SubscribeApril 18, 2016: This article is retained for archival purposes and is now out of date. Please click here to read the 2016 Guide.
September 29, 2015: Time Warner Cable has apparently changed how they handle customers looking for a better deal. Social media representatives on Twitter and Facebook are no longer authorized to help customers with customer retention plans. Therefore, you will need to negotiate by phone with a customer retention specialist. While less convenient than using social media to negotiate, we will walk you through the steps and let you know what to expect when you call, so you can cut through the nonsense and be confident of securing the best deal for you and your family.
Courtesy: Jacobson
Step One: Read the article below. Most of the information in it is still valid and will be important in the negotiating process. Since this article was first written in March 2015, we have also learned it can be difficult to negotiate a better retention deal if you already have one. But once you receive a rate adjustment letter letting you know your current promotion is expiring, you can reject their “special offer” to extend the promotion at a higher rate and may even win an extension of the promotion you started with.
Step Two: Instead of using social media, you will call 1-800-892-4357 and say “cancel service” when the automated system asks what you are calling about. From there, your call will be forwarded to a customer retention call center.
Step Three: You will be asked why you are canceling service. You want to emphasize “it costs too much” and you have “found a better deal” elsewhere. You should expect the representative to start negotiations by attempting to downgrade your current service to save money. Do not play this game. Politely tell the representative you are not interested in a reduction in your services because you can get the same or better from the competition… at a lower price. Keep reminding them your concern is over the cost of the service, nothing else. Don’t get sidetracked talking about service problems or poor customer service. Address those issues at the end of the call.
Next, the representative is likely to first pitch a minor promotional offer with minimal savings. If you read the article below, you already know what you want is a deal comparable to what new customers receive. The key phrase to use is, “is this the best you can do for me?” Remind them that the phone company is ready to sign you up with a new customer promotion very similar to what Time Warner Cable offers their new customers. You want something closer to that. They will remind you their website promotions typically do not include equipment, which is why their offer will usually be higher than what is on the website. You can let them know you understand that, but the competitor’s deal is still cheaper. Up the urgency by letting them know you have already scheduled an installation with their competitor, but your spouse convinced you to give Time Warner one last chance to save your business. If they can find you a good deal, you will stay with Time Warner.
In the end, these days expect a good deal to be at or less than $100 for a double play package and at or less than $130 for a triple play package, after all taxes and fees. These prices assume you subscribe to cable television, have upgraded Turbo, Extreme, or Ultimate speed Internet, have one DVR box in the home with no premium movie channels, and you own your own cable modem. The variability in cost usually has to do with the Internet speed you choose and how much equipment you have in your home. The less of both, the cheaper the price. If your offer is in this ballpark, it’s probably a good one.
Equipment is usually extra.
The customer retention representatives have a list of valid promotions they can pitch current customers, but it is important to remember they usually cannot customize a specific deal to precisely fit your existing service. Do not insist on this — you will limit your potential savings. If you are friendly and willing to be flexible, there may be a great double-play or triple-play deal that upgrades your broadband service or includes a phone line, whether you need the service or not, for a very attractive price. Remember that you can also negotiate for a faster Internet plan, a better DVR, or discounted movie channels, if those things interest you. If your number and theirs is pretty close, you can also propose a one-time credit to split the difference and seal the deal. Time Warner is likely to be more amenable offering you a better deal that also upgrades your service.
Broadband-only customers have the least negotiating power and you should expect to pay no less than the prevailing new customer rate, which may or may not be extended when the promotion expires. Your best option if an extension is not available is to flip to Earthlink on Time Warner Cable, which offers identical quality service (no Time Warner e-mail address, however) at promotional prices usually the same or lower than what Time Warner offers its customers. The switch can be done over the phone. When the Earthlink promotion expires, you qualify to return to Time Warner broadband at the new customer price.
If you find you are dealing with a difficult or intransigent representative, thank them for their time, hang up and call back in a few hours and try again. Expect to spend about 30 minutes before calling reviewing your current bill, cross-matching it with the closest new customer promotion on Time Warner’s website, and reviewing what the phone company is currently selling that most closely matches your existing service. Expect the call to Time Warner will take up to 30 minutes, including hold time. The dreaded negotiation over price should take less than 10 minutes. The rest of the time will be spent looking up your account and reviewing what kinds of offers are available to you. Have your bill and the new customer offers from TWC and the phone company in front of you while you talk, so you can refer back to them if necessary. You never have to commit to a deal immediately. If you want to think about it, ask for the representative to note your account with the offer he or she made and ask their name so you can refer back to that conversation when you call back.
The original article follows below…
In 2012, Stop the Cap! helped thousands of readers slash their Time Warner cable bills by more than $50 a month with less than 10 minutes of effort. This year, it will take you longer to read this article than it will to get a better deal from Time Warner Cable.
Many of our readers have contacted us to let us know their promotional rate has expired and have sought help scoring more savings from Time Warner Cable. This year, we decided to enlist the help of Stop the Cap! volunteers who are also Time Warner Cable customers to see what kind of savings we could negotiate from the cable company that dominates much of the northeast, Texas, southern California, and parts of the midwest. We’re happy to report even greater savings (more than $700 annually for some) are there for the asking. Even better, it took some of us less than five minutes to win a better deal and by using social media, we never had to argue with anyone — great news if you don’t like negotiating on the phone.
When your Time Warner Cable promotion expires, expect to receive a letter like this in the mail, gradually increasing your rates.
Our volunteers for this effort came from Rochester, N.Y. (myself), Greensboro, N.C., Flower Mound, Tex., Los Angeles, Calif., and Portland, Maine. Two of us are triple play customers with 50/5Mbps broadband, Preferred TV (the 200+ channel package), and Time Warner home phone service. Two others are double play customers with Preferred TV and 30/5Mbps service, and our volunteer in Portland is a broadband-only customer.
We used three methods to contact Time Warner to discuss our current bills:
- Calling Time Warner Cable’s office and asking for a lower rate or to cancel service;
- Tweeting a message to Time Warner threatening to change providers;
- Posting a complaint about our cable bill on the company’s Facebook page.
Dealing with customer churn – the rate of customers coming and going – is always a concern at cable companies. New customer promotions are costly and often include a cash rebate. It is much less expensive for Time Warner to lower the bills of current customers than trying to win back wayward ex-customers with promotions later on. The company maintains several specialized customer retention call centers around the country that pay employees around $14 an hour + a bonus for each customer they keep. Employees are trained to deal with hostile callers and pleas for lower bills by escalating unresolved service problems to technical specialists, issuing service credits, and cutting rates.
But telephone retention specialists also have an incentive to cut back on your package before they cut the price. Just as we found three years ago, the two volunteers that phoned for a better deal were significantly less happy with the outcome than those who relied on social media.
“Their ‘review’ of my package quickly turned into an interrogation about whether I needed this movie channel or that Internet speed,” said Stop the Cap! volunteer Denise, who insisted on a better deal or her next phone call would be to sign up for service from Verizon. “Before they talk price, they want you to cut back on services.”
Cerise, a broadband-only customer in Portland had the same experience.
“I wanted a better deal than the $60 I am paying them for 15Mbps Internet-only service and they wanted to cut my speed to 6Mbps before we would even talk price,” Cerise said. “They knew my only other choice was DSL from FairPoint.”
My experience with Twitter was even easier than it was three years ago. Time Warner acceded to my request for a better deal in a message left on my voicemail: a rate cut of $63 a month with no change in service. I never had to speak with anyone and the new rate has already been applied to my account.
Sam, a triple play customer in Los Angeles took a phone call from Time Warner after his wife blasted the company on its Facebook page about a “new special promotional rate” that was “neither special or promotional” in her eyes.
“Their letter in the mail makes it sound like they are doing you a favor, but it’s really just the dead-end road back to paying normal prices.”
Time Warner Cable promotions run typically 12 or 24 months, after which the company mails a letter inviting you to experience a new “promotional rate” reset to a higher price, but not one that will usually deliver bill shock. A year after that less generous promotion expires, in most cases rates reset to regular pricing.
How to Negotiate
Because our experiences consistently found that interacting with Time Warner’s social media team is more effective at winning the best possible deal, we again strongly recommend you do not call Time Warner looking for a better deal. Instead, engage them through Twitter or Facebook. But before that happens, get organized:
1. Visit Time Warner Cable’s current plans and promotions web page. Your goal is to note the current promotions available and find the package that most closely resembles the services you have now. You can get a current copy of your Time Warner bill from the My Services section of Time Warner’s website.
Second, visit the competition. Check your phone company for any promotional offers for services like U-verse or FiOS, or satellite television promotions many telephone companies bundle with DSL. Familiarize yourself with the packages you would consider signing up for and jot down the prices.
Are you overpaying for premium movie channels? If you are paying more than this, you are.
