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AT&T is responding to its deepening losses of satellite television customers by slashing prices for those threatening to leave by as much as $90 a month and throwing in Visa debit cards worth up to $300 if customers agree to stay.
AT&T lost at least 346,000 subscribers during the last quarter and is on track to break an all-time record of subscriber losses, primarily attributed to cord-cutting.
When Stop the Cap! readers called to cancel, they shared stories of outrageous discounts available to anyone willing to spend a few minutes on the phone to ask, including slashed pricing, discounted or free channel upgrades, and equipment improvements. Some customers are now paying as little as $5 a month after the discounts were combined.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Stop the Cap! reader Dylan Marshall. “My old promotion recently expired and I called to threaten them with cancellation and they cut my bill by $90 a month for a year, which means my video package is costing me $15 a month. Then they offered me a free year of NFL Sunday Ticket, a $200 Visa debit card, and every premium movie channel available for three months at no charge!”
“I got $70 off my package after my credits expired last summer,” said Sandra Bizek. “It is always such a hassle to call in every year to argue with them, but they were very receptive this year. I almost thought I was being greedy when I also asked them about a gift card, which they usually won’t offer. They put you on hold and then come back and offer one. I got $100, but I know others were offered $200-300, depending on how long they have been a customer.”
It is easiest to score a good promotion if you do not already have one on your account, but it is possible for everyone — even customers still under contract — to get a better deal. One customer negotiated $25 off a month in early 2018. He had to surrender that credit, but in return his new bill will be $85 less.
Are you overpaying for AT&T’s DirecTV?
“They don’t even argue with you anymore,” said Narash, another Stop the Cap! reader. “Within two minutes he gave me $70 off my video package and then he found another $20 credit a month he could add, making my multi-hundred TV channel package about $5 a month. I couldn’t understand the guy very well and I think he thought I was hesitating to accept his offer so he also came up with a $300 Visa gift card out of the blue. I said ‘yes.’ Oh wow.”
Here is how to get your discount:
- Start by calling (978) 890-3027. This is DirecTV’s customer retention center in Massachusetts. If your account is combined with your AT&T wireless phone and you are billed by AT&T, they may have to transfer your call to a different call center. You can also try DirecTV’s general customer assistance number – 1-800-531-5000 and say “cancel service” when the auto-attendant answers. Answer “no” to the question about moving.
- When the representative answers, let them know you are planning to cancel DirecTV because you have a better offer from another provider (try to research an offer from a competitor that would generally interest you and be ready to discuss it). Add that you wanted to give them the opportunity to save your business by lowering your bill and enhancing the services you now get.
- You will be placed on hold as a representative reviews your account and any retention offers you are qualified to receive. Pay careful attention to the length of the discounts and any terms that might lock you into a contract. If you do not like what you hear, thank them for their time and call back. The next deal may be much more lucrative.
Our readers offered some important tips to maximize your savings:
- Print out your current bill so you understand exactly what you are paying for services now. If a representative tries to get you to remove services to lower your bill, let them know you can keep the same services and lower your bill with one of their competitors.
- Explain to the representative that you wish to cancel service because it costs too much and you are considering switching to a provider like YouTube TV or Hulu. Avoid mentioning DirecTV Now, which is also owned by AT&T.
- Do NOT simply accept the first offer made to you. When they try to lock you in, prevaricate. Ask, “is this really the best you can do?” and remind the representative you can create your own package of just the channels you want from one of their online streaming competitors like YouTube TV. You really want the lowest possible price, so could they please check one more time.
- When you are satisfied you have gotten the best possible deal, ask them about the availability of a gift card that you have heard about others getting, to compensate for the months you paid for channels you are not really watching. You may be able to get that as well, typically in amounts ranging from $100-300. But do not make it a dealbreaker and be sure it does not lock you into a long term contract.
- If a representative offers you nothing or seems uninterested in assisting, thank them and hang up and call right back. During high call volumes, regular representatives may be taking cancellation calls instead of customer retention specialists who are trained to offer the best deals to keep your business.
If you called for a better deal, let us know in the comment section what you were offered.
Thanks for the article. We are in the first year a 2 year contract. But, my wife accepted a job recently that will make our DirecTV bill go away completely plus give us all of the premium movie channels, etc.. So I think that we will be able to live comfortably with that. 🙂
Proves if the corporation is suffering from losses, then it will change its habits very quickly. This is why I welcome the cord cutting trend. It works like a charm.
