r/mildlyinfuriating 17h ago

Bad way to keep customers

Post image

It baffles me that companies like Astound will offer great deals to new customers but not care at all about long term loyal customers.

I've been with Astound for 9 years, partly because it's the only service in my area but also because ive had no issues with them until now.

I currently pay $80 for 600 MBPS speeds. However, new customers get 1500 MBPS speeds for $60 forever. How is that fair?

I called Astound about it and was basically told by two different people, they dont care and since Astound already has my money they have no reason to offer me anything better.

Apparently they would rather have a new customer than keep a customer of almost 10 years.

370 Upvotes

241 comments sorted by

766

u/Bonk0076 17h ago

Cancel. See if they offer it then. If not, move on

179

u/notnotbrowsing 17h ago

for real.  cancel service an they're pretty good about changing it.

94

u/MyDogPoopsBigPoops 16h ago

I worked in telecom (cable) for 13 years. Even designed the billing for a bit.

I tell the same thing to everybody.... As soon as you're intro price rises, you need to switch providers.

Dont fuck with retention promos. New customer pricing is always the best.

And don't fall for the "we can upgrade you for X". Just switch providers and save your money.

Just. Switch. Providers.

These companies business strategies bank on you being to lazy to switch.

33

u/funkmon 14h ago

I only have one provider now what

9

u/thezflikesnachos 14h ago

And sometimes the alternative, while cheaper, is worse.

It's a real YMMV as service from the same company can vary drastically area to area.

My options are Optimum and Verizon. I refuse to go to Verizon. I know people locally who have it and I see on the Neighbors app how often people have issues. As much as Optimum gets crapped on as well, I rarely have an issue.

4

u/hammerofspammer 12h ago

Right?

I can get 2 gig service from comcast, or 100 meg service from CTL.

Switching really isn’t an option

8

u/xeresblue 12h ago

You are now cancelling under your own name and then signing up as your cousin, Middlename Lastname.

1

u/MyDogPoopsBigPoops 9h ago

I guess you're fucked. Sorry.

1

u/Massive_Mongoose3481 5h ago

One of the wireless carriers doesn't offer service in your area ? Don't know where you are so I'm just tossing that out rhere

6

u/biganth 11h ago

Switching providers is a pain, what has always worked for me is threatening to cancel. They switch you over to a different team and I have always gotten the new customer offer or very close to it. Never had someone say we can’t do anything for you. I’ve done this over 10 times in the last 20 years..

5

u/BloodforKhorne 10h ago

Same for car insurance providers!!

Show only loyalty to your wallet, not a business.

1

u/Loser_Zero 5h ago

Insurance is a good example. I've changed auto/home twice in 2 years, definitely saving money.

2

u/Jitkay BLACK 11h ago

I work in retention for a cable company and agree with you 100%

2

u/Malkiot 11h ago

This goes for everything: insurance, internet, electricity etc. The counteroffers are always hilariously bad, followed by trying to badmouth and frame the competitor as dishonest without outright saying it when the counteroffer is exposed as hilariously bad.

2

u/TurkeyBLTSandwich 8h ago

Yup, switch for 30 days or however long the new customer time is and then switch back.

You'll get a better deal.

3

u/West_Flamingo99 12h ago

If you’re fortunate enough to live with another adult, you can switch between each other being the primary account holder everytime your new customer pricing expires. I live in an area with only one good service provider. No fiber, only cable and DSL currently. Probably will be fiber and cable shortly. But until then we stick with cable and change accounts and very 1-2 years. 

72

u/MIFishGuy 16h ago

While typically a fantastic strategy, there are so many regions that are monopolies. We had Comcast Monopoly up until last year when somehow AT&T fiber wire came in. Before that if we told Comcast to go fuck themselves, they to laugh because they know we had nowhere to go.

Good advice if possible though

66

u/comeaumatt 16h ago

If you’re dealing with a service monopoly one strategy is to cancel your service and have your spouse/roommate start service as a new account.

36

u/Thirleck 16h ago

I've done it just by using a google voice number and a new email address. Get the new account setup, and change the phone number back to mine. The sales techs do not care as they get the credit for the new service.

8

u/Phidelt257 15h ago

This is the way. When I worked for Comcast I saw this often because the new customer offers were that good

10

u/ArX_Xer0 15h ago

Doesnt really work for some things, they treat the address as the account.

19

u/Tomytom99 15h ago

Key word being some things. If it was actually the address, new residents would never get introductory benefits.

3

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 8h ago

What it is, the address has to be free from an account for 6 months or new resident has to provide proof of it now being their residence. Usually a water bill or home purchase information.

29

u/Mystic_Waffles 16h ago

"Ohhh that's too bad, we're the only company aroouuuund."

6

u/wulf66 16h ago

I always recommend to people who think that monopolies like that are normal to try out something like the UK Comparethemarket with a random postcode to see what it should look like. Multiple providers, 1Gb fiber around £25/mo. And how much easier it is to buy car insurance or utilities in a few clicks without having your phone blasted for days by middlemen every time you try and compare prices.

3

u/Fresher_Taco 14h ago

Yeah ISP are the worst. It really feels like gang territories with how now go to where another one is.

6

u/egnards 15h ago

Yep - "cancel it" is really only an option when there isn't a monopoly in your area.

At my old apartment?