Third, be flexible. The best promotional deals go to those who sign up for Time Warner Cable’s triple play packages. If you are a double play customer, adding phone service may actually cost you less on certain promotions than the best double play offers, even if you never use the phone line. If you have landline service from the phone company, Time Warner’s triple play offers will certainly save you in the long run, because unlimited long distance and local calling can often be added for as little as $10 a month. You can also consider switching to Ooma, a top-rated landline provider that works over your broadband connection and costs as little as $5 a month.
Fourth, ask about free or discounted upgrades to your existing service. Time Warner Cable has several attractive promotions for services that many customers dismiss as too expensive. Whole House DVR lets you watch DVR recordings on other televisions in the home. Some promotions add this feature for just a few dollars extra a month — less than maintaining two DVRs in the home. Also consider a broadband speed upgrade to 30/5 or 50/5Mbps. Attractive promotions are usually available for these as well.
Fifth, be willing to drop premium movie channels before you start negotiations. Time Warner raised the price of add-on HBO to $16.99 in January and other premium channels typically cost around $13 a month each. You are better off dropping them before negotiating for a better deal. After your new deal is in place, you can visit Time Warner’s website and add back the premiums you want at new promotional prices:
- A 12-month premium promotional package combining HBO, Cinemax, Starz, and Showtime runs $29.99 a month and can be ordered online;
- HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz can be had a-la-carte for $9.99 a month each for one year (The Movie Channel is inexplicably not included and costs $15.99/mo — you won’t miss it) and you may also qualify for a $50 rebate by adding Starz before March 31, 2015.
Finally, unless you live in a Time Warner Cable Maxx city (New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Kansas City, etc.), it usually doesn’t pay to negotiate over modem rental fees. Time Warner has waived modem fees in certain cases in Los Angeles, but we recommend you invest in buying your own modem and be rid of the modem rental fee for good. If you are not in a Maxx market, we still recommend the Motorola SB6141, which will work at speeds up to 100Mbps on Time Warner’s network. If Maxx is coming to your area and you want even faster speeds, we recommend the ARRIS/Motorola SB6183 ($130+). It is approved to work at 300Mbps speeds in Maxx-upgraded areas.
Now you are ready to reach out!
Sign up for a Twitter account.
Once registered and logged in, click the button that appears like a quill pen at the upper right corner of your screen and a new window will appear where you can compose a message of 140 characters or less. You will address your message to @TWC_Help (note the underscore – you can cut and paste that address into your message or use Twitter’s search function – type in TWC and you should be able to find and select it there). Here is a sample Tweet we came up with, but you can compose your own, of course:
After clicking the Tweet button, your message will be read by Time Warner’s social media team. Sometime later, you will receive a response asking for your contact information and account number. This should be sent in a private “Direct Message,” not as an open Tweet:
Click the three dots and find the option Share via Direct Message. Click it, add TWC_Help as a recipient and click Next. A conversation window will appear with their message and a space for your private response. Include your Account Number and PIN from your Time Warner Cable bill and a callback number, as shown below.
Time Warner should call you back within the next three days. If you do not receive a reply to your Tweet, send another one during regular business hours. They may have missed your first message.
You can also try Facebook to lodge your rate protest.
Visit the Time Warner Cable Facebook page and find the box (as shown highlighted below) where you can write a public message on the page.
As with Twitter, you want to get straight to the point and tell Time Warner you are paying too much for cable service and have a better offer from a competitor. Let them know you are willing to consider their counter-offer, if it arrives soon.
They are likely to respond asking for your account information, including the account number and PIN as shown on your monthly bill. Again, send this information privately using the Facebook Messenger. Include your best contact number.
Here is where your write your public complaint about your cable bill and ask for a better deal. You should keep this short and to the point, and do not post your account information here. Wait for their reply and respond in a private message.
Our Results
Was $175. Now $112.
Myself – Rochester, N.Y.: Full package of every cable television channel on offer, no premiums, Whole-House DVR with five cable boxes, 50/5Mbps broadband, Unlimited Home Phone: $112/mo, down from a fading promotional price now resetting to $175 (had been gradually increasing from $110 since 2014)
Tania, Greensboro, N.C.: Double play of all cable television channels, no premiums, DVR and one traditional set-top box with 30/5Mbps broadband: Was paying $156. Offered $99 with free upgrade to 50/5Mbps and Whole House DVR; offered and declined Unlimited Home Phone for extra $10/month. This promotion essentially matched AT&T U-verse introductory pricing for comparable services with slower broadband.
Denise, Flower Mound, Tex.: Started by calling Time Warner to cancel over $175 cable bill covering all cable channels, one premium, DVR with extra set-top boxes, 50/5Mbps broadband. Representative wanted her to cancel HBO and drop Internet speed to a lower 15Mbps tier to bring price to $125 range. She threatened to call Verizon, representative told her to ‘go ahead.’ On the second attempt Denise used Twitter and representative phoned back the next day with a message her bill was instantly cut to $120 and she will receive a one time $30 inconvenience credit for the rudeness she experienced over the phone. She keeps HBO and all of her other services and was offered to call back to discuss free Whole House DVR service.
Sam, Los Angeles: Used Facebook to contact Time Warner Cable about his $215 cable bill. Sam appreciated the fact TWC Maxx had arrived in Los Angeles and boosted his broadband speed to around 200Mbps, but didn’t appreciate the $25 a month rate reset that occurred this month as his promotional rate ended. Sam has a full cable television package, three premium movie channels, fast Internet, and Home Phone Unlimited. He also has two DVR boxes, two standard cable boxes, and rented his cable modem. Sam told Time Warner he would rather spend his money with Netflix, Amazon, and Sling’s $20 cable television over the Internet package and he was prepared to cut the cord. Time Warner cut his bill instead. He’s temporarily dropping all of his premium movie channels to score a promotion of $129 a month, drop the second DVR in favor of Whole House DVR service, and he is buying his own modem. He will add back his premiums on the aforementioned $30 a month promotion, which also gives him Starz and a $50 rebate.
Cerise, Portland, Me.: Our broadband-only volunteer, Cerise had the most trouble securing a better deal. Time Warner Cable initially wouldn’t budge beyond offering the same rate new customers get for one year: $34.99/mo + modem rental fee for 15/1Mbps service. Stop the Cap! intervened before Cerise considered her alternative – 6Mbps DSL from FairPoint Communications. After we pointed out Earthlink was selling identical broadband service on Time Warner’s network for $29.95 a month for six months, Time Warner’s “no” turned into “yes” and they agreed to match that price. If they don’t match that price again next year, Cerise can make a phone call and jump ship to Earthlink for their $29.95 promotion and then jump back to Time Warner six months after that. Cerise is also buying her own modem.
Let us know about how your negotiations went in the comment section below.
I posted the below to my Facebook page just last weekend (before this updated post came out – I’ll be updating the link after I finish this comment): ==== Did the bi-annual social media “dance” with Time Warner this week over what we pay for our “Triple-Play” package. Back in 2013 I followed the instructions here: http://stopthecap.com/…/getting-a-better-deal-from-time-wa…/ and through Twitter and a couple followup phone calls we ended up saving well over $300/yr for 12 months. The takeaway from the website – DO NOT CALL FIRST – use social media. Last year TW raised our bill approx $5/month, so I… Read more »
They have done nothing but ignore me on social media.
Chet, have you followed our method and still got ignored? Did you try Tweeting them during regular business hours?
If your account is current and you are not now on a promotion, they should respond.
If you want more assistance, you can use our contact form on Stop the Cap! and I will see what I can do for you.
They have not done anything for us either. We went though all of this and they said they can’t give any discounts to a long time customer ( they are counting the four dollars off as a discount!)
What makes us mad is the promotional rates they run constantly on TV – and with so many people dropping cable, you would think they would want to keep a good customer. We live in a rural area and can get the dish networks, but we don’t want to be charged double after the promotion is off.
I’m the same way. I’ve sent them a tweet twich now with nothing back. I just put something on Facebook so I’ll see how that goes.
I’ve posted several comments to their FB page and gotten nothing but crickets. I’ve posted within 4 minutes of when TWC staff most recently posted — nothing. Posts immediately above and below mine get replies but mine are ignored.
I’m in a Google fiber city. I Can. Not. Wait. until they come knocking on my door! I’m so ready to be done with TWC.
I just got done Facebooking and Tweeting. Got replies to both and I was informed that our rate was going from $114.98 to $128.98 per month ($139.03 with taxes and fees). Currently we are on a double play with Starter TV, Variety Pass and Standard TV and Extreme Internet (30 Mbps down) and currently on their own website, TWC has a Triple Play with Preferred TV (Whole House DVR Service,EPIX and STARZ,FREE Installation & Phone Activation, Ultimate Internet (50Mbps down), and home phone for $109.99 a month for 12 months. Was also informed: “there are no further discounts that can… Read more »
Your deal is similar to mine three years ago with some variations. For $112, I had the entire basic cable lineup, phone, Whole House DVR and 30/5Mbps with one DVR and one regular cable box, plus three DTAs (for older analog sets). I have no premiums or Variety Pass though. Epix is $5 a month for a year on promo and Starz is $9.95 a month on some promos, free on others. I had both channels free for awhile and literally never watched a single thing on either. What happened is your promo expired and they are gradually boosting your… Read more »
An update: Went to the local TWC store and spoke with a nice lady who set me up with a triple play offer for a year at basically the same price I had been paying. Success! !
