You might get better responses if the topic was "Cable Prices?" I thought you had found a deal on TV equipment.

Call Comcast and ask?

why not to the cable version of ATT, rather than the satellite? ATT owns Direct. Call the company and tell them your quandary. They'll help you get what you want.

Call Comcast and get a firm price. Then call your current provider, ASK FOR THE RETENTION DEPT, tell them that you are thinking about changing to another provider who has quoted you a price of xxx. Your current provider will bargain....but you HAVE to be talking to their retention dept.

It may vary from time to time based on what promotions they have going on, but my last few experiences at contract end time for TV (Dish) and internet (Comcast) would suggest there's much less wiggle room in pricing and discounts than there used to be.

We're facing the same dilemma. We are rural and don't have much choice in either internet service providers or TV providers. There is no cable. We use a MiFi device (from Verizon) that uses cell towers for internet service and it is NOT cheap with limited data/month.

We can go to Dish I suppose. Ridiculous to be in this position. We're about to call to see if we can negotiate a deal but who knows what will happen.

I agree with Elmer. I worked at Time Warner Cable for over 5 years. There's not much wiggle room for "existing customers" or discounts like there used be. (All the advertised prices on TV commercials is for new customers only, to lure them in for a year, then their bill goes way up).

Reason why - they don't have to. They know there isn't much competition out there. Dish had a few benefits over Time Warner Cable and vice versa. It's not cheap anymore. They know people will pay.

People would threaten to go to AT&T or Dish, good luck & God bless. Each company is out to make money. Billions. So we all pay.

Now whats killing the TV industry is internet. Most younger customers I dealt with got high speed internet and nothing else. They used online websites for their TV & movies. That's the wave of the future it seems.

I'm not a Directv fan. Had them for years while they had the "tivo" interface but left after a disbute I had with them. Switched to Dish and while their interface isn't as good, we've a had really good experience with them and they have continued to be reasonable in their pricing. The only issue I can complain about is that sometimes a channel will become unavailable when they are disbuting an increase from a provider but it's never been for long and I just stream it instead.

Had Comcast several times most recently it was briefly inbetween Directv and Dish and hated everything about it! I don't remember all the issues, but if my DH would let me cancel the internet service with them too I would. Unfortunately they supposedly have the fastest speed.

If your account with Direct TV has always been in good standing, call Direct and ask for the Retention Dept. Tell them you're thinking of changing because of the price increase and see what they will offer.

Yes, I made a booboo in the title. What I was hoping for was actual amounts that some are paying for Directv, not what they were receiving for that amount. A couple years ago my price increased to the point that I contacted them and told them to cancel my contract. They very kindly made some changes in my favor, and yet the price crept up slowly. Until now, when my bill included DIRECT Equipment Services that put the cost way over the top. I did not understand that at all, (I am suppose to pay for their equipment services?) so I sent them an email to cancel the contract. That was ignored and the new monthly charge is way more than I can handle. I have always done Auto Pay, so now I need to cancel that.

I guess now I can use their Retention Dept, which is new to me, to see what they will do. I have to admit that I am a very old lady and much of today's lingo is over my head.

Thanks to all for your input.

We're paying $120.55DIRECTV Channels1.CHOICE XTRA CLASSIC88.992.Regional Sports Fee7.29SUBTOTAL96.28DIRECTV Equipment Services3.Watch DIRECTV on One TV0.00Save $7 off 1st TV4.Advanced Receiver Service - HD10.005.Advanced Receiver Service - DVR10.006.DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service3.00SUBTOTAL23.00Other Charges, Adjustments & Taxes7.Federal Cost Recovery Charge on 03/090.67Taxes8.Sales Tax0.60SUBTOTAL1.27Total New Charges120.55TOTAL AMOUNT DUE$120.55

Direct TV is like that, Dish is much better. They also have a new flex plan where you can chose your channels or small packages. I saved some money with it.

Only you can decide how much it's worth to you. I dumped cable/sat over 15 years ago and don't regret it in the least. I use internet and watch anything I want. Can't really think of anything I wanted to see that I can't watch on internet. Broadband is kind of expensive but I have it for surfing and research anyway so to use it for entertainment is a perk. And this way *I* choose. I don't have the Dungars, Chlamydia Kardashian and the rest shoved down my throat.

