Comcast vs Century Link

eldergamer

eldergamer

CAGiversary!
So about every two years or so we switch cable companies and internet providers to get the "new customer discount"

We had Comcast in 07. Switched to Qwest after that. Switched to Comcast in '10 and now our "promotional rate" is going up so we're probably switching back to Qwest(Century Link).

Have to go back to Direct TV/Dish and lose all of our program on the DVR.

Will probably drop the home land line and just switch to cell phone service to save even more.

We were paying about $110 for phone/internet/cable through comcast. Rate is gong up to $180 + so we're switching.
Century Link's offering a deal (with one year contract) for $65/mo for internet and direct TV.

Anyone have any preferences? Suggestions? I know Comcast's customer service is pretty reviled. (Havent had much chance to talk to them in 2 years, honestly).
Calling Comcast to get a better offer has been no help. They wouldn't talk with my wife since the account is in my name. :roll:
 
Seriously? No opinions? I know the OP wasn't written well and a little confusing. That's what I get for trying to type something on my way out the door.
 
Been on Qwest -> Century Link since moving to WA so 12 years or so.

Have had a lot of trouble with their provided hardware, relatively little down time, and slightly below average speeds with average latency.

I have gotten 2 cease and desist notifications (of course nothing ever came of them) and overall would give them a B-.

They've never done anything stupid enough to make me want to switch, but they aren't really offering anything awesome to keep me with them.

I don't watch TV.

I did call Comcast once to switch when some door to door guy offered a great deal, but there was something weird with my phone number that they said they couldn't keep if I switched and they'd have to give me a new one, so I told them to fuck off.
 
I once called Comcast to tell them that DISH was putting out great offers in my area, and they knocked $20 off my monthly bill and threw in a free year of HBO to keep me as a customer.
 
I've been pretty happy since switching to DirecTV. I love their whole home DVR, something Comcast didn't offer in my area. They're offering free Sunday Ticket if you're a football fan, and the prices are guaranteed for the life of the contract (although the 2nd year does slightly increase, at least you know exactly what it will be). If you end up going that route, I can give you referral info that will save us both $10/month for 10 months.
 
[quote name='Immortal fWd']I've been pretty happy since switching to DirecTV. I love their whole home DVR, something Comcast didn't offer in my area. They're offering free Sunday Ticket if you're a football fan, and the prices are guaranteed for the life of the contract (although the 2nd year does slightly increase, at least you know exactly what it will be). If you end up going that route, I can give you referral info that will save us both $10/month for 10 months.[/QUOTE]

I believe the free Sunday Ticket offer ended on the 18th of July, at least that's what the paper said.

Anyways, I love DirecTV. Used to have them back in the day for probably 10 years. We switched to Dish when we moved which was fucking awful, so when we saw they were offering free Sunday Ticket, we didn't hesitate to switch back to DirecTV. Couldn't be happier.
 
I first switched over to Comcast when there was a door-to-door guy offering the triple play thing for $89. It's gone up twice since then so we're switch back to Centruy Link and Dish.

Tempted to get the sunday ticket thing, but I really only enjoy watching football during the last few weeks of the season and the playoffs. 90% of the time the kids demand the TV during a game anyway.... :sad:

I'll miss having the OnDemand service that comcast had. that was nice.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']We were paying about $110 for phone/internet/cable through comcast. Rate is gong up to $180 + so we're switching.
Century Link's offering a deal (with one year contract) for $65/mo for internet and direct TV.[/QUOTE]
That's a great deal IMO. When I started with DTV it was $40/mo for a year but I was still paying more for internet through Comcast during that time. Now I pay closer to $90 w/ HBO per month just for DTV, but they have tons of promos going on all the time where you can get package deals or free channels if you just ask. As long as they keep the strong lineup they have with new HD channels being added every couple months, I can't see myself ever leaving them.
 
I have DirecTV and love it as well. Can be a problem finding cheap internet in some places though if you don't have Cable and get the bundle discount.

Not an issue at my current place as the Internet in my building is provided through the condo fees (by DirecPath, the same outfit that we buy DirecTV service from in our building--i.e. they install and support it).

So I'd definitely jump on that $65 DTV and internet offer from Century Link personally. If you have a cell you can probably do without a phone line. I haven't had one in 7 years or so. Just use my cell and Skype/Facetime.
 