I found out going to the local center is the only way to go. The center has “real” employees, unlike the scrubs at the call centers who lie and cheat. The local center employees are embarrassed over the call center complaints they receive. I also found out that their billing system automatically throws random charges on your bill, like $30, one-time fee. They raised my friend’s bill to $250, slow internet and no movie channels. The local center reduced it to $130. No hassle, no effort and real nice people. When I have problems on my bill and my outrageous… Read more »
This doesn’t always work. The Webster, NY office was helpful back in mid 2014 and continued my promo rate for basic internet @ 24.99 for a year. However this year at the same office they told me I was on a two-year contract, that they don’t do two-year contracts anymore, and that my rate was good until 2016. Wrong. Just got the letter raising my rate 40% to 34.99. Time to try Facebook.
It probably isn’t a “contract” but an agreement. If you were promised a two year commitment, they should be giving it to you. Probably the promo you were on expired in their system and they quietly shifted you to something else that is now coming to an end and you have their step-rate hike letter in your hand now. Your past bills may show an expiration date for your old promo. $34.99 is their current promo rate for Standard 15/1Mbps Internet. The Basic Internet (6Mbps) promo rate is currently $29.99 in Rochester — both good for 12 months. They raised… Read more »
Apparently the Buffalo, NY office has a friendlier staff. The gentleman that handled my friend’s account said when mine is up i can go to any of the persons in the office and they will do the same for me. I also spoke to a former Time Warner employee who told me the local office employees have much more power to give deals than the phone employees.
I started a $89.99 ($20 discount per month) double play (preferred cable TV and Standard internet) promotion 2 ½ years ago in my new house in San Antonio. At each anniversary, the price was bumped up a little until I still had a $5 discount on my account. Tweeted twchelp, and they were not able to help since I still had a discount on my account. I told them I’d like to go back to my original $89.99 promo. They said they’d refer my request to my local office. I also mentioned looking into ATT/Directv for less. Didn’t hear anything… Read more »
Just got my letter about the expiring promotional rate. I’m trying to do my homework. I’m in the Rochester, NY area (same as Phil). Two years ago I followed Phil’s advice. I had (and still have) what is now called Preferred TV with Standard Internet (15/1) along with one DVR set top box. Two years ago my total bill (sorry, don’t have a breakdown) was $147.92. Then after following Phil’s advice my bill was lowered to a total of $103.79. A year ago it was raised so the total was 119.79. Of that, the cost of the TV+Internet was $99.99.… Read more »
You will never get rates out of Time Warner Cable by phone. They are published in a small leaflet that is enclosed in your bill at least once a year (another reason why I want my bills mailed to me — electronic bill recipients usually don’t get these brochures). Practically nobody pays the published rates however. I usually recommend people negotiate based on the promo rates you see on the website. Your double play package should run you around $90 a month on a retention plan. That may even include a speed boost to 30/5Mbps, which is a known promotion… Read more »
I will post here with what happens. I’m going to be gone for a few days so I’ll do this next week hopefully. Right now I do not have a charge on my most recent bill for any sports fee or broadcast TV fee. Besides the TV/Internet charge, there is the Guide (3.27 – I fail to understand why they charge for the on screen guide other than the fact that they can), DVR (12.95) and then 0.08 for the TWC Regulatory Recovery Fee and 4.21 Franchise Fee. That’s it. Now other added on fees. If they want to lower… Read more »
Found the retail rates for various service areas. These are PDFs of the bill inserts we all get:
https://www.spectrum.com/browse/content/ratecard
There are 3 labeled Rochester. Unfortunately, they do not contain any package rates. They are under Support -> Account & Billing -> Topics -> Retail Rates.
I have a question or 2. Just got my first bill without the previous promotional price. Preferred TV with standard Internet is now 109.99, I assume that’s the going non-promotional rate? I have just one TV with a DVR box. I now see a charge of $12.95 for “DVR Service” and another $6.98 charge for “Equipment Charges – 1 DVR Converter” (I own my own cable modem so luckily they are not charging me for that.) Are the two DVR charge legit? I’m not sure I understand why there isn’t a single DVR charge. Now to see what I can… Read more »
I tried everything in this guide to no avail. TWC refused to lower my price.
Oh well, I’m having the service disconnected. What good’s the threat if I don’t follow through with it? Guess I’ll have to give AT&T or Verizon a try 🙁
It helps if you call back a few times, talking to different people yields different results. I had to talk to 3 different people before I finally landed at a service rep who actually wanted to retain me as a customer for a price I was willing to accept. I managed to keep all my TWC triple play services, got 10mbps extra internet speed, modem/DVR fees and free HBO included in the price for almost 40$ less than I was paying after my initial promo expired. As a matter of fact, I’m not paying 4$ less than the original promo… Read more »
it should read “I’m NOW paying 4$ less than the original promo I bought last year”. and you actually have to get to the cancellation department, the people there have more leeway to offer better rates, the standard account service reps will often tell you ‘sure, go ahead and cancel’.
Albany, NY area. Triple play, 15/1 Mbps internet, no premium channels, one DVR box and two regular boxes. Used the Twitter method for the 3rd year in a row and was contacted via phone within one hour of my direct message to TWC. Was offered the same services for $12 less per month. Total bill (including fees) will go from $132/month to $120/month.
I just wasted two weeks talking to TWC (Rochester NY). I talked to 4 people in 2 hours. I thought I got a great deal for the double play (129.99) per month. I got my bill yester day. I was charged 90.00 for a one time charge for the tech to come out. Nobody told me about this. The instead of seeing 129.99 before taxes, I seen 169.00. The equipment rentals weren’t included in that price. I was outraged. Called TWC and ranted, got 70 off the bill. This weekend I’m taking the boxes and reducing to standard TV. Was… Read more »
Did you follow our recommended procedure or did you call 756-5000 and negotiate with them yourself? If you did the former, a senior customer service specialist should have called with a new rate that is all-inclusive with no additional equipment charges, etc. If you called the local TWC office yourself, you were probably sent to a national retentions call center where the deals offered are often much worse. A double play offer of $129 is not a good deal if you are not getting premium channels and have more or less standard Internet. New customers pay around $90 for deals… Read more »
When my 12 month triple play promotion was about to end, I called TWC to get a new, reduced cost deal. I was told that I had to wait until my promotion ended because deals change every month. Of course I listened and waited, only to get that form letter telling me out of the goodness of their heart, TWC was going to extend my deal (at an increased rate). My second call was no better given that this agent (sales person) told me that deals change every day and that by reducing my services, I would be paying even… Read more »
TWC raised my rates on Ultimate 50/5 from $64.99/month to $75.99 a month without notice. Tweeted – no dice. Called, no dice. Called again and mentioned Greenlight, that got a call back from a “supervisor” to drop me back to the “new customer rate” of $64.99. Today, I realized I’m paying $10/month for 20 Mbps of speed I don’t need/use. So I called to see about getting promotional pricing for Extreme 30/5. I need the 5 Mbps since I VPN back home for a variety of things, and the 2 in the 20/2 package doesn’t always work right. Talked to… Read more »
I just did it myself
Ended up going from 89 with digital cable and 15/1 to 98 with basic cable and 30/5
They really tried to get me to take the full rate 3 times, then offered the tiniest of discounts. I kept telling them that wasn’t acceptable- to get anything I had to agree to some form of downgrade (and I got the upgrade to make up for it)
I might end up having to cancel next year.
Thank you all for your work and in the creation of this post! Great information I wish I had a year ago when I cancelled. I have since became a customer again but with standard internet only- currently use DirecTV. Wife and I were looking at our bills and saw that we were paying roughly $180 total per month. We want to combine services- and bills- so I have been in negotiations with TWC for 2 days now. I am wanting to gain the following but can’t get past the prices. Preferred tv with WH- enhanced DVR – connect a… Read more »
Used the twitter method and was able to secure a reduction of $12.50 a month and got a speed up on internet from 5 up 50 down to 10 up 100 down. I like twc and wanted to stay with them.