Last month my bill was $55.09 this month is jumped up to $115. I called to ask for offers and they would only get my bill back down to $83 with a $100.00 gift card. I refused this offer. I need my bill to remain at or below the $55.09 that it was last month. Help….what else can I possibly do???
I just did this and it worked to perfection! My bill was $123.90 for Choice I called on New Years eve and they gave me $45 days off. I then read this a other threads so I called back on the 2nd. She asked why and I told her it was to expensive. She didn’t say much and just setup my cancellation for the 20th. Around 10am on the 3rd I got a call from the “loyalty department”. He said I see that you put in a cancellation. I was like yup too expensive. He’s are you happy with your… Read more »
It is hard to imagine a company with worse customer service than Directv…..as a caretaker for someone who has an account with them and has been a customer since 2003 they offered no incentive to stay with the company when the retention dept was finally contacted (the joys of telephone discourse with this company)…116 dollars a month with none of the movie channels is criminal….they beg to differ.
I want to thank everyone on this page for the info. I called the retention number and i received the “ultimate” package with 3 tvs for $54 a month for a year, PLUS the sunday ticket for next year for free, PLUS a $100 visa gift card. It was going to go to $160 but i refused and tried calling the normal 1800 number with no luck. my last ditch effort was to google any other ideas. Thats where i got the direct line to retention from this page. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I just called the number and was told I needed to call the customer service number, they do not handle those type of calls.
Following the suggestions of the article I tried the (978) number on 2/28/2019 and was informed that it was not the correct location to handle “cancellations/retentions.” Used the 1-800 number. Was on hold for 6 min. Told representative I needed to keep my DirecTV and internet bundle at present cost ($95/mo) and no more. Within 25 minutes and multiple checks for promotions by the agent I had that price without asking for anything more or any further negotiations. Very polite rep. So my experience was successful and relatively painless. Maybe I was just lucky or maybe the increasing number of… Read more »
Thanks for the article I recently contacted direct tv on 2-22-19 as my discount was about to end and was told by the representative that for some reason their computer wouldn’t accept the current disount as it was the end of the cycle(?) and to call back on 3-02-19 which I did and was told by a supervisor that loyality promotions were not available at this time. It was the most frustrating experience I ever had. She ended up giving me $50 off for one month. I have been with them since 2000 when I had buy the equpiment from… Read more »
Get on with chat and tell them you want to cancel.
They’ll give you the loyalty phone number and a pin. I called simply saying the price was too much (went up to $120 since my last 12 month discount ran out). She waited a few minutes to check the system. Came back and offered me $54/month before taxes to keep existing package (Entertainment w/Showtime. 3 TVs). Cheaper than the discount they gave me last year! So I accepted. Lady couldn’t have been nicer.
It’s always a pain. But they usually come through with a good offer.
DirecTV customer for over 10 years. To the point where I have a huge credit on my account in payments (using online banking and automatic weekly set payments). So I attempted to get things lowered. Knowing I could get most all my channels with DVR service via HULU for just over $70 a month, I wanted to attack my current $185 DTV bill. I tried speaking with four different operators, and neither of them could do more than suggesting I lower my package to save a few bucks, in addition, at most $5 off certain packages. Heck, with that Idea,… Read more »
Called the 800 number and asked to cancel service. Very nice girl answered after 1 minute wait (on a saturday even). My current out of contract bill was 134, she immediately offered me 84. I explained that I can get all the channels I want on YouTube and Filo for 56 a month, so she checked if that was possible. Probably a 5 minute hold this time, then she offered 64 a month for 12 months without a contract. I asked if she could check on any gift cards and she said there were no gift card offers currently (and… Read more »
Not bad at all. Good for you. Shame you either have to threaten to cancel service or actually set up a cancellation to get anywhere. But such is the game we must play to save money. Luckily, streaming services are an all to real alternative that DirecTV MUST respect. Streaming services are becoming more and more common nowadays, and luckily for those willing to do the work, are the bane of DirecTV and will result in good deals. Again, if one, like yourself, is willing to do the work.
