ATT Bill Woes

[JDFW]

Looking

[kpd905]

Cancel the home phone, cancel the tv, then try to negotiate the internet down to $50 or less.

[TaxChick]

Is your name on the account? If you aren't on the account, they probably won't even talk to you.  If you are on the account, you don't usually have to cancel to get a better deal. If you are out of contract, usually you can call them up and just say "I was comparing our bill to some recent mailing that I received from XYZ corporation. It appears that they have much better pricing, what is the best you can do?"

When I was considering changing refuse providers, I used this tactic with my current provider.  When they dropped the price to $21 per month (from $32 per month), I said, "Well, I guess I could share my bin with a neighbor...."  She immediately dropped the price to $19 and I signed a two year contract.

[Johnez]

You use the word "can't" a lot. You actually CAN get rid of all those services. What are they going to do if you try cancelling all those things and start from scratch? Charge you some massive $3600 fee or something? You're already paying it!

Cancel the home phone, cancel the tv, then try to negotiate the internet down to $50 or less.

This. Except I would go further down the ladder with internet price. $15 a month gets me all the browsing and streaming I can handle. I'm sure you can find decent service for $20.

$3600 per year is a high price to pay for an attachment...

PS- $45 for a HOUSE phone?! Oh my. I bet there is an $80 cell phone bill lurking around the corner! If you're SO is as tech nerdy as he thinks, it should be great fun for him rooting around IP Daley's Super guide in search of better service options for a fraction of the cost.

Good luck!

[forummm]

Yeah, find the competitors in your area at www.broadbandmap.gov and then see what deals they have going on. You can cut that bill down to $20/month or so. I'm at $19.99 total for high speed internet.

[Johnez]

Yeah, find the competitors in your area at www.broadbandmap.gov and then see what deals they have going on. You can cut that bill down to $20/month or so. I'm at $19.99 total for high speed internet.

Interesting link. I wonder why they don't list the provider where I live. Time Warner's a pretty major player....

[forummm]

Yeah, find the competitors in your area at www.broadbandmap.gov and then see what deals they have going on. You can cut that bill down to $20/month or so. I'm at $19.99 total for high speed internet.

Interesting link. I wonder why they don't list the provider where I live. Time Warner's a pretty major player....

There's a place for you to add your provider if they are missing it.

[Chrissy]

Looking for a face to punch? Look no further. I need help. SO is an IT nerd by trade and has an Emotional Attachment to AT&T. I want to call and negotiate the bill, but I can't change any services. Has anyone done that? To give you an idea of the urgency, it's 170.44 for U-verse TV, 81.54 for the internet, and 45.78 for the house phone. It's all a bundle, so I'm not sure yet if it would be worth it to have the phone from a different provider. The phone is the only service I might be able to change, though I can't get rid of it. I can't change the U-verse or internet, for sure, though. The total is $305.32 a month. Seriously. A month. I almost hyperventilated multiplying that by 12.

Yes, I have done this.  Do the research on the competition's rates as suggested.  Then, call AT&T's cancellation line.  Tell them you're calling to cancel your services.  They'll say they're sorry you're leaving, and ask if you might tell them the reason.  YES, you found out Competition is offering [$rates$] for [services], and you just can't pass up the additional value.  They'll ask, if they can find you a good AT&T deal, will you stay?  Act surprised when you say, "Well... yeah, I guess I would!  Is that even possible?"  They'll put you on hold, and come back with better rates.

Four weeks ago, I was getting AT&T internet at 6mbps for $52/mo.  When I called they upped me to 18mbps for $40/mo.

Let us know what rates you get!

[zolotiyeruki]

Yup, give ATT a call and tell them you want to get rid of all your services except "Dry loop DSL" or "naked DSL."  Also ask them if there are any specials you can get on for your remaining DSL service.

Up until about a month ago, we had been on AT&T, hopping from one "new customer" promotion to another every 6 or 12 months, so we never paid more than about $30/mo for 3Mbps DSL.  Last month, they said they couldn't do it, so perhaps they've tightened up their policies.

[Daley]

Yup, start the SO on the guide (unabridged), as mentioned by Johnez.

I will also mention DSLExtreme's newer trueSTREAM service (which isn't in the guide yet), which is basically AT&T Uverse service without the phone requirement and price. 6Mbps for $33, 12Mbps for $38. Plenty fast.

"Unlimited" house phone service should be easily doable for $8/month or less from good, solid providers. Cable's worthless, OTA antenna plus internet streaming could save a fistful as well. Seriously, you shouldn't need to spend more than about $60/month for this crap, and that's on the high end.

I know there's an emotional attachment, but tell him that AT&T will still technically be providing the last mile of service for him with all these superior, cheaper providers. It's technically true, but you won't be paying the AT&T tax.

[Killerbrandt]

Yes! You can definitely negotiate with them. I only have internet with ATT and was able to negotiate the fastest internet offered for only 28 bucks!! (Originally $65) WOOT!!! For TV concerns, we went with Hulu and Netflix, which both combined cover almost every show. If you want to watch the news, then buy a cheap HD antenna.

[forummm]

If you want to watch the news, then buy a cheap HD antenna.