Hello! As background – last Sept., I negotiated a package that includes Preferred TV, five Premiums, Whole House DVR, Extreme internet and phone. At the time, the rep said there was no expiration for the package. Last week, I received a note from TWC. ALL it states is that my rates are changing due to a “billing error,” which I assume means an increase. It DOES NOT go into specifics as to which services are affected and how much they are increasing. Seems to me TWC should be a little more forthcoming with that info… I’m not sure what to… Read more »
If you negotiated for a special deal, there is always an expiration date, usually 12 or 24 months after the promo starts. You will get a letter in the mail a month or two before it expires offering you another deal, at a higher price. I am surprised they did not specify what rates were changing in the letter you received. That is no doubt prompting a lot of calls from annoyed subscribers. I’d call TWC and ask them what the error is exactly so you can plan a strategy. My first guess is they omitted some franchise fee or… Read more »
My promo ended and my bill went from approximately $130 to $158 and now $171 — This is for the Triple play + whole house DVR + turbo internet 30/3. I asked for a reduction as this is outside of my familes budget. Was very polite, basically saying we could not justify $171 for the service we are getting. The best offer that they gave me was $159, which is still too high for what I am getting. I am supposed to get a second callback in a few days, but I doubt it will go anywhere. I am shopping… Read more »
I did get a second callback from TWC, and the woman I spoke with was pleasant and a bit more helpful then the first. I manage to lock in my Triple play with voicemail and extreme internet + WH dvr and one additional box, for 141. Better then the 171 I was paying. All in all, a bit of a savings — not the 110 they are advertising to new customers, but not too bad either.
TWC messed up my bill but committed to their original $110ish offer and I have even more services than you do. I have 50/5, home phone, and the deluxe basic cable package with whole house DVR and one additional box. That deal is supposedly $130 today. It seems TWC deep discounted during the last quarter, but I guarantee they will do it again this quarter. I know there are some regional differences in retention pricing and NY State is one of the more aggressively priced service areas. The west and midwest, not so much.
Our bill went from $92/month for Triple Play (15/1 internet, standard cable, and nationwide phone service) to $128/month after our 2 year promotional period ended. Tried the Twitter method, was ignored for several days. Also tried Facebook with no response. Kept trying Twitter and eventually got someone to respond to me. After reviewing my account they said there were “no more discounts” for our account because we were still on a promotional rate, even though it was higher than before. I told them about a comparable package from Frontier for $96/month, still no dice. Then I asked them to refer… Read more »
Where are you located? I was on a rate step-up promotion (where they send you a letter congratulating themselves for offering you a new higher promo rate) and it didn’t stop me from getting a better deal. What could be happening is your step up rate is still lower than their current promo offers in your area. You mentioned Frontier, which is also Rochester’s local telco. Their promo offers for western NY seemed to jump in price in April and are frequently in the $130 range for triple play. What you might want to try in the interim is calling… Read more »
We are located in the Raleigh-Durham area in NC. Frontier is the only competitor for TWC for bundled services around here, but their internet speeds are slower and they have an inferior TV offering (DISH network) which would be very expensive for the channels we would want and also jumps significantly in price after 12 months. So not a viable option for our purposes. I appreciate the rationale behind your suggested strategy of asking for more bells and whistles, but we only have 1 TV, we aren’t interested in premium channels and our current 15 mbps internet is plenty fast… Read more »
Well… that didn’t work as planned. I used the Twitter method and Time Warner responded immediately. I told them I found a better rate and wanted to cancel. They asked when I wanted my service disconnected. I told them I found a better rate from Earthlink for 20 mbps internet. Cancel my service on 6/7/15.
They said “OK great. You are all set for disconnection of services on 6/7/15.”
Haha… I guess I’ll be switching to Earthlink.
Broadband customers can bounce back and forth easily between Earthlink and TWC on new customer promo deals. Since TWC provides service for both and enrolling is just a simple change in your account profile, they usually don’t bother fighting for your business since you are billed by TWC and maintain an account relationship with them anyway. The only difference in service now is no more Time Warner email address. Most people don’t care. When your promo with Earthlink expires, just bounce back to TWC on their latest new customer promo. No modem change or service call is required. They manage… Read more »
Thanks for the info, Phillip. I’ll be sure to update if any new events unfold.
As it stands now, I’ll be going from TWC Standard internet (15 mpbs) at $57.99/mo to Earthlink Internet -MAX (20 mbps) at $39.95/mo for 6 months.
I wanted to drop my telephone service through Time Warner and they told me I would have to pay more if I wanted the internet and TV but not the phone. I complained through their Facebook page and got a response that they’d contact me. Got a call from the Customer Retention Department and solved my problems by cutting somewhere around $20 from my existing bill if I used only the internet and TV.
We have triple play and its going from 117 to 158. I went the twitter route and got this reply “I’m sorry, I do not have a better promotion to offer you. ^SH”. Guess I’ll be making a dreaded phone call this evening.
Left msg on both Facebook and twitter. No Response on Facebook. Att actually contacted me and asked if they could help me when I mentioned Uverse rates being cheaper and THEN TWC contacted me via twitter. They basically told me that my rates already had a discount and they can’t help.me. “sorry for the misunderstanding about rates but the specials you are referring to are for new customers only” and when I mentioned the fact we had to.upgrade Internet twice and still it is not better and that our HD Box froze for minutes..”.In regards to the service issues, looking… Read more »
I was on a promotional rate of $112 after taxes for digital cable, one HD DVR, 20/2 turbo, HBO + Showtime. My rate went up to $151. I called to request a better deal and was informed that they would do $135 plus taxes. I said this was unacceptable, and they said they have no other offers. I scheduled a cancellation, and received no follow-up call for days. I used the method listed here, contacting TWC via Facebook. They asked for my account number, looked up my service and said that it seems I’m already getting a heavily discounted rate.… Read more »
I tried Facebook and Twitter and No Response from TWC but I didn’t get quick response from ATT&T and Directtv. I live on NC AND MY BILL IS AROUND $141 a month for hd, dvr and roadrunner. This is for just one room I have analog in my bedroom.
What is the latest best deal? We currently have phone & internet and are paying $72 and I wanted to add tv but the best deal I’m offered during chat is $146.
Are you getting letters in the mail every few weeks from TWC offering you a deal on adding TV service? These are usually common and often reflect a good starting point for negotiations. The last triple play deal I saw in March ran about $130 a month for 50/5, nationwide phone, and TV with whole house DVR, excluding Smithsonian, RFD, and Fox Movie.
I haven’t seen anything lately. I saw on the website the $118 deal but when I try to check it, the offer is unavailable in my area.
I live in Los Angeles and have internet only, I have been on a promotion for 6 months at 40.98 a month (but it has been slowly creeping up for some reason and is now about 45.00 a month. My daughter wanted her own modem and I went in to the office in my area and was told 1) the extra modem will cost 8.00 per month only AND 2) I could renew my promotion at the same price when the old promo expired, or July 1. SURPRISE! they installed the new modem and then told my daughter that now… Read more »
Unfortunately a separate modem is a separate service and if you rent two modems that would be 2x$8.
Shame about the confusion, but their is no gouging going on.
Just tried it through Twitter and got told there is nothing they can offer. $176 a month and the service is sub par at best. Cable box freezes constantly, 50 mbps internet is more like 5 mbps.
TWC screwed me when I tried to add TV and Tivo. I was paying $49.95 for standard internet only. I went into their portal and ordered the cablecard, TV service, and upgraded my internet to turbo. When I placed the order my monthly price on the order page was $63/mo. Of course TWC can’t let me get a decent deal so the phone calls started “please contact us about your order”. When I got on the phone with them they said my order through their system was invalid and they would not bundle it so now I have to pay… Read more »
Do they give you the run-around about your phone service when you buy your own modem? When I was installed two years ago, they told me that my modem “wouldn’t work” because I also had phone service, and I have seen subsequently that they routinely tell people this, or tell them that their rate is dependent on renting their modem. How did you get around it?
You will end up keeping your existing modem for phone service only (at no charge) and your own purchased modem will supply Internet access only. It’s another reason why modem fees are ridiculous. In many areas, Time Warner installed a modem that handled both phone and Internet service, which is why they are telling you buying your own modem won’t work for both. They won’t provision voice telephone service on customer owned equipment in a lot of places last time I checked. Your service rate is not dependent on renting a modem or buying one. Only the modem rental fee… Read more »
I bought my own modem over a year ago now. I had (and still have) TWC phone service. They let me keep their modem to continue using it for phone only. I had to buy a splitter to split the cable signal to both modems. Their modem only goes to the phone wiring, my modem goes to the computer network. There were no hassles whatsoever getting the new modem provisioned – 10 minutes on the phone.
Following the twitter method, I just received this response, which was not helpful: Thank you. After reviewing your account, I see the prior discount promos have expired & new ones have been placed on the account in their place. With the prior discounts no longer being offered, we’ve placed the next, best, available discounts on your account. Your prior balance on the account, before the old promos expired, was $111.98. With the new ones, your new balance = $133.08, which is a difference of $21.10. All services on your account show an active discount on them, there’s unfortunately nothing more… Read more »
This is likely because Time Warner management has curtailed some of their most aggressive promos this year, so the ones you can get now cost a little more than the ones you could get last year. There is a brand new promo I’ve seen this week offering $89.99 for a triple play package including equipment (although I do not know what equipment) and I think a discount on a premium movie channel. That could form the basis of a new promo package. I suspect you are on a faster Internet tier than Standard so the price would be $89.99 plus… Read more »
I just got the Time Warner 12 months promotion package, tv, phone and Internet for $89.99.This inc. Epix. We do not watch Epix. Can I change to HBO,, or pay $ 9.99 for 12 months
I think most if not all premium channels are available on promo for $9.99. I do not know if they can handle swapping one for the other however.