If Qwest is still being run like it was during when the CEO who was charged with "embezzlement" or some similar charge, then I'd say go for it!
After all, in this respect, Qwest was the only company to refuse that warrant less wiretapping bullshit the Bush Administration did. Sadly we see what happened to the CEO because of it. He's in federal prison right now I believe.
 
[quote name='pacifickarma']I once called Comcast to tell them that DISH was putting out great offers in my area, and they knocked $20 off my monthly bill and threw in a free year of HBO to keep me as a customer.[/QUOTE]

There it is right there. As a fellow Oregonian, I also read Comcast is increasing their bills by 3% or something, which is going to be a huge hit when my current promo ends, but if you call in and say you are thinking about cancelling all your Comcast services, they're going to probably offer you a competitive "baby don't leave me" package.
 
[quote name='berzirk']There it is right there. As a fellow Oregonian, I also read Comcast is increasing their bills by 3% or something, which is going to be a huge hit when my current promo ends, but if you call in and say you are thinking about cancelling all your Comcast services, they're going to probably offer you a competitive "baby don't leave me" package.[/QUOTE]

I tried that first. Century Link is offering internet for $19 (7meg speed) and Direct TV for $45.
So about $65 for TV and internet. I told Comcast to match it or was I leaving. (Since my promo rate was ending and the price was going up big time) Comcast said they could give me their triple play for $99. I want to drop the phone service which would have me lose the bundle.

So, the call has been made and we switch from Comcast back to Century Link/Direct TV.
 
Yeah mate, Comcast is awful at customer retention. I even spoke to a rep in person and they did nothing at all to try and keep me. They're surely feeling the loss in marketshare as more people switch to satellite.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']I tried that first. Century Link is offering internet for $19 (7meg speed) and Direct TV for $45.
So about $65 for TV and internet. I told Comcast to match it or was I leaving. (Since my promo rate was ending and the price was going up big time) Comcast said they could give me their triple play for $99. I want to drop the phone service which would have me lose the bundle.

So, the call has been made and we switch from Comcast back to Century Link/Direct TV.[/QUOTE]

Hunh, that's a bummer. I usually have about a 75% success rate. I was once told you could be on a promo, but had to be off of one for 2-3 months before their standard policy would allow you to get back on one again. $99 for all three really isn't that bad though, for Comcast. I'm on some zany 2yr deal for Internet (with Boost, or whatever the hell it's called), Their step up from digital basic, then they are giving me HBO for a year, and I think I pay somewhere around $90-100. One of these days I'm going to just drop cable though. It's grotesque to see how much we spend on that crap, but like you, the kids love it, and OnDemand is a nice feature.
 
Yeah, when I last had Comcast they weren't as good about matching offers/extending promos when I called and threatened to cancel for satellite as they were in prior years.

I think they've to some extent decided they can make more money by not having the customers who want deals indefinitely since they have a much higher profit margin for those who just happily pay the standard rate.
 
And probably in a year or two when this Century Link promotional pricing expires, I'll switch back. It's a bit of pain and I wish either company would do more customer retention.
 
Better yet, just make the damn standard prices reasonable so people aren't compelled to switch.

They have such huge gaps between promo and regular prices that of course customers are going to get pissed when it jumps up to full price. If that was just a $10 or even $20 jump a lot more people would just pay it to avoid the hassle of switching back and forth.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Better yet, just make the damn standard prices reasonable so people aren't compelled to switch.

They have such huge gaps between promo and regular prices that of course customers are going to get pissed when it jumps up to full price. If that was just a $10 or even $20 jump a lot more people would just pay it to avoid the hassle of switching back and forth.[/QUOTE]That's it right there.

Since we have a decreasing pool of ISPs out there and pretty much two non-cellular options for consumers (resident telco and resident cable company), plus options like DirectPath, prices keep going up and customer retention isn't very good.

I was a long-standing customer of AT&T between DSL and UVerse until I just jumped ship to Charter (which I swore I never did) to save $30 or so monthly between cable and Internet. AT&T did nothing to try and keep my business except to wish me well.

I went from $55/mo 24x3 UVerse data-only Internet to 30x4 Charter Internet at $30/mo bundled with my cable TV. I've run numerous speed tests since it's been installed and it's easily running at 35-40Mbps regularly with boosts up to 65Mbps at times.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']And probably in a year or two when this Century Link promotional pricing expires, I'll switch back. It's a bit of pain and I wish either company would do more customer retention.[/QUOTE]

all you do is call them up and say BILL IS TOO HIGH IM GOING TO LEAVE and they will give you something if they dont Hang up.. Call back and repeat till you get someone to work with you...