I have a $5 antenna (doesn't need to be HD--any rabbit ears or more sophisticated antenna picks up the signals) and get all the major broadcast networks, and PBS, etc.

[Killerbrandt]

If you want to watch the news, then buy a cheap HD antenna.

I have a $5 antenna (doesn't need to be HD--any rabbit ears or more sophisticated antenna picks up the signals) and get all the major broadcast networks, and PBS, etc.

Exactly! However, I thought some areas only do HD now or am I mixing that with Digital signal? opps!

[beltim]

Yeah, find the competitors in your area at www.broadbandmap.gov and then see what deals they have going on. You can cut that bill down to $20/month or so. I'm at $19.99 total for high speed internet.

Do these tools actually work for others?  I put in my address and came up with 10 results.  Great, right?  Well..no.  6 of them were for mobile wireless.  Useful to know, but not really a substitute for home internet.  2 are satellite services that even if I wanted, I wouldn't be able to use in an apartment (plus, I just checked the one that's linked and prices are crazy - $70/mo for 12 Mbps).  That leaves two, one of which only serves businesses.  So there's exactly one wired service provider for my apartment.

The same thing happened at the last two places I lived, too.

[forummm]

If you want to watch the news, then buy a cheap HD antenna.

I have a $5 antenna (doesn't need to be HD--any rabbit ears or more sophisticated antenna picks up the signals) and get all the major broadcast networks, and PBS, etc.

Exactly! However, I thought some areas only do HD now or am I mixing that with Digital signal? opps!

They only do digital signal. But the regular antenna picks up all the channels. If you have a non-HD TV, I think it still works as long as you have a converter box.

[Erica/NWEdible]

People still have cable? And a land line?

...Why?

We pay 29.99 for high speed internet. High speed internet allows us to watch all the tv we could possibly want and call people. I'm confused.

Ok, snark mode off. Sorry.

Sounds like the real issue is communication between you and your SO. What would it take to get him/her to move past this emo relationship with AT&T?

[sd85]

People still have cable? And a land line?

...Why?

We pay 29.99 for high speed internet. High speed internet allows us to watch all the tv we could possibly want and call people. I'm confused.

Ok, snark mode off. Sorry.

Sounds like the real issue is communication between you and your SO. What would it take to get him/her to move past this emo relationship with AT&T?

Yeah, my first though was he's an "IT nerd" and he has a landline. Ok, I actually don't know anyone under the age of 60 that still has a landline and needs U-verse for cable. Anything you need to do these days can be done over the internet. Including phone calls...er internet calls?

[zolotiyeruki]

I'm curious--what speed are you paying for?  And do you know how much of that speed you're actually using?  And why? 

Here's why I ask:  I used to have a dream of running a whole rack of servers and home automation and such out of my house, along with a big fat pipe to make it available anywhere I go.  But I realized that such a dream comes with a steep price, once you count the hardware cost, the electricity, and the internet connection.  When I looked at what I actually *use* and *need*, I realized that there are cheaper and more efficient ways of accomplishing the same task.

So what I'm saying is this:  ask DH to write down exactly what he wants out of his geeky setup.  Then ask him to look at various options for accomplishing that functionality.  Include cloud providers, colocation, dedicated leased servers, and yes, a home-based setup.  Lots of companies, large and small, are taking a hard look at dedicated servers vs cloud-based providers.

In short, get away from feelings, and get down to specific tasks and quantified costs, *then* make a decision.  $120/mo will get you a good bit of hardware, and a TON of transfer from Linode or DigitalOcean.

[Hoberto]

You really can't get rid of cable?

[Ricky]

That's a STUPID amount for TV. If you must have some type of reoccurring reception of a stream of useless images, you can do a lot better than that. Dish Network would only be $20 for their basic package for 2 rooms for a year (goes to $30 after that). This includes locals and basic stuff that you probably only watch anyway. Then there's SlingTV ($20 a month plus add-on options) that includes several networks and you could use an antenna for locals.

But seriously, just get rid of it all together. It's not just about saving money, it's about living a better life. Life's better without the apocalypse in a box that is cable TV. With an endless amount of knowledge and free entertainment on the Internet, I just don't get how TV pops into anyone's head anymore.

[Ricky]

As long as you're happy I guess. Paying $162 for the occasional sporting game on TV and 45Mbps internet is well above the norm around here. Just FYI, I can remote into work or stream 1080p just fine on 6Mbps. Being a nerd doesn't equate to needing the fastest internet speed.

[stlbrah]

Take a job that involves working w/ WAN connections and you won't be in love with the company anymore

[OddOne]

Final Result
Same internet
Same cable
No house phone

$148 a month plus tax of about $14. New monthly total will be $162.

Compare this to the old bill of $262 a month plus tax for total of $305/month.

Previous annual cost: $3660
New cost: $1944
Annual savings: $1716

Not as good as some of you, but it's a step in the right direction.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

Nice savings! Good for you for making changes.

[zolotiyeruki]

Since DH is using your home internet connection for work, could you ask his employer to help pay for the cost of your connection?

[tj]

Just cancel it and open a new account in your name. The discoutns are good for 12 months. Rinse and repeat. No reason to pay full price when you live with somebody else and the carrier does not require multi-year contracts.