Rave: DirecTV and saving money on cable

Tiffany5412

A LONG time ago I posted asking about Time Warner Cable vs. AT&T vs. Grande vs. Satellite.  We don't get AT&T out here and many of you complained about their customer service.  Well, I finally took the time and priced around and DirecTV is way cheaper than my cable.  Their full price (after the year promotion ends) is still way cheaper than Time Warner.  I've watched it through a storm, no problems.  Plus I got the choice of a $100 Visa Giftcard or a 2nd DVR and 3 months free of Showtime or Sports Package.  And since my friend referred me both he and I get $10/month for 10 months.  Just thought I'd share.  I'm really happy I switched.  Also, they do bundles with internet companies to supply your phone and internet if you want it.

If you want to stick to cable, my brother had suggested and then I heard about it on Good Morning America that the quickest way to save a couple bucks is to call your Cable Company and ask for a lower price.  I did this hoping they could come close to the DirecTV price and they couldn't, but they still lowered my bill $12/month no questions asked.  So that theory is true.

flymansWife

Tiffany5412:

Also, they do bundles with internet companies to supply your phone and internet if you want it.

i didn't know about this! when i priced Direct TV online and priced internet alone it wasn't really cheaper so I didn't switch, but I guess I need to call and see if their bundle is cheaper with a bundle! thanks for posting!

balihaigirl

i thought this too until what happened after the promotional year ended.  did you know that in your contract direct tv has the right to RAISE your rate after one year?  that's what happened to us.  we were locked in at "x amt" for 12 months, then after 12 mos it was supposed to be "y amt" - which we thought was about $55/mo or so for the cable.  what happened is that they raised our rate to $86/mo for BASIC CABLE - we called to complain and they told us that it was all embedded in our contract - that they have the liberty to raise the rate after a year (and they can keep raising it at any time, as much as they want)!  so even though you think it will be "y amt" after the promotional period ends, that may not be the case.  we were so mad about it (and they would NOT reduce our rate) so we ended up cancelling the service early and paying the early termination fee of $20/mo that we had left on our contract (about $300) ... i'm just saying that sometimes the deals aren't as sweet as they pretend to be!!