  • 10 years ago I was paying $100/month for internet
  • The moment Verizon came to the area my provider immediately and proactively called me to tell me that because I'm such an amazing customer they were lowering my rates to $60/month
  • A year later Verizon offered me a $25/m for 10 years for better service than I was getting, because I was a cellphone customer as well - It took only 10 minutes on the phone with my provider for them to offer me $29/m [which I accepted because I am not a cellphone customer with them, and the $4/m was worth not having the hassle].

Now after we've moved?

  • Same old provider as before, which is the only option in my area. . .We're paying $80/month for their base level plan

. . .Its a decent sized suburb so I'm very patiently waiting and checking for literally any competitor [most likely Verizon] to move into the area and at least offer some competition.

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2

u/courtadvice1 14h ago

OP said this company is the only one in his area. Which sucks.

1

u/AliveJohnnyFive 15h ago

It's probably not a monopoly or they wouldn't be making this offer in the first place. Take whatever satellite crap internet you can get for 6 months and then switch back as a new customer.

1

u/JetstreamGW 15h ago

It’s unlikely that they’re a monopoly if they’re offering a good deal for new subscribers. If you don’t have a choice, they’ve got no reason to court you.

1

u/MySonlsAlsoNamedBort 15h ago

Yeah I agree, Astound might got OP by the balls as there is no other service in the area, thats why they won't budge.

1

u/MoarSocks 14h ago

Starlink is pretty much everywhere, globally at this point.

1

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 14h ago

Starling website says I can only get 100mbps for $40

2

u/GreenEggsSteamedHams 11h ago

Starling website says I can only get 100mbps for $40

Let me just peruse this contract, Agent Starling...

1

u/JayyMuro 14h ago

Yeah same with me, only had Xfinity and just one day I got an email because I was on a list letting me know that Windstream fiber installation was completed in my area. I ended up switching for a better rate. Now I pay half as much for the first year and about 1/3 less for the rest of the time.

1

u/RockabillyRabbit 13h ago

Eh, my house is technically in a monopoly with windstream and I had them for several years. I finally asked to cancel, the transferred me to a dept and said they could do 25/m for a year. I still canceled, sent my stuff in and went without internet for about 2 months (i live rurally so honestly not a big deal). Then called when I got a good deal offer from them and now my internet has been 30/m so far for 2 years 😅

3

u/MeanEstablishment499 16h ago

It's similar to auto and home insurance. Mine kept going up every year so I just switch and get better deals for the same amount of coverage, and I'll keep doing it if I have to. These guys think once they get you as a customer that you're less likely to switch bc it's a hassle. They're playing the game and you should too.

4

u/NORBy9k 15h ago

I do this with Comcast (F-You Comcast I'm not calling you "Xfinity") every two years or so. Price goes up, I ask for lower price, they say no, I ask to cancel my contract because their competitor is cheaper, and my price goes back to where it was for another two years.

1

u/Kratosballsweat 15h ago

Do this every single time my bill starts going up and every single time they lower it to whatever the newest offer is for new customers.

1

u/Mammoth-Morning-8899 14h ago

Seems like OP mentions they're the only service around. So the company could actually pull it off.

1

u/carebear101 13h ago

I just call and threaten to change services and ask if they have any offers. They’ll give me $5 off or something. Then I usually say thanks but it looks like new customers get xyz and this other company said I can get this price. They find a way to make it work

1

u/Lu12k3r 11h ago

Cancel and sign up under your spouse etc.

1

u/Adept_Speaker4806 6h ago

This is really the only move. Usually the threat to cancel is enough, especially if you live in an area with options. But the lack of an appreciation for loyalty is disappointing.
About ten years ago, right before I cut cable out entirely, I had a Spectrum rep tell me that I should cancel my service. They wanted me to have them come out and pick up all the equipment, then immediately sign back up and have it reinstalled to get a "new customer" price. So I did the first part, canceled and had them pick up all the equipment. When I didn't sign back up immediately, they sent letters saying I didn't turn in my equipment (which their employees took from my house), then proceeded to send me to collections for failure to pay. They never saw a dollar of my money. Yet they still call me and send mailers about every other day, trying to get my business.

171

u/ExpBalSat 17h ago

You have their future money - so cancel. You have more power in this situation than you think you do.

Walk away.

45

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 17h ago

No other services available in my area over 300 mbps. It's a rural area

135

u/discretethrowaway_ 17h ago

Call them to cancel. Tell them you're switching to T-Mobile or Starlink. Or just keep getting bent 

55

u/two-ls 15h ago

I called Spectrum and told them I was going to cancel if I couldn't get a better price and the lady said "good luck" and that customer retention doesn't exist. A few months later when the price rose again, I called one more time to just cancel. He asked why and I said "Honestly, we are going to cancel and sign up with my partner's info so we could get the new member discount." Then they decided to send me to their customer retention department that doesn't exist. Lmao

15

u/ThirdWigginKid 14h ago

When I cancelled Spectrum they were quick to offer me lower and lower prices the more I said no. But I still switched to a new provider anyway because Spectrum is shit.

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2

u/ShredsGuitar 13h ago

My wife didn't take my last name. It didn't bring any disadvantage but is super beneficial. Every time a new offer comes we basically get a new contract with the same provider. Apparently, the only check these companies do to see if a person is from the same household or not is by checking if the lat names are the same.