I called on 4/22/19 to cancel services because my bill was too high. They sent me to the cancellation department and the guy just said ok the service will be canceled on 5/16/19. He didn’t even try to retain me as a client and I have yet to receive a call from anyone. I thought if I said ok cancel my services he would then offer something but he didn’t. Should I call back and ask for a better deal?
DirecTV has changed, so now you need to understand how it works now. First they won’t let you cancel until the end of your billing cycle, which could be most of a month. They won’t deal with you at all until you cancel, but before they stop your service they will call (it may look like a scam call, so be sure to answer) and offer you a very good deal. At least, that how it worked for me. And they called me back on the same day I cancelled and gave me a better deal than I had been… Read more »
To the author of this article, I want to thank you for publishing the number for the Massachusetts Customer Retention Center, it made all the difference for me. The person I spoke to asked how she could help me, I told her I wanted to discuss my bill. She said I needed to call the 1-800 number, and was about to send me on my merry way. I asked if this is the customer retention center, yes she said. I told her my bill was to almost triple from $43.06 per month to $111.99 with my next billing cycle, and… Read more »
I called four times starting in March when my bill went up. The lady I spoke to asked how she could help me, I told her I wanted to discuss my bill. She did not speak good English and apparently due to that communication gap I apparently received a one time $30 credit and was under the understanding that I was renewed for another year at my previous rate. I did repeat everything back to her to confirm. Then in April I called and I told them my bill was more than double from $53 per month to $120 on… Read more »
Just tried this, worked like a charm. Said I was switching to streaming because of the price. Right away they offered $40 for choice for 12 months.
I just got offered 85 for choice for 12 months. Set up disconnect date. Hoping to get a better offer before then so I don’t have to switch to streaming.
Why buy things you can’t afford? After reading all these comments y’all sound like y’all need antenna TV only lol people on social security checks shouldn’t even think about having cable services #oursocietyisbackwards #yallthereasonwhypricesgoupbecausecompanyslosemondygivingyallcreditalmosteveryyear
Yeah that’s why prices are going up, to many people in retention’s making offers to keep customers. Not because AT&T/DTV is bleeding DTV customers and have lost over 1 million DirecTV customers in the last quarter alone. Well AT&T stated in their investors call that one way they plan to start making better money from DTV is that most of their current customers are about to loose their promo pricing and they are going to cut down on retention offers (in other words squeeze more money from the smaller number of remaining customers). I’d happily bet $100 bucks that prices… Read more »
Why pay twice as much for something as you have to? I can afford to pay $200 a month for cable. But why would I when they let me pay less? Would you go to a McDonalds and ask to pay $20 for a Big Mac just because you can?
#stephanieisastupidfatbitch
It worked, took two attempts, but I got $25 off per month for 12 months, no extended contract.
Thanks!!!
I’m about to try this too. Our bill is $149 per month today. We can do the streaming services for $50/month (just need Playstation Vue) and in some months might need to add the $30 for Sling (NHL Network). So if they can get us from $149 to $75 with NO contract and no changes to services that I currently have, we’ll stay.
Update: called DirecTV. Told them we were cancelling to go to PS Vue for $50/month. They offered us $20 off our bill/month. We cancelled. They didn’t stop us. I’ll see if they call in the next day or two but it looks like I’m not nearly as savvy a negotiator as some of you who posted above me. ; – )
DirecTV is getting less generous these days to focus on their “more profitable” customers. But sometimes calling back can get you a more generous offer. We cut the cord last month here on Spectrum TV and rely on DirecTV Now (for the moment — they got greedy so we’re shopping around) and do not miss cable TV one bit. 90% of my viewing is Netflix, Hulu, etc. The other 10% is mostly cable news. I don’t watch any network shows and if I want the local news, I just go to their website and view the stories I care about.… Read more »
Let me know how it goes when you call back…how long you wait. Just set up my disconnect date but will try calling one time before then!
When is/was your disconnect date? Did they ever call?
We have received some emails from Directv offering $50/month for the Select package. You have to sign up for 2 years and do paperless and auto pay. Looks like they’re offering a $200 Visa card as well. Also offering 3 free months of HBO/Cinemax/Showtime/Start/Epix. I need more than Select and I do NOT want a contract anymore.