Thanks for this website. You helped me save a lot of money. Thanks again.
I called TWC and they reduced my bill by $20 a month and they added DVR, STARZ, bonus channels, and upgraded my internet speed! Thanks for the help!! 🙂
In New York City guys. I am on a Triple play with 50Mbps Internet + HBO + Single DVR for about $143. Pretty good deal except we don’t use the Home Phone at all and figured the TV requirements could be satisfied with HD Antenna for a monthly fee of $0 and Hulu Plus for $8 a month. So I rang them up to remove TV + Phone and bring me to a Internet only package. To keep the same internet speed I am on they quoted $72. The introductory rate for the same speed is $34.99. So I wrote… Read more »
I’m a Dish subscriber. As best as I could tell, your Dish page covered only corporate issues. Do you have a page that discusses how to score deals from Dish? For the most part, I have found their reps range from unhelpful to user-hostile.
This site is wonderful! The posts are helpful, well thought out and not smart-alecky. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will begin doing some research and see what I can find out and post an article with findings.
In Hawaii, meaning there is no real competition. Had the (15/1) plan, and the Standard HD TV all after taxes $142. They were also charging me for the HD Entertainment Pak which was $6.95 a month. Interesting the first local rep I spoke to immediately took off the HD charge for 24 months. I was then transferred over to the real representatives. I spoke to a woman, and told her that the (100/5) plan and the current TV package we have that is being advertised on their website would actually be cheaper (at just under $100 before taxes) then what… Read more »
Nothings works in Lincoln Nebraska. Our City Council will not let a competition in. I pay $140/month for channels 2-62 (and 7 are black out), a mandatory $3.50 a month for a golf channel I don’t watch and internet at minimum speed. That is no digital, extended channels or home phone. But TWC can advertise this wonderful package for $79/month. When you use your tactics they say fine and boom shut you off on phone. So not all TWC prices are equal, they go by regions. Now I have to pay for boxes too due to the Comcast merger that… Read more »
I’m a new Time Warner customer in CA. Just moved out of a Comcast region… hated that service. I’ve been using methods similar to this on my own for years, wish I had known about this website though. Any suggestions about negotiation tactics as a new customer or should I just take the introductory rate and not worry until prices jump a year from now? I’m wanting to get 10mb or better internet and standard TV (70+), website says $81 pre tax, including use of my own modem… is this really the cheapest I can expect? Is it worth it… Read more »
I have to say you did not get a good rep. I currently work in the retention department and my job isn’t to slash services. It is to gain knowledge of what you want to do with our services in the future and what you are currently doing now with our services. What would make the next year more enjoyable so to speak.
I moved 1 year ago to another location and I am a triple play; includes internet 300/20 which I had the standard before which wasn’t fast enough to use with Netflix in my bedroom. Experienced a lot of down time and slow speeds since moved and I am on my 3rd modem. I dumped the TV service because they were removing local channels then jacked my bill up so stinking high. The deal wasn;t enough to keep me anymore so I went with Dish and I am thrilled. I saved almost $300 per year with Dish. No going back to… Read more »
I have DirecTV, and I just moved my phone service to Ooma. My goal was to get my internet access to less than $50.00 a month as this is the only service that I would receive from TWC. I followed the directions here and I posted my request on FB. I was contacted nearly immediately, and I provided my contact information. (see copy below) I am an internet only customer and the TWC rep, Tim K., told me that he couldn’t do anything for me. I asked for a less expensive package on the TWC page and he told me… Read more »
My TWC promotional rate ended on July 24… and my monthly rate… TV and internet… went from $141 to $155. I sent two tweets to @TWC_Help (and got no response) mentioning that TWC and ATT were charging new customers $89 for the same service. So I posted a Facebook message on the TWC Facebook page and the following exchange took place: If you have concerns about the service fees Steve, I can review your account to see if anything can be done. Please Private Message us the name, full address & phone # linked to the account. Also, if you… Read more »
I’m a long time TWC customer in Brooklyn. Every year when I receive my rate hike, I’ve followed your instructions and sent a tweet to @TWC_HELP. They’ve always responded and offered a new promo price. Today I tried the same thing. Had a conversation with a rep, who said they didn’t have anything available at this time. I asked about ALL of their promos advertised online and on TV. No response… So, I asked if they would cancel my account. They responded with: a local rep would contact me AND if I still wanted to cancel, I should return equipment… Read more »
There have been some price hikes in the last year on retention promotions, mostly thanks to programming-related increases, which have made it difficult to secure the same (or a lower) rate as last year. But $25 seems excessive. You might try negotiating a one-time credit to split the difference — there is leeway in negotiating one-time promotional credits to seal a deal with a difficult customer, so you could get the $25 knocked down to say $12.50 effectively if the rep will play ball. Other options are to explore different packages: You are in a TWC Maxx city, so if… Read more »
Thanks for your advice, Phillip. Oddly enough, I logged into my TWC account this morning and they had knocked $10 off the bill. But, I’d still like to do better.
I’ll try calling retention to see if we can come to a compromise. I also thought about opening a new account in my husband’s name but then I assumed we’d pay installation charges, so there might not be any savings.
I’ll write again if anything changes. Thanks!
After getting the cold shoulder Monday on Twitter and calling TWC, I fortified myself this morning and called the Retention Dept. at TWC. It was an EXTREMELY pleasant call. Lasted about 30 mins. but definitely worth it! From the start, Chelsea examined my old bill and started hacking away at the new charges. Then, she handed it over to another rep, who continued to trim away. The result is approximately $5 more for the same exact service – Double Play Plus, 1 DVR, 1 reg. box, HBO, SHO, Ultimate 100 internet – $119 + taxes. I’ve always found social media… Read more »
Or just the enthusiasm and interest of the employee you dealt with. I’m glad you managed to get a more reasonable offer. I ditched HBO and Showtime last year because I realized I almost never watched either. The current crop of endless comic book hero movies and CGI violence bore me to death, along with violence/special effects as a substitute for a good storyline. I have not missed either. But as long as you get a good price, I can see the value for some. Just watch out when the promo prices on the premium channels expire, which may happen… Read more »
Tried the method on Twitter and Facebook with no reply. Any other suggestions?
As you may have seen in an earlier message, Joyce got good results calling TWC and connecting with customer retentions after threatening to cancel. I suggest striking while the iron is hot and giving that a shot. Maybe some of the Twitter reps are out on vacation.
Just a correction to Phillip’s last post. I did not take a harsh tone this time around and threaten to cancel. I did the opposite. I was as nice as I could be and they were, too. I told them my bill jumped xx and being a long time customer with BOTH residential and business class service, my budget did not allow for that increase and that I’d hoped they could find me a reasonable package. And, that’s when they began to give me credits, like $5 for being a good customer!
Who knew?
Sorry if I misrepresented you, Joyce. To clarify: customers typically have to threaten to cancel to be transferred to the Customer Retentions department. I always advocate being polite, persistent, and persuasive and never taking a harsh tone or being rude to a CSR. I have found it much more useful to empower them to help me by saying things like, “is there anything you can do for me here?” because most people instinctively want to be helpful, especially to those people who are nice to them. As I said before, I am glad you got a good deal and it… Read more »
No problem, Phillip. In the past, I did threaten to cancel, but this time around, it didn’t seem to work. So, that’s when I switched course and luckily found two receptive CSRs.
I really appreciate your advice and feedback. It’s saved me a lot of money over the years!
Tried Twitter as well. TWC is quick to let their customers jump ship and head over to any other provider. I had asked for the previous promo pricing, sans Starz & Epics, and they wouldn’t budge.
See my response to Sarah above. One idea I’d suggest if you try and call this time around is to not insist on exactly the same promotion because if it expired, they take the path of least resistance and tell you it’s not available and get rid of you. Ask them to look at the services you have now and have them check it against their promo offers available right now and see if they can find a match. As a point of reference, premium movie channels can be added back later anytime at promotional pricing from TWC’s website so… Read more »
I tried the Twitter method despite having Internet-only service (and zero desire to get phone or TV), and lo and behold, it worked! My promo rate of $49.99 had expired and my bill had shot up to $57.99. On the third tweet (in which I put something in front of the company’s handle so it would show up to more users, unlike reply tweets, which start with the handle), I got a response. (All were during business hours.) And then I got a call the same day, with the rep quickly and cheerfully offering the new-customer rate of Extreme Internet… Read more »
Catherine –
What did you put in front of the companies handle so more people would see it? I’d be curious – I don’t really use Twitter.
Thanks –
Well I used twitter and facebook and when I finally got a response, I was told I would receive a call. NOTHING. So I called with my assigned ticket#. I was told that since my current promotion is extended and new rate for Extreme Internet is $49.99. If I wanted to lower it, it would have to be a double service promo, cable + extreme internet or phone + extreme internet for $44.99.