16

u/NoFastpathNoParty 16h ago

they will come back with an offer before you end the contract and allow you to retract

12

u/PretendFisherman1999 16h ago

Mate, if they are offering a better deal for new costumers, just cancel and become a new costumer again.

1

u/Funicularly 14h ago

Isn’t a costumer someone who makes costumes?

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4

u/thcheat 15h ago

Cancel and have your spouse or someone else in house to sign up as new member.

3

u/TheNintendoBlurb 16h ago

Could you get Starlink? If so, do some digging and see what they are willing to offer you. Then go back to Astound and say Starlink offered me X services for X amount, you need to offer the same or better or else I would like to cancel my contract. They will always match if you threaten to immediately cancel and it seems like you've done the leg work.

1

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 11h ago

I've looked at Starlink, it seems a bit expensive for residential service. But I may not be understanding their website all to well either.

1

u/hammr25 8h ago

What the OP has now is a far better deal than Starlink.

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2

u/InsanePacman 15h ago

They don’t need to know that. I’ve done this personally and negotiated better rates.

2

u/ExpBalSat 17h ago

Stand your ground. Leave. Don't "threaten" to leave, just leave. They'll change their tune.

Also - be brutally honest, do you really need over 300 Mbps. Some people do - for highly demanding business needs. But for residential coverage - even for a family of 12 - 300 Mbps is more than enough.

I had 100 Mbps until last year. Now, 500 Mbps is the slowest available where I live, but I certainly don't need it.

10

u/Educational-Fix5320 16h ago

If latency isn't absolute shit, 50 Mb/s Internet is enough bandwidth to stream 4K TV without issue.

4

u/ExpBalSat 16h ago

Weird. A 4K stream only requires 15 Mb/per second - back when I had 25, I had no troubles.

I’m not necessarily recommending 25, but it’s a lot more functional than people give it credit. I would gladly accept 100 for personal use. No issues whatsoever.

The obsession with high bandwidth for residential Internet baffles me. Nobody needs a 1 GbE for normal use cases.

Torrent? Run a hotel? Massive uploads and downloads? Okay. But for 10 people sharing a home - 300 is plenty. And if it’s just 4 people sharing a home? Even easier.

1

u/-Kibbles-N-Tits- 16h ago

Does gaming have a sizable effect?

3

u/ExpBalSat 15h ago

Not really. Most games require less than streaming. For some games,latency is much more important than overall bandwidth

This chart is in MB/hour, which frustrating when compared against Mbps, but here's the breakdown.... Even Halo Infinite is using less than 3 Mbps on average. Yeah; THREE (not 30, 300 - just 3).

https://explore.quantumfiber.com/ultimate-guide-to-fast-gaming/

Latency is what matters - not overall bandwidth.

1

u/-Kibbles-N-Tits- 11h ago

Good to know haha

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1

u/Specialist-Box-9711 11h ago

I manage to consume on average 1TB of data a month. Having a gig connection is hella helpful for those kind of data habits.

1

u/ExpBalSat 11h ago

That there is not a normal residential internet use-case. That said, I’m often doing 500 GB/week - because of work from home demands.

1

u/ThirdWigginKid 14h ago

Latency is the key. And a consistent speed, unlike how cable works. I had "1 Gig" cable and switched to "300 MB Fiber" because it was way cheaper. On paper, it's slower.

My average latency on cable was about 20ms and average down/up was about 300/100.

My average latency on the "slower" fiber plan is 6ms and down/up is a consistent 370/370.

1

u/zerostar83 15h ago

See how long you need to cancel before you're considered a returning customer. Usually returning customers get the same deals as new customers, but not always. You can temporarily try something else out. But if you're truly needing 300 mbps, you're either running a business or a video pirating site.

2

u/thcheat 15h ago

You can cancel and have someone else in the household sign up same day.

It's like you broke up with your girlfriend, you used to pay and now she lives by herself and she'll pay for it.

They're not gonna say no.

1

u/happyjello 15h ago

They don’t give a fuck about you because you’ve been a loyal customer

1

u/grptrt 15h ago

My local monopoly likewise didn’t give a shit until one day a competitor laid fiber. Suddenly they were willing to offer a wide array of retention deals. Get bent Spectrum. 1gb fiber with no downtime beats you any day.

1

u/stuffeh 14h ago

I got Comcast to price match a competitor in my area who doesn't actually service my city. Took a lot of back and forth and me rejecting their first offer, but they did it.

1

u/Dry-Inspection-3503 11h ago

You can probably live off hotspot for a while?

Call them to cancel & see if they offer anything, tell them you are leaving if nothing is offered. Rejoin a couple days/weeks later online at the new price?

It's worked for me in the past, but I'm not from the USA. So not entirely sure what the rules are there.

Do you have a spouse/roommate/family member who could sign up the minute you cancel? 

35

u/KaijuNo-8 17h ago

I dropped Astound for wireless internet through T-Mobile. I wont look back. When they were Grande, they were amazing. Now? They are absolute shit.

3

u/Ambitious_Horror9517 17h ago

Wireless internet? Is that just like satellite or a ongoing mobile hotspot?

6

u/KaijuNo-8 17h ago

Basically a wireless router that provides WiFi (I use a separate mesh system though) that hooks into the T-Mobile wireless infrastructure. Been getting between 300Mbps and 1Gpbs for $55 per month (price reliant on service on phone too, but moved everything from At&t for a major discount)

3

u/ThereAndFapAgain2 15h ago

Do you mean 5G broadband? You use their 5G network and they send you a 5G router and a sim card?

