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Anyone call DirecTV and reduce their bill? Share stats here!

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#1 ·
Hi. I'm curious about stories/stats about people's success (or not) of negotiating their DirecTV bill. If you haven't tried to do so already, I recommend you do (see my stats below - wondering if I got better than what others are seeing.)

If you call now, or if you called before, please share your stats so others in this forum can see what works.

  • Called June 2013
  • Been subscriber for about 2 years
  • Suggested I wanted to cancel because I was considering downgrading due to budget reasons and using online/netflix/etc.
  • Got $30 off/month. $10 off was specifically for the movie channels.
  • Took about 10 minutes

What have other people done? Any tips/tricks to share?

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
Customer over 12 years - called a few weeks back to upgrade equipment - offered $20 off a month for 12 months as well for being a good customer. I pushed for the full 24 months as the bill has climbed almost $30 in the last 3 years and I've added no services or equipment. Rep said just call back in 12 months and they would probably do the same thing for me.
 
#5 ·
CCarncross said:
Its an entertainment luxury item, if you can't afford to pay for it or dont want to, move on to another provider, or drop to lower programming package/less equipment. In my opinion, the packages prices and discounts should be fixed so everyone pays the same and there is no more of these BS threads.
+1
Antennas work for free and get a great picture.
 
#6 ·
PCampbell said:
+1
Antennas work for free and get a great picture.
Yes, but no ESPN, CNN, BBCA, Cartoon Network, and many others.

I don't mind switching carriers every two years if it saves me money, although I did stay with DirecTV for 4 1/2 years. Although I saved money by switching the chief reason was the ridiculously slow response on my HR20 when trying to change channels.

Verizon has offered a couple additional discounts during my two-year term with FiOS without much prodding on my part. We'll see what happens when my contract is up in early October.
 
#1,908 ·
At least hes going fios :)
And not some cable company.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
#7 ·
CCarncross said:
Its an entertainment luxury item, if you can't afford to pay for it or dont want to, move on to another provider, or drop to lower programming package/less equipment. In my opinion, the packages prices and discounts should be fixed so everyone pays the same and there is no more of these BS threads.
Everything is negotiable.

If DTV can go to a programmer and negotiate for a better rate than given to another distributor, why can't a DTV subscriber do the same?
 
#8 ·
I agree - wish everything when it comes to selling a service like this were priced equal, but it's not. I didn't threaten to leave and I didn't initially ask for a discount - it was offered for being a long time customer - I then asked if he'd extend it to 24 months.

If you agree that everything in life should be exactly equal and you don't want to negotiate, Cuba and a few other countries around the world offer that kind of life. It happens in most everything you do - buying a house, car, even electronics or groceries - show someone it sells for less somewhere else or just negotiate a bit and - well, it's dollars in your pocket, so everyone's choice what you do or don't ask for.
 
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#9 ·
14 year customer. Called as I was considering transitioning to ATT. Got all new equipment (Genie and minis) no charge and installed no charge. They were also able to credit me for a few of the packages I have. Reduced my bill by about $45 a month. Good for 15 months...no idea where they figured that from. Will call in 12 months to extend the discounts.
 
#10 ·
CCarncross said:
Its an entertainment luxury item, if you can't afford to pay for it or dont want to, move on to another provider, or drop to lower programming package/less equipment. In my opinion, the packages prices and discounts should be fixed so everyone pays the same and there is no more of these BS threads.
+10000

At the end of the day those who do not call, because we dont feel entitled, we wind up paying for the discounts of others.
 
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#12 ·
I could be wrong, but I really don't think those of us who call in asking (or sometimes just receiving when we called in about something else - that happens a fair bit) for discounts or deals on new equipment or programming such as NFLST are really a significant factor in what determines the price Directv sets for its programming packages or equipment. With programming packages, the price is almost certainly determined mainly by deals arrived at between Directv and the content providers. As far as equipment, I have no idea what determines the pricing beyond the costs of R and D and manufacturing. But, again, I'm highly skeptical that those of us who called up and got Genie for free (mine arrives Tuesday!) are a significant factor in the price. We could all stop calling tomorrow and I suspect the prices for everything would remain the same and rise much as they have in the past.