Right now what im getting

Digital Cable with 2nd tier Intnernet (bundle) 69.99 (normal around 120)
Hbo FREE
showtime Free
cinamax FREE
STARZ FREE
DVR service FREE

+ 10 buck discount

BILL Before tax is 59.99 + 7 buck cable modem 67.00 + 8 tax/fees 75.00

would be well over 200 bucks without the discounts


2 weeks before the promo expires Call them up and say GOING TO LEAVE and they extend the Deal another 6 months

been doing this for the past 3 years about

and to show if you dont get a deal just keep calling...

I was told my DVR PROMO would be extended 6 months on aug 2.... I got my bill and they wanted 20 bucks for the service ... I called up and said IF i dont get the promo Im pulling the crap out of my wall and you come pick the junk up... women goes we cant help you the promo is expired .... Told them to check to seee if the DVR is active (cause i disconnected it) she goes I see its off please hold ....

Comes back 10 mins later and goes we will extend the deal for 6 more months...

DONT BE SCARED TO SAY YOUR GOING TO LEAVE...

Hell i know all of my promos expire NOV 15 and even with these RATES im still tempted to cancell and just STREAM movies online
 
[quote name='slidecage']BILL Before tax is 59.99 + 7 buck cable modem 67.00 + 8 tax/fees 75.00[/QUOTE]
Who the fuck rents their modem? ROFL.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Who the fuck rents their modem? ROFL.[/QUOTE]Look at the post and look who posted it.

Nothing else needs to be said.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Who the fuck rents their modem? ROFL.[/QUOTE]

rather rent it then spend 100+ to buy the same one at best buy.

had 3 of them crap out on me over the past 4 years
 
Back when I switched from Comcast to DTV, Comcast basically told me "Good luck with that". Didn't even try to keep me.
 
[quote name='slidecage']rather rent it then spend 100+ to buy the same one at best buy.

had 3 of them crap out on me over the past 4 years[/QUOTE]
Lol dude, I bought the exact model Comcast was going to rent me probably eight years ago for $40. It has never once had a single problem.

You should write a blog though, you know, what it's like living with dementia.
 
I offered to buy the cable modem from Century link for $99 as opposed to renting it for $6/month.
In hindsight maybe I should have looked around at best buy or amazon for a cheaper/compatible one but I don't quite have the time (or knowledge) for that.
 
[quote name='slidecage']rather rent it then spend 100+ to buy the same one at best buy.

had 3 of them crap out on me over the past 4 years[/QUOTE]Let's do the math, then.

$7 a month, for four years. So, that's $7 * 48 months = $336.

Here's a Surfboard 6121 @ $84.99:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-SB6121-SURFboard-DOCSIS-Cable/product-reviews/B004XC6GJ0/

Assuming all of them died outside of warranty and you had to buy all four of them (including the initial one you had to buy and should have given you for free), you'd have spent $85 * 4 = $320. If any of them died in the 1-year warranty period, you'd have saved even more money because you'd swap it out with Motorola.

Call it a $16 "convenience fee" to have Comcast replace them for you.

[quote name='eldergamer']I offered to buy the cable modem from Century link for $99 as opposed to renting it for $6/month.
In hindsight maybe I should have looked around at best buy or amazon for a cheaper/compatible one but I don't quite have the time (or knowledge) for that.[/QUOTE]If it's CenturyLink, it's not a cable modem, it's a DSL modem, most likely a DSL gateway as it's probably a router as well.

This is what they list that they support:
http://qwest.centurylink.com/internethelp/modems.html

With DSL, I''d rather get it from the vendor of the service than buying it on my own, as DSL provider can be picky about what they support and what they don't, plus most of them aren't sold at retail.
 
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They sell cable modems at the fleamarket dirt cheap. Got mine for five dollars and it's been working great for half a year already. It's Docsys 3.0 compatible and giving me that sweet 30-40 mbps. I never rented my cable modem.
 
I've had Sprint/Embarq/Centurylink for 12 years. That's not to say I think they are great. The only reason I've had Centurylink that long is because the only other option in my area is Comcast. Damn that.
 
Update:

Took three visits by Century Link to have the phone lines working for the DSL.
When I called Comcast to cancel my service, I was told that "I have no idea why you received a notice stating your rate was going up" and that my bill wasnt scheduled to go up in the next three projected months.

Told her I had already switched over, and to cancel my service.
 
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