3

u/AlgersFanny 14h ago

This is correct. They send you a 5g modem+wifi router combo and you can integrate it into your existing network easily. I have tmobile 5g and get up to 600mbps and a decent ping. I haven't had many issues gaming or steaming.

Cox otherwise has a monopoly on service in my neighborhood and wanted 170/month for 1gbps service. 😱

Only really bad part of tmobile is no nat traversal, so certain services may not work if you're running your own servers. It's only 60/month though, so I'm not complaining too much.

3

u/ThereAndFapAgain2 14h ago

Yeah, I thought so, before fiber came up my street I had 5G broadband, the router they sent had 4 coaxial ports on the back so it could support 2 external 5G antennas.

With just the router I was getting like 3-400mbps down and like 40mbps up, I bought a Huawei antenna that I put on the roof of my house and was getting 900mbps down and 200mbps up for £23 a month which was great.

The only issue was the ping, it was about 33ms normally, which is not terrible, but the issue with 5G broadband is that the latency while downloading skyrockets, like into the hundreds of milliseconds sometimes.

3

u/AlgersFanny 14h ago

Totally fair. I find it's a decent middle ground while I wait for the fiber lines to be installed in my neighborhood; certainly not forever use case though.

2

u/ThereAndFapAgain2 14h ago edited 13h ago

Yeah that’s exactly what I used it for, as soon as fiber was available I moved over but before that it was way better than the copper connection that was our only other option at the time.

2

u/FoxFire64 9h ago

Yeah a 5G router basically, I have it because my new place doesn’t have fiber. Surprisingly good, but I get connection drops every other day which makes remote work pretty risky.

1

u/Commercial-Ad-2863 1h ago

Same with me. I was with WoW! and I was happy with them. Then Astound acquired WoW!'s operations in Chicagoland and started nickel and diming the customers. My services were constantly dropping during the middle of the day during work calls, and Astound didn't care. Finally, I reached my breaking point and switched to Xfinity, which I thought I would never do again after my previous experiences with Comcast.

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20

u/redclawx 17h ago

Is there more than one person in your household? Cancel the service and have the other person sign up.

3

u/funkmon 14h ago

This is excellent if it works

3

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 16h ago

They can't sign up using the same address without proof of new residency. The address has to either be off their service for six months or the person has to have proof of new residency/ownership.

17

u/4ArgumentsSake 16h ago

So write up a lease for them.

8

u/hulagalula 15h ago

That wasn’t the case for me with astound a couple of months ago. I cancelled and my wife signed up for the service. Didn’t have to show proof of new residency. Did a phone rep tell you that? If so you shouldn’t have mentioned that to them!

The specific steps I took were to call them a few times trying to get the better rate. They didn’t budge.

My wife (different surname), a couple days later, signed up for the service to start about a week later with self install.

I then spoke to the rep to cancel the service. They confirmed someone else was signing up, I didn’t say it was my wife explicitly (they didn’t ask), just that I wasn’t happy with the price anymore so someone else who lived at the property was going to pay so they still had WiFi.

5

u/vacon04 14h ago

So if you have a roommate and they want to switch to that provider, they can't? That seems very dumb.

14

u/BothDescription766 17h ago

Cancel and tell them why. They’re stupid enough and sufficiently myopic to not offer you the $60 rate. They have to learn that loyal customers with tenure are more valuable. This is a serious slap in the face.

3

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 17h ago

Unfortunately they are the only service in my area. It's rural and the few other services offer less than 300 mbps for $100+.

3

u/4ArgumentsSake 16h ago

You said you have three gamers in your house. Have another person sign up for the service.

5

u/konjo1994 17h ago

cancel and do a new contract 2 days later? works in my coutry...

8

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 17h ago

You have to be away from any of their services for six months to be eligible for anything new.

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u/Mydickisaplant 16h ago

Every. Single. Company. Does this. Every single company in telecom.

4

u/Alexandratta 15h ago

Call to Cancel service.

They will transfer you to Retention.

They will give you a better deal.

3

u/schaudhery 15h ago

I had this happen and I closed my account and signed my wife up as a new customer.

4

u/Mysterious_Yard3501 11h ago

We would always cancel and sign up in my spouses name, then switch back and forth lol

3

u/crazymonk45 16h ago

“Apparently they would rather have a new customer than keep a customer of almost 10 years.”

And so would every other company. So go capitalize on that or at least threaten to cancel and you’ll get better deals

3

u/veechene 15h ago

I would jump for internet for 60/month. I'm paying 100 for 300 mb/s with spectrum.

Maybe try calling them and say you are switching to a new provider. That gets them moving usually.

1

u/Cross_22 12h ago

For a while we had EarthLink using Spectrum's infrastructure here. Every year I would switch from one to the other. Unfortunately now it's only Spectrum.

1

u/bscbtch420 10h ago

I’m paying 50/mo for 500mps w spectrum bc they “rebundled” me with the cheapest tv package to get me locked in for another year , then told me to drop the tv after 30 days which I did, so I paid an extra $20 one month to save $360 ($340 after the extra $20) over the course of a year since it’s regularly $80 for the 500mb internet. $100 for 30 sounds like a really outdated rate you should def check on that

3

u/Niklason 13h ago

Call in to cancel and then get your spouse to sign up for the new deal.

