My Spectrum cable bill has been slowly creeping up for the last few years so I finally called them last night to try and lower my bill. I was especially motivated after trying to watch ESPN and receiving a notice that Disney has pulled their TV channels from the Spectrum platform. RELATED: Why You Should Travel With a Roku Streaming Stick
Per CNBC, “Disney yanked its TV channels, including ESPN and ABC, from 15 million Charter Communications customers as the companies fight over a new deal on fees.” This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, especially after I saw in my local Facebook group that many friends and neighbors had reduced their bill by calling Spectrum up and threatening to cut the cord … and they came away with a good deal. This time, I wasn’t bluffing.
I was on hold for over an hour, which I think might be one of their tactics to retain customers, hoping they’ll just give up and hang up. It wouldn’t be so bad if they had a callback option like American Airlines does but they don’t.
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The good news is that the agent I spoke to, who was based in south Texas, couldn’t have been any nicer. While he was pricing out different plans, we briefly talked about everything from our Fantasy Football teams (I picked up his sleeper pick, Jalin Hyatt, because he plays for my beloved NY Giants and he’s got a hotel last name). He also told me about nearby South Padre Island, which he says is an affordable, family-friendly getaway. I’ve never been so I can’t confirm it.
However, the most important thing we talked about was lowering my monthly bill from a whopping $233 to $109. He gave me a $15 credit for the Disney debacle, I’m returning our last cable box (he made an appointment so I don’t have to wait in any long return lines) and he found some promotions to apply to my account. After today, I am only going to have 15 Spectrum channels, not including the local channels, which is more than I watch anyway. I rarely watch TV and my wife and kids all watch different streaming platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Disney, Hulu, Max, Netflix and PBS Kids. He even threw in a premium Peacock subscription and increased our internet speed to the highest possible for free for two years. I thought we already had it but we didn’t so it saved me $20 monthly. He also confirmed that there is no contract so I can still switch providers at any time if I choose.
So my advice to you is is to call up your cable company, prepare for a long hold, and threaten to cut the cord. I seriously was about to sign-up to YouTube TV and T-Mobile Wifi if I didn’t get my bill lowered significantly. I still might but I don’t feel like taking on that hassle right now. Saving over $100 a month has, for now, made me a much happier customer.
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Johnny, great tip ! I cut the Spectrum chord a couple of months ago because I wasn’t watching either cable TV or using my DVR anymore and my bill went from $244/month to just 84.99/month for just internet. They also bumped my internet speed for free. I also was able to return my cable/DVR box at any UPS Store.
Nice, but cutting the cord would be better. Those special “promotions” tend to expire, and then you are back to paying the $200 bills without realizing it. Best thing to do is get your Internet from someone like T-Mobile, and get the streaming channels you want. YouTube TV is great but they keep raising the monthly tab. Pluto TV is free and not bad. Roku TV is free and offers live local channels.
You’ll have to confirm this, but Samsung TVs (and a few others) have the Spectrum App built in, so you don’t need their cable boxes anymore. From what I was told, LG TVs and Apple TV boxes do not take the Spectrum App. either.
Hi Johnny. My Spectrum bill has been creeping up during the past 5 years, and I have been considering satellite. The loss of the Disney channels (ABC, ESPN, History, etc.) was the last straw for me. I will take your advice and plan on spending an hour or two trying to settle this problem. I am not a huge fan of streaming because I like to record shows, so I can watch and return at my leisure. In the past I had satellite TV (although I lived in the Pacific Northwest at the time and lost signal often) and that experience made me prefer cable. Here in Southern California weather is not really much of a problem, so this might be the time to go for it. I would be very happy to save $100 a month!
