DISH TV cable and Internet Bundles

(Updated 9/05/16) What would you say if I told you that you could call Verizon Wireless, Dish Network, and AT&T today and save $708 per year by negotiating a lower bill?

In recent months, I have done exactly that and it took me about 2 hours. $354 per hour ain’t too shabby, right? So I figured it was time to document how I did it, so you too can make it happen. I also included tips to negotiate a lower bill with DIRECTV and Comcast. Hope this article helps you save some serious cash.

Keys to Negotiating ANY Bill:

• Analyze the Competition: Before you consider making any call to try and negotiate a lower bill, spend a few minutes online looking at what the competition is currently offering in the form of promotions and limited time specials. By having this information at the ready when talking to the customer service rep you’ll look much more credible and your chances of success go up substantially.
• Be Polite: This one seems quite obvious but is worth mentioning as it is so important. By acting entitled and arrogant on the phone you’re probably not going to garner any sympathy and are unlikely to get your bill lowered. Simply human nature. Be respectful and polite and you’ll have much greater success.
• Don’t Be Afraid To Ask: You’ll never get what you don’t ask for. Be confident and tell the company rep exactly what you think you should pay and back it up with supporting details.
• Know the Facts: Before making the “cancel” call, know exactly how long you have been with the company. Obviously the longer the better, especially if you have never made a late payment. Make this fact part of your argument when negotiating a lower monthly bill.
• Don’t Get Emotionally Attached: You hear this all the time when negotiating the price on a home or car. Keep your emotions out of it, and don’t be afraid to walk away from the company if they can’t meet, or get close, to your number.
• If at First You Fail, Always Try Again Grasshopper: If your first attempt to lower your bill is clearly going nowhere fast, just excuse yourself from the conversation and try calling them again later. This has happened to me many times where the first person is not helpful but the 2nd person I reach is incredible helpful in getting my bill lowered. BE PERSISTENT!

• Analyze the competition. Does DIRECTV currently have a better offer available that you can use for ammo? In my recent experience, probably not. More on this later.
• You’ll immediately get transferred to the customer loyalty or customer retention department.
• Tell the person, politely, that you want to cancel your service as it’s just too darn expensive.
• Tell them you plan to use Netflix or Hulu along with an over-the-air HD antennae. This will typically work much better with DishNetwork than trying to use the competition for ammunition because Dish is pretty darn competitive on price.
• A couple things to ask for that you should be able to get include: $15-$25 off your monthly bill (depending on your package) and free movies/sports channels. What you go after depends on what you want and what you watch. Me? I’d take the money and run every time, or ask for both.

Potential Savings: $300/year. I recently did this and got $25 off my bill for 12 months, plus free Encore and Cinemax, bringing my monthly bill down to $44.95 for the America’s Top 200 package. $25 x 12 = $300 per year.

Because DIRECTV is a little more expensive than DishNetwork you have a little more gun powder to play with when calling to negotiate your bill. Here are some timely tips to make it happen:

• You’ll immediately get transferred to a Customer Retention specialist who has the power to lower your monthly bill. Let the negotiating begin.
• I have been told by several sources that a “Retention” specialist at DIRECTV will lose their job if they have too many folks cancel. Not sure what that number is, but you’ll definitely want to use this info to your advantage.
• Start the conversation by saying, “I’d like to cancel my service because it is just too expensive.” See what they say to that. In many cases they’ll offer you free movie channels to stay on but don’t be satisfied with that. You really want a 12-month credit on your current package.
• Next, tell them that you have done some research and can save X dollars with DishNetwork OR you are going to cut the cord and use Netflix and a HD antennae. This is your call and really depends on what the savings is with a competitor. In many cases you are better off telling them you plan to cut the cord altogether.
• At this point they should offer you a monthly credit for a 12 month period. I just had a good friend recently do this and get a $30 credit for a year on the Premier 285+ channel package plus FREE NFL Sunday Ticket for a year.

Potential Savings: $30 x 12 = $360 per year.

The single best way to get your AT&T bill lowered is to call customer service and become a negotiating rock star. The truth of the matter is AT&T does NOT want to lose you as a loyal customer and is willing to bend over backwards to keep you on. This goes for your land-line, wireless plan, and Internet (DSL) plan.

How To Negotiate a Lower AT&T DSL Bill

• Just last week I was able to get my DSL service lowered from $49/month to $24.99/month for 12 months. This is for the fastest DSL “Elite” plan which makes it an even better deal. I simply called them up and was polite, yet direct, and asked for exactly what I needed in order to stay with AT&T.
• The more options for Internet services you have the better as it gives you negotiating power. Since I live out in the countryside, standard cable TV was not an option.
• My first call yielded bad results as the operator was in no mood to give me a deal. But I did NOT let that stop me. I called them a day later and flat out said I was ready to get rid of my DSL service and that is when I got great results as the guy I talked to immediately offered me the 50% off savings. Be persistent!

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