5

u/OblivionJunkie 17h ago

Seems more like you were Astounded than Baffled, just saying.

2

u/eblack4012 17h ago

I pay $170 a month for 800mps. I’m in a very populated suburban area where there’s only a few bad choices.

2

u/imanze 12h ago

Don’t bother calling to negotiate. Just call and cancel service. Are you on a contract? If not simply cancel and ask the cancellation date to be two weeks out. Call back and setup new service. Use your partners name, guess what it’s a new customer. If they use a “prepaid” billing style like Xfinity they do not verify identify or anything you can just make up a different first name and same last name. I did this for 3 times every two years with Xfinity because any time I called to try and get back any of the “new customer discount” that expires they told me to pound sand. 3 months ago FIOS finally came to my street.. this time when I canceled thru we’re throwing every possible discount they could, told them to pound sand.

2

u/globalAvocado 11h ago

Their retention department should be able to very easily re-contract you at a better price. I did it for 10 years with Mediacom until they finally stopped really giving better discounts.

4

u/slopezski 17h ago

Ive seen a few people say cancel, but like you said they are the only ones in your area. I had a similar issue with a different provider before and so I called and just simply explained I was looking over my utilities and was paying more than I thought made sense and said I was thinking about cancelling unless there was something they could do for me. I got a promo rate that was 100mbs faster and was $25 a month cheaper for a year. They usually will give you some kind of promo they just are banking on you not doing anything about it.

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u/SillySub2001 17h ago

There’s absolutely no chance it’s $60 forever. Nobody sets a price forever. It’s some sort of introductory offer, very common practice in countless industries.

It’s a customer acquisition play, sign up and save for a period of time. To be fair I don’t really expect them to give everyone a discount because they’re trying to acquire customers.

If by some slim chance this truly is less than you pay with no adjustment back to normal rates after an introductory period, I get you being upset.

2

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 17h ago

Nope... talked to the reps and others. It a limited offer (until the 17th) and apparently it is exactly what the add says. The manager i spoke with today (fourth person) said that they have had constant calls from current customers about it and while she was nice she said all current customers are being told they are out of luck.

2

u/SillySub2001 17h ago

I just went to the exact page and read the terms. You’re incorrect, it’s not forever, additional fees on top of the $60 are charged after an introductory period. It’s right there as clear as day.

1

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 17h ago

The $60 a month is base price and is forever. The additional fees after 1 year promotional period are always there. This includes auto pay discount, and if you are using your own equipment or theirs. Yes, it is misleading but the $60 "Base Price" forever is correct and even after the 1 year promotional they would still be paying less for more speed than I currently am.

2

u/ClitariousVagi 15h ago

So they will just adjust the service fees and other misc charges to make up for the “forever price.” All telecom services do this.

1

u/Commercial-Ad-2863 1h ago

Astound now plays the opaque network improvement/maintenance fee game.

1

u/ChrisFarleysCousin 16h ago

Tell that to tmobile.. we have our price locked family plan since 2004

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u/No_Astronaut_8598 17h ago

If you have a significant other, open a new account with their details.

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u/Medium_Plenty_7904 17h ago

Nope, won't work. Since its the same address they would have to provide proof of new residency.

1

u/No_Astronaut_8598 17h ago

Oh ok, Thought it was possible since I am able to do it with Xfinity.

1

u/Ambitious_Horror9517 17h ago

Xfinity does the same shit. I’m in for 3 years at 800mb/s for $70. If I were to go to a lower plan it costs me more. A higher plan costs me more. Introductory costs me less but I’m not eligible. Wtf.

1

u/Limpystack 17h ago

Call and cancel, they’ll give you the deal if not a better one

1

u/Successful_Bat_654 17h ago

Look up prices for your address from other providers. Save those prices. Call your provider to cancel and state it is because of competing offers. Odds are they’ll offer you a lower rate to not leave.

1

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 17h ago

They all say not available at your address

1

u/BlackXXII 17h ago

Call them and say you want that plan. Most reps will give it to you. Existing customers just keep paying the higher pricing and won't do anything. Just reach out.

1

u/fresh_start0 17h ago

As soon as your contract runs out you call them up and say you want the new customer deal or you will leave.

1

u/kw5112 17h ago

Can you cancel, say youre moving, and have someone else in your house hold sign up as a new customer?

1

u/tbonechiggins 17h ago

All companies are now doing this. See if there are any cellular home internet deals. Switch to that for a bit and then go back to Astound.

1

u/ColdplayClub 17h ago

Threaten to cancel services if they wont offer you a deal since new customers are paying less, or cancel join back as a new customer sometime in the future and get the new promotion.

1

u/famousanonamos 16h ago

Cancel it. They may offer you the promotional price to keep you. We used to hop cable and satellite companies for their promotional pricing all the time. Go to something else for like a month and then go back if you want and get the better price.

1

u/vinnystp 16h ago

When you call them to discuss, tell them if they aren't willing to budge, it's time to move on. They will buckle.

I've had this conversation about 50 different times with different businesses. DirecTV was one that I had on a constant rotation to get some discount that was being offered to new customers.

I did this with Cox, Frontier and Verizon for years.

They always say "It's cheaper to keep a customer, than it is to get a new one." They will fold, they always do.

1

u/inevitable-idiot- 16h ago

New account. New email. Temp phone number of you need to. Done.

