Back in June, I wrote about how frustrated Mom and I were over the Spectrum bill continuing to go up, and how switching to streaming wasn't really a viable option because, by the time we would have subscribed to all of the streaming services that had the channels we liked, we would have been paying more than we were for Spectrum.
Plus, at the time, mom was a little reluctant to go the streaming route, mainly because the idea of having to navigate through the different apps to find something she wanted to watch was a little intimidating to her. She was used to everything being in one place on the cable guide.
We've called Spectrum roughly once a year for the past three years to try and see if we could get them to come down on the rate. Every time, they told us that we were on the best rate they could offer outside of the "Choice 15" plan, which did not offer much.
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Well, on Sunday, mom and I sat down again to talk about a possible way out of Spectrum's cable service in a way that could give us most, if not all, of the channels we liked — provided the streaming service cost no more than half of what we were paying for cable each month, and also provided that the interface wasn't too tricky to navigate.
Mom's total Spectrum bill is $265 per month. $100 of that is for internet, while the remaining $165 is for cable and all the ridiculous fees associated with it. The goal was to get the bill under $200 (including Spectrum internet with that and any fees).
We had settled on YouTube TV, which had most of what we liked and which would have been around $85 a month.
But before we pulled the trigger on it, we decided to give Spectrum one more chance, and tell them that if they couldn't figure out a way to bring her bill down significantly, that we were cutting the cable cord - for real.
The first thing we were offered was the Choice 15 plan, where you pick 15 channels you like from a small list, and where those, along with the local channels, would be around $180 a month (including internet).
We couldn't even find 10 that we liked. So I asked the person again if there was anything he could do. He said the only other option left that would be of benefit was if Mom was willing to stream Spectrum on the Roku TV instead of using the cable box.
If we did that, would we be able to keep the exact same channels and exact same internet plan? I asked. He said yes.
So how much was it?
When he told me it would be $165 a month, my mouth dropped open. So did mom's. We couldn't believe it.
We could keep all channels she has (I think she's on the Digital Tier 1 plan) and the same Spectrum internet plan and save $100 if we simply turned in the cable box?
Yep, the customer service dude told us. I confirmed it several times, just to make sure I heard him correctly.
I should have asked him how long they've been doing this, because when I had my house and went to Roku sticks on all my TVs and just went to using the Spectrum app, the only thing I saved was the $10 a month for each cable box.
But back to the Spectrum guy, mom told him that if it would save her $100 a month, she'd learn to stream and navigate the Spectrum app, so we had him make a note on her account, and he told me that as soon as the box was turned in, the new plan would start.
So I unplugged the box Monday morning and headed straight for the nearest Spectrum location. Unfortunately, because mom's new billing cycle had already started, she'll be paying the old rate for another month. But starting in December, her rate will drop to $165.
I found out from the technician I spoke to at the Spectrum location that this is a promotional rate (of course!) and it would go up $20 in a year, but I could come back to them at that time to see if I could get it back to the $165 amount. But even at $185, it still would be better than what it was. And he reminded me that this would only work provided we stayed with Spectrum internet (in other words, the cable part of the deal wouldn't work if you were using another internet service provider).
So... if you are a Spectrum internet/cable customer and are still using the cable boxes, and your bill is outrageous like mom's was, call customer service and find out if they can do this for you, provided you're willing to learn how to use the Spectrum app on whatever Smart TV you have. Hopefully, it will save you a good chunk on your bill, too!
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