What a joke. Spectrum is charging so much money for their cable and then they have nerve to cut us off tv channels by saying that they are trying to save its customers money. What a crock. Now soectrum has no US Tennis football and ABC NY Soectrum. Just pay Disney what they want and increase our cable bill by 10 dollars a month. Who cares if yoh pay 200 a month or 210 a month. Soectrum will lose so much money now by this action by people switching to different choices And Spectrum pleaae stop spending millions on TV advertising. Just Pay Disney The same ads all over again. How many of you are tired of the guy with beard and mustache on soectrum TV.? He is so annoying
I Have T Mobile WIFI and You Tube TV. $30 & &74.99 per month
I have had T mobile WIFI for 2years and am completely satisfied. There has to be a T mobile tower within range of where you live which can be checked out on the web
We use the WIFI to stream TV, for video calls etc and have never had an issue
I had the opposite experience. I had a super nice lady at first and then was connected to someone else that was one of the worst customer service calls I’ve ever had. I felt like I was a complete inconvenience. I also discovered that I was being charged for a receiver that I returned a year ago $10.99. I realized I should have looked at my bill closer but I receive via email. I have no idea if I will be reimbursed. There is case number or reference number and not sure if they’re going to call me or not. I am completely frustrated with Spectrum and may pull the plug. I told the lady that we had Alta fiber coming out and that I really like spectrum and a was hoping to lower my bill. She didn’t say one thing. Didn’t seem to care. Horrible customer service.
Going through a similar thing with Dish. They have a dispute with Fox that has been going on for a while. Football season is now here and we are unable to get any games NFL or NCAA that are broadcast on Dish.
I pay for so many channels that I don’t watch, it’s simply not worth it. After losing my favorite sports channel, it was the straw that broke the camels back. I’ve already upgraded HULU, and I’m ditching cable.
I’ve begged them to lower my bill. Remember being told there are NO CONTRACTS! They told me until the end of my start date it can’t be done. It’s gone from 99. dollars a month to $121. I told them I’m a Senior and have limited income. They don’t care. I missed my cancellation by 4 days so I had to pay another full month. Considering many companies are doing the same, soon I will be buying an Oil lamp if I can afford the oil or digging a hole to cook my food and see at night. Our government is slowly killing the body and spirit of every legal citizen that is millde and low-income!😡😡😡🥺🥺🥺
That’s terrible. Did you pay by credit card? They might be able to reverse the charge
We went from DirecTV to streaming 3 years ago, and our bill was instantly cut in half. We stream via YouTube TV, and for one of the previous commenters you CAN record (quite easily) on YouTube TV. Highly recommend!
John J
Brazil, IN
Spectrum sucks. Lose channels all the time.bill never gets cheaper
I for the 15 channel line up when they first started it. I have never paid over $80 a month for Internet and Spectrum together. Plus I get the $30 Internet credit. I have known about the customer retention department for years now. You really never have to pay full price if you know what you are talking about. They will always give you a deal to keep them.
Hi my name is Felicia I work in the auburndale Spectrum store retention department I love the company I work for I’m very passionate about its products and services. If you feel that your bill has been continuously going higher it’s probably because it has been when it does that is because you have rolled off the promotional rate that you was given when you first signed up with us those promotions are only good for one or two years. And I apologize for the long wait hold time that is due to Disney pulling out for lineup on spectrum’s platform so please be patient with us we are here to better assist you. And with most internet plans we also offer a free mobile service for one year with no contract unlimited talk text and data you’re never under contract with Spectrum so he canceled at any time and you can keep your same phone number as same phone as long as it’s not locked and not paying on it even though sometimes financially better to pay the phones off so you get the free service for one year and after the one year it goes to 29.99 if you want to add a phone to your account it’s also $29.99 we cover 98% of the United States we are on the fastest 4G 5G LTE network and if you want to upgrade your phone we have the latest models and we also have financing with zero interest. So please if you feel like your bill has gotten too high call us your spectrum so that we can better assist you & your families needs. I love my job I love the company I work for and I love my customers and if you have any kind of technical difficulty please feel free to call us so that we can send a check out to your house for free. Once again my name is Felicia I work for spectrum and I am passionate about the company I work for and our products and services but mostly about our customers.
The only thing missing in the article is the name of the package you went to. What is the name of the package? I have Spectrum mobile which uses Verizon towers and is much cheaper when you go international. It requires a Spectrum internet account.
I agree stop all this constant advertising and stop pissing people off.