I just want to get another promotion for Extreme Internet at $34.99.
My guess is that promo expired. I now see $34.99 standard Internet promo pricing all the time, but haven’t seen that price for faster Extreme service. I wonder if you got this price back when standard Internet promos were priced at $29.99. It went up by $5 about two years ago.
The $10 add-on price for television is very low… I wonder if that is broadcast basic. The $10 add on price for phone is what they’ve offered for months.
I moved in June and my bill went from 64.99 per month to 77.99 per month after my 12 month promotional rate ended.
I called and was transferred twice, but finally spoke with someone in customer solutions. He offered me a rate of 49.99 for Extreme Internet (same service I was using) plus $8/month for modem rental. In total, I will be paying less than my new customer promotional rate because I called.
It was a huge time suck and challenging to deal with difficult customer service associates, but I was able to lower my bill.
Hi there! Found this article today and thought maybe someone could answer some questions for me. Portland, ME here. My mom recently moved and she called TWC and got set up on her own. She got the triple play bundle with two extra set top boxes. Recently when I visited I tried setting up the twc tv app on her Samsung smart tv, but it said the account had locked access or she wasn’t subscribed to the app. However the app worked fine on her iPad. Also she is supposed to have DVR as they told her when first selling… Read more »
Smart TV TWC TV app set up instructions are here: https://www.timewarnercable.com/en/support/faqs/faqs-tv/twctvapp/how-do-i-install-the-twc-tv-app-on-smart-hub.html Each app is independently written and may interact with TWC differently. It sounds like someone may have messed up your mom’s account. TWC bills one month in advance and if there was an installation charge, that could account for part of a high bill, because the first bill will include charges pro-rated for the partial month she had service plus the following month’s charges in full, but you should be able to review her invoices my logging into the My Services section of TWC’s website here: https://tridentity.timewarnercable.com?originalResourceUri=aHR0cHM6Ly9teXNlcnZpY2VzLnRpbWV3YXJuZXJjYWJsZS5jb20vbGFuZGluZy9pbmRleA%3D%3D Because of… Read more »
I want to avoid rising price. Can switching to Earthlink for half year and then back to time warner cable for half year keep me a “new customer” and therefore avoid the rising rate? If I jumped to EarthLink for half year and back to TWC, would TWC count me as a new customer and give me promotional rate?
You can bounce back and forth between Earthlink and Time Warner Cable and enroll under a new customer promotion each time, over and over and over. You may find if you tell Time Warner you are switching to Earthlink because of their better price, they might just renew your current promo rate for another whole year without having to go to Earthlink after all. But this doesn’t always happen. Earthlink and TWC service is indistinguishable from each other performance-wise. The only thing you don’t get with Earthlink is a Time Warner e-mail address. Most people use Gmail or Yahoo! for… Read more »
So TWC gave me 45.99 instead of 49.99 after I negotiated with the agent (my new customer promotional rate was 39.99 for 20 mbps internet). Earthlink gives me 39.59/mon for the first 6 months but tax is not included.
Would TWC give me new customer promotion if I came back and ordered the same package (lets say the 20mbps internet) I had had before I left for Earthlink?
$45.99 is still too high for me. I’d proceed to Earthlink. As far as I know, there is no tax on Internet service no matter where you buy it, so if TWC isn’t charging you tax, Earthlink will not either. TWC will bill you directly for Earthlink service.
After the six months are up (set a calendar reminder a week or two before the six months are up), you will call TWC and say you want to sign up for their Internet as a new customer and you will get the new customer price in effect at that point.
In the letter from TWC, it states “you have a $39.99 per month, which includes your promotion and any additional services and equipment you have ordered. Your promotion is ending soon.” and from now on, “you will have $49.99 per month (not including taxes, equipment, broadcast, and other surcharges).” Doesn’t that mean in my second year, I need to pay monthly $49.99 + whatever taxes that apply? Earthlink said I don’t need to cancel my service from TWC unless their installer inform me to do so. Does that still make me a new customer to TWC after I come back… Read more »
The “taxes” referred to in the letter apply to cable television and phone service, not broadband.
The letter means, in your case, you will pay $49.99 a month starting in year two.
Changing to Earthlink involved a few mouse clicks at Time Warner. No installer visit or modem change is required. It’s all done over the phone at takes less than 5 minutes.
Once you are an Earthlink customer, Time Warner no longer considers you one of their broadband customers, which makes you eligible to return later as a “new Time Warner Cable broadband customer.”
Thank you very much! I just double checked with TWC and researched some document on New York state sales tax, which states that internet fee is exempted from tax. So I guess I don’t need to worry about tax. I switched to Earthlink and the installation process only included a phone call with Earthlink, which then redirected me to TWC’s installation line. TWC agent told me to unplug my modem and replug it after 15min, which should do me right to transform line to Earthlink. Now I am connecting to the Internet again. However, I am so not sure if… Read more »
I followed your tips and after a few DMS via Twitter looks like I’ll be getting over $500 credit back! Thank you!
During business hours, I left a message on the time warner Facebook page saying I was disappointed with the company because my bill went up with the annual review, new customers were being offered 49.99 a month and it wasn’t fair, prices should be the same for everyone. I also stated I was looking into Netflix and Dish network right now. They commented and asked me to give them my account details via private message, then told me that when I was a new customer, I would have enjoyed their new customer rates at that time, and that my new… Read more »
I have found that you don’t even need to post anything on Facebook or Twitter. Just private message the info on Facebook. I did that and received a voicemail saying “Thanks for posting on social media”, which I did not… and news that my bill was now about where it was a year ago. Easy peasy.
Tried that. Crickets….
So what would be the method if I currently have cable only with TW but am willing to switch phone/DSL? Also, are there any current gift card offers to add on to the deal?
I have basic internet with them. I followed instructions for both twitter and Facebook and no response. That of course is what I suspected would happen.
I currently only have cable, this was their Twitter reply to me
“After review of the account I see that services are currently discounted at the rate of $92.18.
You are saving $25 off of the full retail rate. At this time we do not have any other promotions available. ^SS
so I wanted them to know that I am open to a bundle, so I replied:
“Bummer. AT&T has been bombarding me with bundle offers, gift cards, free premiums, etc.”
No reply. Any suggestions?
Tom in Rochester NY area here.
I had a two year deal for 15 up 1 down internet for $29.99 that ended September ’14. They took it up to $34.99 at that time and I didn’t make a stink. Now they want $44.99 starting September ’15. I tweeted @TWC_Help twice (both during business hours) and no response either time.
Think I should I call or visit the local service center? Or just switch to Earthlink (current promo for 15 up 1 down is $29.95 for six months, then $41.95)?
This advice is fantastic. I got a call from TW saying my bill would increase from 143/mo to 179/mo. I asked if there was any discounts/promotions I could get and they told me no. I went to FB messenger and requested promotions and/or discounts and again was told there were none available. I said I was switching to Verizon/Fios. They said to wait and someone from Sales would be in contact with me. Within hours I received a phone call and lo and behold two discounts materialized suddenly and I am now going to be paying 88./mo for the next… Read more »
This is scummy and messed up, my friend works in twc retention and they get hammerd when they give up money. When u guys do this just because you dont wanna pay for services that you enjoy but dont see the value off. Your taking money from hard working people on the other line of the service. Not only that they dont get paid 14$an hour they get paid 11 an hour and commision but commision is based on this how much money u give away. Some people are lucky to come out of there earning 1000 a month. Most… Read more »
Nothing in Lincoln NE works as there is zero competition. They are horrible rude people. Their base prices are almost twice of those markets with competition.
So you ideas are worthless, no one I know of here gets any deals.
Not really, it’s capitalism. And at least in my area they start at $12/hr plus night differential and get $2.50 in raises over the next two years. Not to mention the perks and benefits including free cable, Internet, phone, and security. Also from my understanding it is not commission but performance pay( ie does the customer have to call back for the same issue would go against you). Either way a good job that as long as you are good to customers can provide decent pay and benefits.
What if the promotion they claim you are currently on is some token 10-20 off leaving you with $230 before taxes and fees, and was automatically started as they claim after our original affordable promotion expired? This sounds like a trick they’ve started so they can claim you are “benefiting” from a promotion already. We want to downgrade and pay a lot less. So far we have got no replies after following your advice.
I Currently have no Premium channels, and 15 mb internat and am paying $179 a month. I followed this advice and got connected with a Technical person who said to “reboot my modem to get faster speeds”. I said I feel like its way to expensive and he said should I cancel your service? Is there any way to escalate via Twitter or get directly to Customer Retention?
