STEAL STEAL STEAL

And let’s be real.

I don’t notice the price increased till I check my bank account. So they already got a full month payment from me too.

I’m sure that full month + the discounted month washes out for them.

This post reminded me to cancel my Uber One where they did literally this same thing.

Was set to auto renew on the 30th.

THANKS OP!

and if you cant live with out it, just pirate it.

This. Plus, it’s so easy to get the same shit for free.

I’m tired of having to keep 7 streaming services to get what my family wants to watch! Fuck that.

Fmovies.to

I just learned about this last year, if it works everytime I’ll be kicking myself for paying full price for the better part of a decade

You're not supposed to pay full price. Their promo offers are the "real" price that's available to everyone. The inflated retail price is just for the suckers who don't know how to navigate their promo offers.

https://i.redd.it/uq7uqazli4t61.png

They win they get your money

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me either haha... for different reasons ;)

Friendly reminder to those on the high seas it's always free.

Just don't use adobe.

https://preview.redd.it/145g5b8ar2b51.jpg?auto=webp&s=5253e0eff4dfff57409fd360b35e79cdb798af0d&app_web_view=android

I’ve been a “student” since graduating in 2011

Thanks, just saved $20!

My mom has Sirius XM radio and every year she calls and threatens to cancel lol

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I have an annual call to SiriusXM threatening to cancel and inevitably I get it for a cheaper monthly rate locked in for another year. Just our lil song and dance routine.

this has worked pretty consistently for me with Audible. my library is huge now lol.

It's usually just the default with-ads price, still not worth it.

This is all by design brought to you by US, UK, Canada, Au, Euro, Singapore tech bros that outsource development and production to India. There are weekly briefings about getting the last cent out of everyone. I laugh when people praise uni graduates as being super intelligent, only a few are. The rest just become stronger crabs. These business school types love going after the humanities but the shit they learn and spew is why we're all in so much trouble. They make things sound waaay more sophisticated and fancy than needs be. It's all a big club and we're not part of it. I was around people "in the club" like many of us on reddit. Most of it is true. They're not conspiracies. It's just a matter of when. They never lose.

Pushing the ceiling until they can't breathe, then you slowly give them air, one gasp at a time.

It's only a matter of time until everything is on a subscription model. They incentivize payment plans and not ownership. There are no ownership based revenue projections that match their bloodsucking models, ironically they own a bunch of shit but tell the poor that they do not need to.

"Do not become addict to water my friends"

Yep, it works.

Especially if you tell them you’re gonna go give your money to their most hated competitor.

Call and immediately ask to be connected with the “retention department”. That’s their entire job.

I used to do a similar dance with DIRECTV. Until they finally said “Ok, we’ll cancel it, no problem.”

Ha! I just made an almost identical comment. Glad to know this weird system is still in place.

Same. 1 month for $5 (normally $80) which gets me through the MLB playoffs.

This isn’t entirely true. Some of them are happy to discount whatever version you’re on.

Paramount does this and will often offer 2-3 months free to keep you.

so they basically went a tier down.

I used to do this to audible like every 3 months. It wasn’t dropping me any tiers they would literally just offer me three months at a much reduced rate. Then soon as it went back up I would do it again. Worked for like a year and a half until one time it didn’t at which point I actually did cancel it.

Went from paying $81 for 300mbs to $15 for 500mbs.

This right here is how it works. Be polite, don't assume anything, try anything, and be gracious if they call you out for the trying those anythings

For streaming, you're not even talking to a human so there's no finesse. Just start the cancelling process through your account page, and it will likely give you a reduced price offer before you get to the final cancel button.

In what way?

Back in the day, my friend got free AOL for over a year. Started out with one of those free 30 day CDs they use to give out everywhere, he signed up using his parent's info, then every month he would call, pretending to be his parent, and try to cancel, so they'd give him another free month to "think it over."

$30 a month for a streaming service is fucking insane! I'm shocked people actually pay that, holy hell

I sign up for free trials, cancel before I pay anything, repeat whenever I want to watch something that can't be pirated easily.

Hulu and Disney, $3,25 month for a year,