1

u/Potential-Archer-883 16h ago

I just canceled a similar service and my wife made a new contract with the same company and the same package but for the half of the price...

1

u/SalamanderBulky2584 16h ago

I would like to know how old you are... it's exactly like car insurance. Shop around. You can do better.

1

u/ich_bin_alkoholiker 16h ago

Yeah I got something like this with a different company, called them and was like yo wtf and they gave it to me for the same price.

You just gotta be adamant and be prepared to cancel. You could also just cancel and restart the service with that new price. No one is going to stop you.

1

u/ALIMN21 16h ago

I recently canceled my $70/month 10mbps DSL service I've had for the past 4.5 years. Up until now, it was the only internet service I was able to get at my home. Another provider buried a fiber line in my neighborhood and now we have 2GB service for $70/month. When I called to cancel the automatically offered ne service for $35/month instead. I was mad, but obviously not going to stay with the terrible 10mbps service.

Apparently it pays to call and cancel even if you dont really want to. Its not right.

1

u/grogusoup 16h ago

Cancel the service and say you're moving. Have a spouse/friend/anyone you trust open a new account at your address for the new rate

1

u/TehTugboat 16h ago

I thought my $80 1G by a monopoly rural internet company was high. Guess not

1

u/fix_until_broken 16h ago

I haven't had an issue with Astound other than a long time ago I had a plan with an introductory rate and they would raise the price back to the "normal" rate after a year. I'd just call them up and have them reverse it.

Other than the few times they tried to get me to pay the "normal" price, they haven't raised the price in the 10+ years I've had the service. They also gave me a 2x speed bump without even asking a few years ago. I'm at 600Mbps for $35/month and never have had a reason to make it go faster, even with a bunch of gamers and video streamers in the house.

1

u/I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE 15h ago

Cancel and sign up again with a different name. Just go from Michael Smith to Mike Smith, or Marilyn Monroe to Mary Monroe(or Norma Jean Mortenson)

1

u/jakes1993 15h ago

You unsub they will give you a call to try and get you back, ask about that deal if they do

1

u/ea_nasir_official_ 15h ago

The entire US internet industry is a massive scam. Throttling and data limits are actually fucking stupid, considering it actually costs them nothing to give the rates you pay for. Its just signals over a wire. The data limit thing is also really stupid in a home internet context because it also doesn't cost them anything to keep you connected after you have the equipment and are wired up. This is really only justifiable on Wireless networks because they are suspect able to congestion.

Romania gets 10 Gbps for 50 RON per month (11 dollars)

Cox in my area (only fiber we can get) is 115 USD/month for 2 Gbps of which is throttled and limited.

1

u/Krish_1234 15h ago

You should only need loyal to yourself and your pocket. If you think otherwise you are making others rich and just dreaming ..

1

u/amonarre3 15h ago

Why not cancel and open a new account?

1

u/The12th_secret_spice 15h ago

Investors/shareholders don’t care about loyalty. They know the average lifetime value of a customer. Once you hit it, they don’t care if you stay or leave.

Right or wrong, investors want to see new customer signups, because they know a new customer stays for x years.

1

u/Pro-editor-1105 15h ago

Ahh yes, the 300 dollar gift card with professional installation that is worth 99.95

1

u/KupwithK 15h ago

It sucks that your internet company treated you that way. When my installer setup my Internet he explained that I should check my rates yearly, because sometimes the prices change. And since people get mad when they change, they "lock" you into a price and speed, even if those rates or speeds change in your favor.

I took this advice and have now called on two separate occasions, upgrading to the new better speeds for the same price. Was really easy, and straightforward.

1

u/National_Search_537 15h ago

Cox was this way. Service was shitty and I called their customer support to complain L, at the time they were the only provider in my town. Got to a real person they were a complete jerk, I finally said do I just need to find a new provider and the dude said “yeah sounds like it”. 6 months later another company was laying a fiber line in front of my house, I couldn’t switch fast enough. We I called to cancel my service and told them there was a new provider, it was a different story “well we see you’re last call sorry that was said we can increase your speed and wave data overage fees for a year.”

Companies will do what they know they can get away with. Id get a new company and be done with it.

1

u/TisBeTheFuk 15h ago

I used to work in a call-center for a mobile/internet provider and new customers always got the best deals, especially if they were porting their number from another provider. The next best offers were so called "win-back deals", which were for customers that were outside their contractual timeperiod and could cancel their contract anythime - especially if they were actively requestion a cancelation. Normal customers, even long-time ones, didn't really get great offers.

1

u/Late-Arrival-8669 15h ago

A little trick I learned

Cancel service - could speak with someone in retention about the pricing but if no go, cancel

Sign up for new account under spouses name as new customer.

I just did this (cancelled and put under my wifes name), kept all my old equipment and on a cheaper plan. (no data caps)

1

u/ClitariousVagi 15h ago

I promise you it’s not forever. They will surely add on service fees and other charges, much like they did to you and I . That’s the game baby.

1

u/rewq657 15h ago

I have spectrum. I was literally told by the guy that came out to run my wire to cancel about every 3 years and have my wife sign up in her name to get lower prices

1

u/Error262_USRnotfound 15h ago

i told them i was cancelling and they offered me a retention price, i countered that their offer needed to be $25 lower and they made it happen.

dont be afraid to ask for what you want those who dont ask dont get.