Okay – in the past I’ve negotiated what I considered a fair price for my services. We have little to no competition in our area so hence my “fair price” comment. We have Dish and DirecTv and Frontier DSL. I have been paying $145 for: Preferred TV with Home Phone National Includes: Starter TV, Standard TV, Variety Pass, Home Phone National, Voicemail Time Warner Cable Promotion Includes: DVR Service Time Warner Cable Promotion Includes: HD Set-Top Box The Guide 1 The Guide @ 3.27 HD-DVR Set-Top Box Standard Internet Starz Ultimate Internet Upgrade Add’l Outlet Service (no idea what this… Read more »
My service area is Wayland,NY – about hour south of Rochester NY.
Currently very frustrated with TWC. Tried Twitter was told could only drop $4 bucks. Called to cancel all services and was offered $300 gift card after 90 days if I stayed. Was ok with that figuring that more than offsets the increase from promo rate to current rate. Today I got the postcard with the registration info for the reward card (because nothing is easy with these guys) and upon registering find out I’m only getting $150. Called had to be transferred and was told they had down only $150. When I called a week ago I confirmed 3 times… Read more »
PLEASE READ!!! All who plan on becoming potential TWC customers. The “Promotional” or “Retention” gift cards TWC has both previously and currently offer, of any dollar amount ($150,$200,$300, etc.), does not exist. PLEASE, to all who read, do not fall for this bait. Their intention is to make a package sound or look appealing to entice many to sign up for a “promotional Visa gift card”. The following needs to take place, and after you diligently follow their requirements and stipulations, you still will not see what was advertised or promised to you (no joke!), as far as the gift… Read more »
What a scam! You should still report them, and post what happened to you on Facebook and Yelp etc…
Alright just spent my Saturday talking with them. First I spent about an hour on their live chat talking to five or so people (got sent to different “departments”) trying to get them to give me the $89.99 promo rate listed on their website. Push came to shove they said I had to call, which I did. We currently pay $158/m for Started TV, Standard TV, HD pass, Variety pass, DVR Service, 1 DVR box. First representative gave me the run around; tried lowering my service and all the typical things. I didn’t bite and I plainly stated several times… Read more »
The deal I got was much earlier this year and they’ve raised prices on promotions since that time. It now runs between $125-135 Prices will probably drop somewhat again by the time Thanksgiving gets here. You don’t have to wait to resubscribe by the way. If you were to cancel service in your name and start a new account in your wife’s maiden name, there should be no waiting period required to do so. It is a hassle though. The $89.99 promo rate may not always include equipment like set top boxes, so getting an out the door price of… Read more »
Hi – I have tried calling 3 different times to get TW to lower my bill after it went from $119.97 to $154 after a few promo prices expired. No one gives a damn if I cancel after being a customer for 11 years. I don’t know if it’s b/c they know they have no competition in my area (and I’m not allowed to have a satellite dish). If I do cancel and wait the 30 days to sign up again, will I have to pay any kind of activation charge? They had told me that a rep had to… Read more »
I posted to TWC Facebook regarding my promo expiring, raised rates and the fact that Fioptics is now available for $50 less etc… All I got in response was an 800# to call and when I replied that I could not call at this time, Frank told me that I can return my equipment at any retail store to cancel. Guess I have to cancel or spend hours on the phone to save few $
Why don’t they care that people are canceling anymore? It’s almost like they want everyone to cancel….. does it have anything to do with the merger with Charter?
It is possible that the pending merger with Charter are causing internal company procedures to change. Now to negotiate a new promotion, they send calls over to their Customer Relations department. The company is definitely playing hard ball with letting those who cancel go.
Heads up, very recently the Social Media Team at Time Warner Cable no longer has the ability to put people on new promotions for active accounts. They make you call in your promotions inquiries via a 1 800 number they provide. I tried calling in for a new promotion and they are getting very stingy over pricing.
The social media team never really had the authority to directly sell promotions. They forward the requests to a regional/division manager to deal with. From looking at TWC’s Facebook page, they are now pushing people to call 1-800-892-4357, which is the national TWC number. From there, you will end up at a TWC Retention call center. Your arguments to them are still going to be the same. They will start by trying to cut down your services. Tell them to stop trying, you want the same or better service for a lower price or you are canceling service. They will… Read more »
I received the annual letter that my 20/2 Internet only package promotion was elapsing and I would begin being billed $52.99 instead of the current $42.99 a month which includes an equipment charge for modem of $8 and wifi charge of $5. I went to a TWC center to return my combo modem/router intending to drop down to their modem and use my own router. I decided to drop their modem as well and go buy one at Best Buy. They countered with a monthly package of $39.99 after removing equipment charges. This is not any better than they already… Read more »
This is what I have posted on the Time Warner Facebook page following your instructions above. During the day today Earthwatch has amended their Website making the package I am looking at $39.95 instead of $29.95. However in doing a comparison I noticed TWC has an $8 fee added to their $44.99 pkg which makes it $52.99 / mo. Earthwatch does not. Facebook posting: I was informed my 20/2 Internet service is going up 23% at a time when real income and interest rate inflation are under 1%. The increase is extreme. I am searching out alternatives and have replaced… Read more »
That $8 is probably the modem rental fee, which I believe also now applies to Earthlink customers. All can avoid it by buying your own cable modem. We continue to recommend the Motorola (now Arris) 6141.
I bought the Motorola SB6121 at Best Buy’s suggestion. I can exchange with in the first 30 days. What is the benefit to the 6141?
After working with Tech support to get switched I see my account charge has dropped to $37.72 for the next period, I assume there is some prorating which is why it is not the $39.99 discussed with TWC center customer service. There has been no response from the Facebook posting. Do you think this is likely the best I can do?
The 6141 supports more bonded channels, and faster speeds. You are effectively future-proofing your modem from obsolescence for at least 4-5 years with the 6141. I suspect the 6121 will not be as lucky after 2-4 years. Time Warner approves the 6121 only at speeds of 50Mbps or below. Since Charter’s entry level speed is 60Mbps, if the merger with TWC is approved, your modem may be useless within 30 months. TWC bills 30 days in advance and pro-rates. For TWC Standard Service, I’d keep an eye out for a $34.99 promo and demand that when it re-appears. Lately they… Read more »
What about the SB6183? It bonds even more downstream channels that the 6141 (16×4 vs 8×4) and it looks like it is on TWC’s approved list. Yes, it costs more. Of course here in Rochester, NY it would be overkill. We’re #13 on the worst connected cities:
http://www.speedmatters.org/blog/archive/which-cities-are-the-countrys-worst-connected/
Being trapped by outrageous rates is happening b/c there is no competition. All these huge companies have monopolies in a certain area so consumers have nowhere else to go. In my case, it’s Time Warner – right now they are the only cable provider in my area. Maybe if we all filed complaints with the FCC about that (they’re the ones that are supposed to regulate things like that, aren’t they?), it would make the cable / internet providers nervous enough to at least offer us better deals when we contact them. I had read that even though the FCC… Read more »
Time Warner Cable’s acquisition by Charter Communications is pending before the FCC and various state regulators. Your thoughts can be added to the record in these proceedings. Negative comments do not help their case to be purchased.
The original article has been updated to reflect recent policy changes at Time Warner Cable. You will now be negotiating for a better deal by phone, but we’ve got your back.
Darn. I just started the back and forth on Twitter with TWC_help before I saw this update from this morning. His first reply to me was to call a phone number. His second reply was to the same phone number. Waiting on his 3rd reply when I told him to have a person call me with an offer. I will report back. But, since I have no wired broadband choice but TWC and I’m sure they know that from their database, it will be interesting to see how far I get. BTW – I’m a double play customer.
I’m always late to the party:
TWC Help @TWC_Help 24m24 minutes ago
@StablemanE My apologies W E, we do not handle these types of issues via this channel. Please call 1-800-892-4357. ^JW
Just wanted to relay my experience from calling TWC today. Background: I had tried the Twitter route last week and got the response to call 1-800-892-4357. My current plan: Extreme Double (Preferred TV w/ Variety Pass and Extreme Internet 50 Mbps down/5 Mbps up) for ~$132 So I called TWC, after getting to the customer retention department, the customer representative started asking questions about my usage (what channels I like to watch, what do I use the internet for, etc.). She then came up with the following offer (good for one year): Preferred TV (same channel lineup) DVR 200 Mbps… Read more »
I just signed up for TW internet service. A few things:
1) Check the internet price first. It was lower than the price the operator quoted me.
2) DON’T pay the installation fee. They will waive it for you. If not, at least have them match the online price, which is ~$15 compared to ~$40.
Does anyone know what a good speed is for home use? I live alone and use the internet for streaming TV and general web browsing.
Thanks!
