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Stop the Cap! reader James dropped us a note to let us know Cablevision customers calling to cancel their cable service are scoring $20 a month off their cable bills for two years if they decide to stay with the cable company. It’s all because of the ongoing dispute between Cablevision and Fox over programming fees.
That $500 goes a long way towards compensating Cablevision customers for at least a year of petty programming disputes between executives who think of $500 as tip money.
So if you are a Cablevision customer, here is how to get your money back:
- Call Cablevision at this number – 1-800-918-2581, which takes you directly to the customer retention department.
- Tell the representative you wish to cancel your cable service because of the ongoing dispute with Fox and your loss of local and cable channels.
- When they argue with you about why you should stay, tell them you are tired of being put in the middle of these disputes and forced to pay for programming you are not getting.
- They may offer a $20 credit for just 12 months. Tell them that is not long enough and if the representative won’t do any better, hang up and call back.
Be polite, persuasive, but persistent. Customers on existing promotional deals may not qualify for this, but if you are paying regular Cablevision prices, you do.
The sooner you call, the better as word is getting out about this deal which could be withdrawn at any time.
That sounds to me like evidence that they’re overcharging in the first place; it’s similar to the situation where auto insurers are willing to undercut their competitors by hundreds of dollars, meaning that they’re all overcharging by… hundreds of dollars.
Most Cable Companies do overcharge, they ramp up prices in areas without competition, then subsidize lower monthly pricing in markets where they do face competition until they run off, buy out, or gain enough market share to establish their normal pricing against the competition.
I was given the option for $25 off for 1 year or $20 off for 2 years today. That is $480 for 2 years less than what I am paying for now. Thanks for the tip!