Our TV has not been switched back over to cable in LITERALLY over a year now. It stays on youtube until the Braves game and then we switch over to the Bally Sports app. But thats how Spectrum has us, we have to keep paying for cable to keep the Braves games because the MLB app is so expensive too. I called in the beginning to remove the Silver package (since we dont watch), to just Basic and the bill actually went UP 20.00!!! Lol what? It was supposed to be 120.00 a month but has crept up so much over the months that our bill is 203.00 a month now!!! Maybe some of yall can advise me as to what to so inorder to keep the Braves and streaming services without paying out the hindend as we are now!! Also, im pretty sure AT&T don’t cover our area. I actually should check into that because its been awhile! Thanks yall!
I’m 65 years old and supposed to only pay $40 a month on spectrum yet I keep getting billed nearly $200 a month threats to disconnect if I don’t pay at $102.
I just canceled my Spectrum service!! They only wanted to reduce my monthly bill by $20 and I was paying $270 per month!! It wasn’t until I called to cancel then they wanted to work with me I said sorry I’ve already signed up with Dish and Frontier and I’m saving $90 per month!! And I have the highest internet speed and my tv services are guaranteed for 3 years!! And a free $200.00 gift card!!
You all FOLKS, listen up …
Knock off cable from Spectrum… saving 50$ right there…. Only need the internet, Modem and Router ( get your own Router/Linksys) … keep spectrum modem… and buy a one time cost329$.,…”Superbox S4Pro) streaming device…. Never pay over 75$ to Spectrum …Superbox has “everything “ free………..
We lost channels and the Internet went up. What up with that SPECTRUM?
When I had spectrum come out and cut cable on well it’s due that day no prorating…so I’m on fixed income so get check 1st well on the 24th for last two yrs they interrupt my cable…and charge me extra 5 for putting back on they are only one around that I can use it sucks!!! I’m now paying 100.00 for basic cable….
I want to dump spectrum also, but really uncertain how/when. In the past 2 yearsish I have lost 25+ channels and my internet is only 6 – 15 mbps. My old dial-up was faster! I paid $75 for this and the bill went up $5 this month. Every single time one of their ads pops up guaranteeing 300/400 mbps I just want to call them and scream! Or sue them for false advertising.
Though I would like to say we have those long wait times for any other purpose. The reason IS because of this issue with the negotiations on Disney affiliated channels. Disney wants to hike up the pricing and we aren’t for it. The phone lines and chat rooms are almost maxed out, so I wouldn’t recommend to grab a coffee and stay on the line. DONT HANG UP. We understand the wait is long and you all will get the assistance. We understand your time is of upmost value and we’re working on the front lines with this because of Disney. We ask to please be patient while on the line, we’re doing everything in our power!
It’s pretty easy to spot this as a fake article.
Also, no mention here of Spectrum’s demand that Disney give all of Spectrum’s subscribers free access to the Disney channel and ESPN+.
Like they are just going to give away 28 (14×2) million free subscriptions
Where have all of these people been?
This happens all the time when contracts are up.
Every single TV provider goes through this.
DISH has same issue now with FOX. Why no mentions of this?
I have been too lazy to cut cable,it’s like my bank. I should switch to a credit union. But have direct deposit and paying bills automatically. This is the final straw. Heck blockbuster for movies is better then cable TV now.
I’m 68 and on a fixed income, can barely walk around or go upstairs or downstairs. Disney and Spectrum are just like every other wealthy company, they only care about the $$$$$$$ period. Going dark with FX AND ESPN was just par for the course. I’ve had it and just don’t care anymore. My money is better spent with T-Mobile or Hulu. Later suckers. 🌄🌅😎😠
Spectrum is bad but I hold Disney and it’s greed more responsible. They want increase and pay for channels they don’t want. I pay 244 dollars this month but yet lost all Disney channels
Spectrum offered me 15 credit. I told them keep it, not enough. If they refund my money and lower my bill I am gone. Bye the way 32 years I’ve been with Spectrum was charter at first. They could care less
April, you don’t need Spectrum for the Braves..We have the MLB app and a subscription to Surf Shark – a VPN. We only have internet and nothing else. We get our local channels with a HD antenna.