"If your account with Direct TV has always been in good standing, call Direct and ask for the Retention Dept. Tell them you're thinking of changing because of the price increase and see what they will offer."

Warning:

Directv is widely known to have some really shady business practices, which is why I had my disbute with them. Regardless of the problem, promise or agreement you make with them, they will (unwittingly to the consumer) lock you into a new 2 year contract with the slightest change you make to your account and trying to get that thing canceled is next to impossible.

We moved from SoCal to Michigan in 2005 and transferred the service accordingly. Suddly, the new billings were higher and when I questioned them with CS, I was told they were correct. Several years later during a call with technical support, I found out that no the billings weren't correct and we'd been over charged every month since moving. The rep only refunded 6 months worth of credits (because I had been paying the bill??) but then offered to send an upgraded receiver at no charge to help soften the loss. I agreed to that but we hated the new receiver so much I sent it back. That's when I found out I was put in a new two year LOCKED contract in which the rep had never discussed with me! It too me 3 months and many many conversations to finally get it canceled and I haven't used them since. My advise would be that if you're experiencing cost creep and new substantial charges, Run, don't walk Run! Don't try to fix it because you'll once again be locked in and screwed if you can't afford it. When I got Dish, they had a very low minimal program option for 25.00/mo. I opted for that and with taxes, it's 27.00/mo. They don't offer that deal anymore but they still have a relatively inexpensive option available.

After reading what others are paying, I may be better off with the price increase, although I don't like it. Guess I'll just hang on for a while. Actually I watch very little TV, maybe about 6 channels out of the vast list that I can get. Cynic, those you listed are at the top of my "people actually watch those, list??"

If you're a DirecTV subscriber with AT&T cell service you can get a $10 per month discount by combining the two billing statements.

"Directv is widely known to have some really shady business practices".

I think all the providers have slightly misleading pricing and marketing practices. Why do you think Direct is worse or even different from the others?

A bigger problem is that the people you talk to on the phone are often not well enough informed and also not adequately bright enough to handle conversations that aren't addressed in their scripted responses. That can be the most frustrating and for me, often leads to a request "May I please speak to your supervisor?" That approach often helps me get information and answers I wish to have.

Not a lot of people who move from SoCal to Michigan. I hope that has gone well for you.

Elmer, in my experience at Time Warner Cable, it's not a matter of brightness or scripted response when it comes to pricing.

We were all given the same pricing lists & codes & had to use it.

Maybe the scripting you're talking about is what they say to try & keep you as a customer? There are a ton of scripts, but making up prices was impossible. The computer wouldn't allow it.

There's only so low they can or will go.

golfergrrl, your comment got lost, but it is here now. To answer your question, my price went from $22.39 to $84.06. I have decided to accept it for now.

Our Charter cable costs $140.95 monthly for Gold tier. A few movie channels. Nat Geo Wild and DIY are the reasons that we had to go with this level.

Wow Sue. That's a big jump. I'd call their retention dept on Monday.

Jmc... I went to "retention" when introductory price for TV/phone/cable jumped dramatically and they knocked cost back to just a touch over original price. If it goes up again, I'll check out what the going intro price is and go back to retention.

A little something on Comcast/Xfinity... they had a free upgrade of equipment toward the end of last year. New box and that (SILLY) remote that you talk to. Free but directions for how to hook up not at all friendly... not a "ya just..." thing at all. I had Comcast come and hook things up. The new box doesn't have a CLOCK on it... one on old box was only clock I needed in living room. Remote is just silly. With old one, if you wanted to go to whatever channel you previously left, ya just pressed "last"... now it takes "last" and then OK. If you wanted to change channels, ya just keyed in the number, with new remote you have to press new number AND OK. Minor things but annoying to me.

I replaced my 2 "boat anchor" TV sets with flat screens over Labor Day weekend. Both had screens a bit larger than old TVs and neither (in K and LR) were any further away. The written information on the screen is VERY small. I have to get up from couch to read the "info" at bottom of screen about what I'm watching or the "guide".. Stopped at Xfinity store last week (was in the area) and asked about enlarging the font. The "larger" font was no significant/noticeable difference. The only thing they could recommend was turning on VOICE notification... that's just strange.