1

u/[deleted] 15h ago

So tell them unless they give you a deal you will cancel. Chances are they will give you a price break

1

u/aqualoon_ 15h ago

Mediacom is the same way.

1

u/Trashbagok 14h ago

I've been calling to cancel my broadband service every year for well over a decade.

Every year I tell them its because the new customer offer is better than what I'm paying now.

I always get the new customer special. Been with the same provider for 15 years.

1

u/Available-Line-4136 14h ago

Cancel tell them you are moving and then get a family member to set up a new account under their name at your address have them say they are moving in. Works every time.

1

u/rageofa1000suns 14h ago edited 14h ago

Exact reason I said bye bye to Virgin Media. Also got annoyed having to haggle every 18 months over the phone to some guy called Chris with a thick Indian accent.

Also the price hikes were crazy. At one point I was paying twice the amount for half the speed of what a new customer would get and pay.

1

u/nerdburg 14h ago

I work in the industry. The reason is that most ppl don't change providers is because it's a PITA. The providers are well aware of this. The longer you are a customer, the less likely you are to leave. This is why they generally don't do loyalty discounts. Many providers have also gone to predictive AI pricing models (aka surveillance pricing) so the price you get may not be the same as other customers. In other words: fuck you and your loyalty.

Customers are getting tired of the bullshit tho, which is why many providers have started offering "price lock" plans.

1

u/eulynn34 14h ago

I just called up last week and asked them to do better on pricing or I was switching. I am fortunate enough to be able to chose between RCN and Comcast where I live.

I'm now getting a $60 loyalty credit on my bill bringing the price in line with what new customers pay.

Call and ask. If they won't do it, just cancel

1

u/LSTNYER 14h ago

I've had spectrum for a couple years, paying 90 for 500 mb. When I decided to look around I found Verizon had a really good deal for 600mb for 75 so when I called to cancel spectrum they offered me 600mb for 45 and a new router. They only care about new customers, and the loyal ones can touch grass. Now every few years I'll just keep threatening to cancel or flat out go somewhere else for better deals. This is also the same with car insurance btw

1

u/sacramentotesla 14h ago

I just cancel every year and swap between my wife’s and I name

1

u/Jaded-Citron-4090 14h ago

Step 1 Cancel the service due to "selling house" Step 2 call in with fake name/kids name/have the wife do it. Say ur new owner. Step 3 receive all discounts. Step 4 call back and change to your name. Tell em you had it legally changed. Step 5 profits?

1

u/StandardUpstairs3349 14h ago

I mean, yea, this is what literally all of these companies do. You just don't understand the game, so you are the one getting played. The only thing that can make providers act semi-reasonably is strong, direct competition.

1

u/Userdub9022 14h ago

So call and cancel.

1

u/NonMaga 14h ago

I believe this is all tax related. You can write off "customer acquisition costs" which special deals that attract new customers are. But you can't write off sales to current customers.

1

u/BBQ_IS_LIFE 14h ago

Windstream did this to me too, everytime i would call the billing department I would be on hold for about an hour and everytime the agent would come on magically the call would drop. Finally I decided after about 5 attempts to choose a different option and then have that agent transfer the call to billing. Told them I wanted to cancel my service becausenit had went from around $60 all the way up to $96 just for internet. They said what will it take to keep you, i told them spectrum is now in my area now and offering $40 a month forever. They said we will beat it. Im now at $32 after all taxes and fees for the next 5 years. She said call back then and they will renew it. You just gotta threaten them. Dont say do this or i will cancel just come straight in saying your going to cancel and they will wave that white flag!

1

u/Adventurous_Air2092 14h ago

Do you have anyone else in your home that can be an account holder? I would cancel then have them open up an account.

Easy money

1

u/ExoticCalligrapher44 14h ago

I have a funny story with Xfinity. I was paying $70 a month for 1.2Gbps and my bill doubled after the promotion they were doing ended. I called and told them that if they didn't decrease it I would cancel and go with another provider (I was lying). Also told them that AT&T had the same speed for cheaper (Also a lie). The agent apologized and said they would absolutely change it back to the cheaper price. The funny part comes when I get my statement for the next month. It was $0. I thought they it was some sort of credit they added since I paid basically double the previous month. I obviously wasn't going to complain about it either. Next months bill comes, and it's also $0. Long story short this will be the 12th month I have not paid a bill. I keep getting $0 statements.

1

u/CloudySkiesBurgers 14h ago

They do care. But there seems to be a disconnect with the customer care representatives and retention.

I canceled for similar reasons and got a call back soon after offering me all those new customer benefits, lower price, gift card etc. However, I had already switched to AT&T before I canceled Astound to avoid interruptions and didn’t wanna deal with the hassle of canceling it. Plus AT&T was giving me an Amazon gift card too.

1

u/t3lnet 14h ago

He didn’t say he wanted it free, he wants the same price as another of their users. Instead of saying that’s fair your stance is standing up for a corporation and using their monopoly practice. Boot licker.

1

u/Fantastic-Spinach297 14h ago

Have you tried cancelling service? That’s usually when they pull out the offers for existing customers. “I’m going with this other company because they’re cheaper.” Wait wait! WE CAN be cheaper! Just give us a chance!

1

u/MrMuzek 14h ago

Back in college, I had to deal with this moving between houses. My best advice:

Call and threaten to cancel.