As such, I'm just not convinced that those who aren't calling and asking for discounts are paying for the discounts of those of us who do call. But, perhaps, I'm wrong. I would be interested in seeing any evidence to the contrary.

+10000

At the end of the day those who do not call, because we dont feel entitled, we wind up paying for the discounts of others.
 
#13 ·
It's ridiculous to throw stones at those that negotiate a better deal for themselves! We in fact are one of the few countries that think we should pay whatever a seller ask for a service or product. It's a way of life in Asia, Latin Ammerica and even Europe to negotiate a price and not blindly walk in there and plop down your money. I think there's even an article in Consumers Report advocating negotiating and the ins and outs of doing so. People that don't want to negotiate are what make companies like Carmax so successful!
 
#14 ·
I will call asking if there is any wiggle room or deals on Premium Channels or Sports Packages. I don't have any issues with that because whether I get the programming or not is not that important to me especialy at the higher prices.

I won't call and ask for discounts on my package or equipment. If I can't afford it I'll cancel or downgrade. It's just television. I understand those who do, I don't like Directv giving in on prices that should be fixed.
 
#17 ·
I was with Directv for 7 years when I had to cancel due to financial restraints 2 years ago. They offered no discount and made sure to remind me to pay the balance of my last bill (which I did).

I did, however, score big when I finally returned to Directv in April. CHoice Extra package, Genie HR-44 with 2 clients, NFLST (Which I really don't care about), all for $46.00 a month for a year (which I will try to extend after 12 months).
 
#19 ·
I called a few weeks ago to eliminate NFL Sunday Ticket, because I did see it as a "luxury". I signed up for DirectV last fall, because I wanted to cancel DISH. A free season of NFLST was a plus, but certainly not a requirement. I was surprised to see NFLST on my bill to begin with; it must have been somehwrre in the "fine print" it was an automatic renewal. Originally, DTV wanted to charge $37.99 fro six months. In the end, I reduced it to $9.99/month for six moths (offset from a reduced $29.99 month and $20 off for premium movie channels). While not great savings here, I did get at least some savings. But, I certainly did not feel "entitled" to do so; I was trying to undo an unexpected charge on my bill.

peds48 said:
+10000

At the end of the day those who do not call, because we dont feel entitled, we wind up paying for the discounts of others.
 
#20 ·
nmetro said:
I was surprised to see NFLST on my bill to begin with; it must have been somewhere in the "fine print" it was an automatic renewal.
I believe all the out-of-market sports packages have 'auto-renewal'. But several months before the season starts, you'll receive a line-item on your bill for $0.00 for the package. Just as long as you cancel before the start of the season, you're OK.
 
#22 ·
242424 said:
Can I have your account number so I can let them know who to charge when I call in? lol
You dont need it, my bill is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay lower than yours......... !rolling
 
#23 ·
I had FiOS as my ISP for about 5 years. I was paying $69.99 a month all along. One day I decided to to some "searching" and found out that my cable company was offering better service for a lower price. I call Verizon to cancel my account without expecting to get any discounts. The rep told me she would give me a credit of $20.00 a month for 6 months, but I dont play these games I hate calling every so often just to get a "discount" it would seems like "panhandling" I just got installed a few hours ago, and the price with the cable company is guarantee for one year.
 
#25 ·
mystic7 said:
What do you think my chances are of getting them to drop my free NFLST, which I could care less about, in exchange for like a month of MLB Extra Innings?
Couldn't hurt to ask. Actually, especially since they'll be strongly promoting MLB Extra Innings this coming week, you might start the call solely by saying you're interested in MLBEI, not even bringing up NFLST until and unless they do. I'm not even sure a "by the month" situation is possible for MLBEI -- it might be either nothing, or the rest of the season.
 
#26 ·
242424 said:
Exactly! You won't pay a dime more on your bill if someone gets a discount.
He said that because he's an employee and gets ridiculous deals. Everyone's prices are based on them giving out a certain amount of discounts. If they did not give out discounts of any kind to anyone they could lower the price off all packages. That's not a debate, its a p&l balance statement.
 
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