Thank you SOOOO much for the advice! I was in a similar situation as Tom B above. I had a great promotion for 24 months – $55 for the Choice package and free HBO. My contract was up, and the rate was increasing to $125 per month. I called the number you provided above, explained that I was looking at other options such as Dish and Charter Spectrum, and the very nice lady immediately gave me even a better offer – $35 per month for the next 12 months, and a $55 credit to my bill for the inconvenience! She… Read more »
Hi guys, this worked perfectly….you made my day! I had called the retention department a year ago and they gave me $60 off per month…pretty good deal but it lasted for a year and that year was up. So I called the Directv retention department again and “the best” they could do was $5 off, stating they couldn’t keep giving customers money off because it was training them to do this every year. Naturally that pissed me off, so I went on the google machine and found this nugget. I called the Massachusetts number above and got $45 dollars off… Read more »
Hi All, Great advice! I called the 800-531-5000 number and best I could get was a $10 discount off of the Choice package that I am paying $140 per month for 12 months. I called the (978) 890-3027 and told them I was moving to YouTube TV at $40 per month. The guy on the other end was very quick to offer me a $60 and $25 per month overall discount brining my total cost down to $55 per month for 12 months (no contract) and I also have an additional $17 discount in place for a combined bill and… Read more »
Hi all, My DirecTV promotion ended about 1.5 months ago. I called the AT&T number to get a “loyalty discount” and the best they could do was $20 off per month. I called again 2 weeks later and it was the same offer. So my cost would have been $112 + Tax for the Choice package. I wasn’t happy with that, because I was paying only $40+Tax before. I place the account on hold because I was leaving town for 3 weeks. That also gave me time to consider cutting the cord entirely. Today, I called back to cancel and… Read more »
(978) 890-3027 Call this number after cancelling. I got a bogus number from an email from ATT saying to call to come back as a customer and they would provide me their best offer. That number went to some 3rd party and no one was reachable. That bogus number was 855-407-5668 Thanks to this thread I called the 978 number and they were so pleasant and gave me 1) $57 off the XTRA package I was paying $101 / month for, 2) Free Sunday Ticket and 3) the $200 gift card. After they offer you the discount, then ask for… Read more »
I called 978.890.3027 and after stating that I was requesting to cancel my DirecTV service, the gentleman confirmed my account and immediately asked if I would like $55/mo discount for the next 12 months off of the Select package that we currently have ($95/mo normally). He then gave me an additional $25/mo discount for 12 months. Before I could answer he added and we’d also like to send a $200 Visa gift card for being a loyal customer. He was extremely kind and assured me that we would not be under any sort of contract whatsoever. My entire call was… Read more »
Need that guys name. lol
I called the 978 number but they said I was an active customer so I needed to call 800-288-2020
I wasted 30 minutes calling different numbers and being on hold…
Ultimately talked to a rep. I have been a Directv customer for 18+ years paying over $160 a month lately…
So the best deal they offered me was $20 off a month and to call back next month maybe getting more … WTH!!
So I am not happy and I said I’m done, cancel my service and I’m moving to YouTubeTV for $50 a month.
Anyone use that?
DisgruntledBob
I hate them. Satellite goes out every time it sprinkles. The first six months I called every week talking to somebody in the Philippines never anybody in the USA they lie they cheat they tell you they’re going to send you a $200 reward card for signing up and never got it and I never did anything about it. I’ve been Our bill went from 80 to 155 a month because our contract expired I’m going with Comcast again they can give me a better deal if their cable doesn’t go out every time it rains And as far as… Read more »
I’ve been a DirecTV customer since 1997. Our bill went from $113 to $216 this month, I called DirecTV at the 978 number and was told to call 800-531-5000 for the retention Dept. I was then offered $5 off a month, I kindly refused the offer and hung up, I then tried again hoping another customer rep would do better but I had no luck. Long story short, I tried 7 different times and the best I could get was the $5 off, one time they offered $2 off the sports pkg. and to eliminate some programing to lower the… Read more »
Well last night I called customer loyalty. I was on the phone with two or three different people and I had a real hard time understanding them because they’re overseas and had very thick accents and they told me they give me $50 off for 12 months. There was nothing they could do about the Internet speed. 45 was all that was available in my area. I canceled I gave them three weeks so I can find somebody else probably Comcast . I canceled because I have a deal for Comcast a trio for $99 for two years that’s high… Read more »
after several unpleasant calls, had temporary success. Threatened to go with Hulu and YouTubeTV. Cut bill from $125ish to $50. It is a “one-time credit. Nothing else available. Not even a gift card. Service person couldn’t find anything for more than one month and no gift card available.