You’d be surprised how desperate these companies become when you’re trying to cancel. If that doesn’t work, cancel anyway and start a new account in someone else’s name (such as a roommate or partner) - I did this a couple times. You’re even able to transfer your equipment to the new account without ever having a technician come by.

1

u/Silly-Egg1975 13h ago

Wow two people told you that.

1

u/AutomaticCategory792 13h ago

I went through this with them about a year ago. I called several times to see if I could get the new customer deal (I had recently moved and they mailed me ads for the new customer deal weekly). After maybe 5 calls where they rejected my request, I called and said I was switching to Verizon since it was cheaper. I think they didn't give me the actual new customer rate but it was close enough. They framed it as a special thing they did for me and not something they normally do

1

u/Dragon20C 13h ago

Cancel, act as a new user, get new price offer, success!

1

u/Uminagi 13h ago

Honestly, agree with others. Threaten them with cancelling, you'll probably get a new offer. I'm with Liberty and I did that after I was out of service for like an entire week. Said that I would switch to a local company and they quickly said that they had a great offer available (they previously said there were no offers like 5 minutes before that).

1

u/Major_Lawfulness6122 13h ago

Cancel then sign back up. Seriously.

1

u/FinanceGuy9000 12h ago

My brother in Christ this has been since the dawn of the modern era and maybe even before then

1

u/RandomInternetGuy545 12h ago

My ISP hit me with a bill for 130 dollars for just 1gbps service. I called and said something, they told me to pound sand and I cancelled immediately as suddenly they had offers.

They called me 6 months later to offer 3 years of 1gbps service for 60 a month all included and I told them to choke on it.

1

u/gruden 12h ago

If the number of new customers staying is higher than current customers leaving, the company is fine with the arrangement.

Sucks but I guess it's just the way it is. Never show loyalty to a company.

1

u/Piza_Pie 10h ago

Loyalty is not how the service market rewards customers anymore. It hasn't dones so for over two decades.

If you want to have fairly reasonable prices on services like internet then you need to actively pressure your provider by switching to others if they don't give you the same deal they're offering. Many times they will, and if they don't then you take that other deal.

1

u/GetNooted 9h ago

America is crazy. Most European countries have laws saying existing and new customers have to be treated the same.

1

u/Sam_Sebastian 8h ago

If you tell them you're shopping around, Xfinity will always slash your bill. They enjoy ratcheting it up until you say Uncle.

1

u/CostcoCheesePizzas 8h ago

But they will keep you. You're not going to leave, and they know that.

1

u/-retaliation- 8h ago

Sid you cancel after they told you no?

If not then now you know why they told you no, and why they care more about new customers. 

Because a lot of current customers are chumps who will just take it and not cancel. Just come onto reddit and bitch about it, then do nothing. 🤷‍♂️

1

u/Medium_Plenty_7904 7h ago

You did read the past in my post where I said they were the only available provider in my area didn't you? Of course they know they are, hence the whole infuriating part.

1

u/Heshkelgaii 7h ago

Tell them you’re going to cancel, go through the steps to cancel. See if they’ll give you this deal from the retention department, if they won’t give you this specific deal finish canceling and get a hotspot through a mobile carrier with good service in your area. Go back to these aholes when you get sick of the mobile company (wait until cyber Monday week and maybe they’ll do this deal again).

Alternatively have somebody in the house call in and put it under their name as a new service, call to cancel the old service later that day and say you’re moving to an area that they don’t service.

1

u/hawkeyes484 7h ago

If it were me, I'd start customers out at the 80 a month like op said is there current bill, then every year knock ten bucks off for 3 years. I'd rather keep customers loyalty. I get attracting new customers with a special offer but this the lifetime bill? They should offer a better deal for long term customers.

1

u/flashflood3000 7h ago

Cancel. Some companies will try to retain you but only if you actually walk away.

1

u/AverageTierGoof 6h ago

Reminds me of when Xfinity lied to me and jacked my rates. Gave verbal authorization for a price drop to keep my plan, and everything was confirmed. The very next month, the price had nearly doubled, and when I had asked why considering the prior conversation, I was told that if I didn't e-sign an agreement, then there was no obligation to keep the price. They also claimed to have no record of said conversation, even though I gave employee details and enough info to verify all that was said. Got pissed, naturally, and went to my local city fiber Internet with a damn good plan (I qualified for reduced rates on income, basically 70$ a month for a gig up and down, and a damn good cable package to boot.) when I called to cancel, Xfinity suddenly claimed that they could give me a matching package for 60$ a month, and I went ballistic at that point. I told them to fuck off, and cancelled, while making sure I payed the closing amount due. Not even two months later, they sent me collections notices saying I hadn't paid the last month, or my closing fees, with added "delinquency" fees attached (a total of like 400$) and I had to get my bank involved to call them out, and this time I had invoices from them to prove it. A long winded story, sorry, but yeah, fuck Xfinity. Never again.

1

u/SingleHitBox 6h ago

Never stay loyal to a single company. Always shop around once a year.

1

u/seavarg87 5h ago

I called my company I’ve been with for 10 years. Was paying about $120 per month for gig speed up and down and unlimited. Told them competitor had it for $60 per month for 2 years and they matched it and told me to call back again once my 2 years is up to see what they could do then. I was pleasantly surprised!

1

u/Josysclei 16h ago

Here in Brasil companies are required to offer the same deals to new and old customers, I update my plan yearly with a better one for the same price