I have their 20 Mgp / 2 Mgp Internet plan and recently switched to my own hardware to drop their monthly equipment charges and taxes. I have tried to drop down to the lower speeds and it caused issues with working from home through a VPN connection. We run several laptops and stream Netflix through a Mohu channel box that hooks my antenna and internet through one controller to the TV (like a Roku, but Mohu supports antenna). To get this you have the Basic plan and upgrade with Turbo speed step up. The new rate is suppose to be… Read more »
Just wanted to add my experience to the mix…… my promotional rates expired in August and my bill increased by $35 a month to $154 for 50 mpbs internet and Preferred TV with DVR. I had called and spoken to about 4 different reps over the course of a month who didn’t care at all if I cancelled, and then saw this site and the comments about using Twitter and Facebook. I’m not on Twitter, and hate Facebook, so I tried giving them a negative review on Yelp. I got a response saying I should message them on Facebook (can’t… Read more »
@Valerie – Do you know by how much your DVR space was reduced? I have read in different forums (not sure which now it was a while ago) that TWC has increased the buffer they use for pausing and going back on live shows. A long time ago I think it used to be an hour….then a few years ago they changed it to something like 15 minutes, and I think they have now lengthened it to 30 minutes (or something like that). They use the DVR hard drive to store that buffer, so if they have reserved space for… Read more »
Thanks – there must be something going on with my box…. 🙂 I only had about 50 hours or so of recording time in the first place, but now it’s down to about 35.
Sigh….. always something with them (TWC).
I called Time Warner today to ask when our yearly promotion expires (next month) since we would most likely be changing to Direct TV before the end of the period. Of course they forwarded me to the Retention department. I repeatedly mentioned that this was a matter of the cost for fixed income customers, but all I could negotiate after being pleasant but firm was the Standard TV package (no premiums) and Extreme Internet for $141.41 per month (including taxes and fees). (We have an enhanced DVR and one extra box). This seems like a very high price to us… Read more »
My suggestions are to go to the TWC website to price out what you want as if you were a new customer. Whatever the price comes out to be, that can be a starting point in the negotiations. In addition, if that one rep did not help you to your satisfaction, give twc a call again so you can speak to a different agent. If you absolutely have to, cancel them and go to direct tv. I can bet that after that, they will give you a bigger discount (do as a last resort).
This might work if you get someone new on the phone or something, but now they won’t budge on your bill. You can threaten to cancel and leave and all they’ll say is “Okay, sorry to see you go, we already have billions of dollars, bye bye now”.
Is it just me or does anyone else feel that TWC have NO actual pricing structure or are basically lying on their website. Here’s my story: I tweeted TWC back in May (24th?) and got a call back from Rick who gave me the currrent promotional offer for new customers. Basically I have the full Triple Play (Preferred TV, 300Mbps and Home Phone) plus I’m leasing all my equipment (I know I should buy a modem but can’t seem to decide which – I need the best speed) plus some extras and IntelligentHome Security and paying about $260 all together… Read more »
Hey – I’m not in your area, so can’t help with pricing, but just wanted to suggest you post a bad review of TWC on your local Yelp site and on Facebook. That’s what I did out of frustration after getting no help for over two months, and finally was directed to a number to someone who at least gave me a better deal, if not a great one.
At that point I was so worn down that I was grateful to get what I did – maybe that’s their evil plan, lol.
TWC new game is to pretend they can’t hear
you when call and hang up. Garrett hung up on me, Ibeanne hung up on me… I calling again..
I would really like to have some reliable DSL, we are suppose to get 1.5mps and we are lucky to get that. I ran a speed testto see just how much speed we have and it was .23-39, not good for streaming video. We are with century link and they have no intention of increasing our band width, they say this is all we will ever get. What really is fustrating is our neighbor has arvig and gets upwards of 25mps but since we are in cenrtury link area, they won’t give us service. I love living in the country… Read more »
I’m so glad I found this page! I was just bumped up from my introductory $34.99/mo rate for 15/1mbps to $44.99 after 12 months. Called in using the tips from this page and was offered $44.99 for the 30/5mbps plan. Double the speed I had for only $10 more! I probably could have been more recalcitrant and received my original rate and speed, but I’m happy.
I had a victory against TWC from a surprising avenue: A chat on my TWC account! Currently: Set-top box, Standard/Variety channels, 50/5 Mbps Internet. My bill went from $128 a year ago up to $150, then this month up to $185, and that was the last straw.:) On my TWC account site I engaged with a representative on chat, explained my situation (loyal, long-time customer with excellent on-time bill pay, low-maintenance customer, etc.) along with my issue that I was being overcharged outrageously and what the Hell? First representative gave me the runaround (buy your own modem, cut back your… Read more »
50/5 Extreme Internet in LA. $35 intro price expiring in Feb. Price going to $50. Called two weeks before end of service period to get a better rate. Offered $45 and declined. Called a second time today, one week out from end of service period. Offered a discounted $38 rate for 12-months, no contract, for the same 50/5 service and accepted. Thanks.
I’m in NYC, long time Time Warner customer. My building got FiOS 2 weeks ago. I’ve been looking forward to FiOS, but was disappointed in the pricing for the services I wanted (less than what I’m paying TWC now, but higher than I expected). I scheduled an install anyway though, and when calling Time Warner to cancel, I followed the instructions in this article pretty much to the letter. Happy to report that after about 30 minutes of negotiating and reminding them that price is the main issue I was able to secure quite a savings. SERVICES: 200 Mbps internet… Read more »
You’ll have to let us know if you actually get the gift card. It is usually only good when your prove you are transferring from one provider to another. Retention deals usually don’t qualify because the rebate form wants proof of your old provider and switch.
Time Warner has done it again! Coming off a one year Triple Play promotion for $118 (30/5 internet, home phone (which I don’t need, I have an Ooma), Starter and Variety TV package and no HBO or Movie Channel or the like, that my package would remain the same but now I would have to pay the DVR fee plus there was an increase in Broadcast Fee(total increase for both: $9), and now to get the basic TV in the bedroom, I now have to have a Digital Adapter which will set me back another $3.25/month starting in June of… Read more »
I feel your pain. I was livid when I discovered that there was a fee for their DVR that would let you record more than 2 shows at one time. Time Warner will nickel and dime you to death.
We found a Roku 3 on sale for $60 and use it in the bedroom to stream almost everything from the TW app. That saves on renting a TW box.
Another option to reduce your bill is buying a TIVO and just rent a TW cable card.
That digital adapter was supposed to cost just under $1 a month when they first started distributing them. Now the price for this sub-$50 device has shot up to over $3 a month and is, they say, required on all older analog televisions. It’s just another way to increase revenue without a general rate increase. The good news is that modern generation Roku boxes can be used instead of a digital adapter and will receive most of the Time Warner Cable lineup on those secondary televisions in the home. I believe it includes local channels in many areas, but you… Read more »
Actually when I first checked on digital adapters a couple of years ago (when I heard various places around the country were REQUIRING them) I called Time Warner and was told that they would be free but there was a limit on how many they would provide. We love our Roku’s but find the guide a little cumbersome. We also suspect that the next push for caps will include how much more bandwidth customers are consuming. Oh, and I recall when we first decided on a DVR and was told that we had to subscribe to a “digital package” or… Read more »
As a follow up to my March 11th post, I went to the TWC store today and turned in our DVR cable box, the TWC phone (which was never hooked up) and bought a Roku 3 for the back bedroom and will tune in the TWC app for TV watching there. According to the TWC clerk, my monthly bill will be reduced by about $19 and change. Follow up question: I was under the impression I didn’t NEED a cable box since I now have two Roku 3’s at the house. The TWC clerk said I HAD TO HAVE ONE… Read more »
No technical reason to have a cable box just a TW requirement that you have one (with no rental box they won’t “authenticate” your account for the TW app).
Any idea when the 2016 update of this article will be published? I’ve been itching to see if I can negotiate a better rate, but I’m curious about any new info that may help.
Can’t wait for the updated post. This year’s annual attempt to get my rate back to where it was after my “promotion” ended didn’t go so well. In the past, I used social media and it worked great for 3 years. Now that you have to call, my first call didn’t go so well. My bill for Triple Play with 20/2 internet, 1 DVR, and 2 HD boxes was going to go from $134 to $173. After much haggling with the CSR about not reducing services, I got it so the new bill will be $165 but I get an… Read more »
Guys the 2016 Edition is here:
http://stopthecap.com/2016/04/07/fight-way-better-deal-time-warner-cable-2016-edition/
The 2016 Guide is now available: http://stopthecap.com/2016/04/07/fight-way-better-deal-time-warner-cable-2016-edition/
I was paying $59.99/month for standard 15 MBPS download speed Time Warner internet. I used the tips in the article to get upgraded to 30 MBPS download speed and 12 month price guarantee of $34.99/month — a savings of $300 per year. The negotiating tips in the article were invaluable in achieving this price. Thank you! First they offered to upgrade my speed for the same price — no way! Then they offered to lower my price to the current promotional 12 month price for my current speed — no way! Then they finally agreed to double my download speed… Read more »
Helpful piece . For what it’s worth , people a a form , my boss used a sample document here
http://goo.gl/VJYqp6.Is there any way that they will make their service better when Charter takes over? They have been pretty careless when it comes to people, but their prices are pretty okay as you can see in: http://www.taranganews.com/time-warner-cable-nyc-promotions-offers-everything/