I suppose I’ll have to go through this again next month. Might actually have to cancel. It’s VERY infuriating.
Last month when my promotion for expired, my Direct TV bill went from $78 to $189!!! Crazy huh, but true! First called DirectTV support and downgraded my package from Ultimate -> Choice to get the bill a little lower. The support tech said that new promos are typically presented during the first week of the month, but based on the other comments in this forum, seriously doubt anything will change if I wait and call back. Decided to try visiting the local AT&T store, they were completely useless, the only thing they offered was to switch to direct TV streaming.… Read more »
I had a $60/ month discount last year that just expired. This time, the best they could do was $25 / month. That was last month. They said call back this month. Nothing this month, so I canceled. Going with Hulu live TV. 60 bucks and all the stuff I watch, including ESPN, sec network, and all my local channels, also unlimited screens. Glad to be gone. Obviously att is not worried about retention. I think they see this as a declining market and hope to keep revenue high from customers who are hesitant to switch.
Same for me as far as more recent attempts to lower my bill. I’ve been a customer for 8+ years. They offered me $20/month off for a year and NFL Sunday Ticket for the rest of the season. I passed and continued my cancellation, literally 1 day before the next billing cycle, so no additional fees. Thinking I might get a call with a better offer today, but not holding my breath
36 minutes on the phone with DirecTV’s main customer support line (800-531-5000) and I cut my bill from $83.73 to $40.99 without too much hassle. Isaac, the kid on the other end of the line, sounded like he was about 15 (good thing I called before his bedtime!) He was able to lower my rate for Select All-Included from $95 to $55, plus add a $15 “goodwill credit” for 12 months, plus he took off my $8.99 Protection Plan and said that if I needed to replace a receiver (which I haven’t needed to do in 4 years) it would… Read more »
AT&T sucks. I called the VIP customer line got some guy name Kenneth who assured me I was getting a great deal on the services are already hat which is a bundle pack by the way Internet and TV I thought great 8247 a month for both when I was paying 155 that jack ass lied because my Internet was canceled yet they still billed me for the entire month you know they lie Leilei I finally got through to somebody in Cary Robertson who is the person who works with the president of the company. I don’t know if… Read more »
thanks man for this number I got a deal last year for 200 gift card and half off the choice package and I called loyality and I called win back dept and no one knows how I got this deal from last year I talked to them on Facebook and no one was helped me saw your number called and I got the choice package for 51.00 a month for the next 12 months and didn’t have to stay a year like last year no gift card but I will take that deal lol
Just called this number and all they said is that I was calling retentions and I needed to call the regular number
I called back 3 dayslater and did get a 200.00 gift card as well I again thank the person that wrote this
I see great deals for new customers but they barely budged when I called to tell them I needed a better deal or I was leaving. I guess when your customer with two months left on your contract, they’re not gonna help you.
U have to call this number the day your contract ends temp disconnect your account then they will help u
got a $60 + another $20 added for 1yr
I know I’m a little late to the party but I just called the number above. I’m a combined Att/DirecTV customer and they still helped me. Got my extra package including RSN fees down to $44/mo for 12 months no contract.
Directv has just joined my group of the worst companies in the US. That includes ComCast and Capitol 1. Awful customer service and can’t get anything done. Have decided to not pay invoice until someone calls.
Just called the 1-800 number. Got a rep after responding to NO, not moving. Dropped my bill from $184 to $116 per month. Will have to mark my calendar so I call again next year before they jack up the price. They still profited $68 from me for one month this year. Sneaky business.
Heads up: Be sure to call them like 5 days before the end of your service period.
I have called the 978 number three times from two different phone, and all three times I ended up being automatically routed to an option to be put on a do not call list, which terminated the call. So it looks like the 978 number is entirely out of operation.
I negotiated a new price for 12 months. No contract was discussed. They told me to call back in 12 months to renegotiate again. When I went to cancel at the end of the 12 months because they wouldn’t give me a good deal, they said that my contract was a 24 month contract and that I would be charged $200 for early termination. When you renegotiate, does that mean your contract starts all over again? I’m currently fighting to get that back.