Back On Suddenlink
Almost unexpectedly, we're back on cable TV with Suddenlink. I wrote here earlier I was looking for alternatives after Dish Network's latest price increase and had said a number of times before, all things being equal, I'd rather just have cable.
So I mentioned it to Connie. She mentioned it to a brother- in- law that happened to be a Suddenlink salesguy. I walked into the house a couple days ago to unexpectedly find him in the house giving her the sales pitch. I hadn't planned on doing anything right away but explore alternatives to regular pay TV. I was slightly annoyed at this unexpected development- just slightly.
I joined the discussion and said I didn't want to "bundle" anything, but TV might be fine. Eventually, he gave us a one year no- contract TV plan for something like $31.00 a month- a teaser deal, I'm sure- but no biggie as I'm not committed to stay with it.
We were surprised last night to get a phone call from Suddenlink saying the installer would be here between 8 and 10am this morning. He's now come and gone. Now I have to cancel Dish.
On the upside, it's cheaper than Dish (at least for the time being) and gives me plenty of time to explore other possibilities. We also only need one remote to work both TVs, although it's the remote they supplied with their box.
The downside is the deal we signed up for- whatever that is- has another box on our system using power. I was hoping to get rid of that. The other downside is, while we only need use one remote, it's their remote and looks even more confusing than the Dish remote. Anything can happen if you press the wrong button on those things. Hate that.
What I'm seriously looking at now for an alternative is Roku. It does internet streams. Buy their hardware, sign up for a couple TV streaming programs, and hopefully that will be good enough TV for us. First I need to get a wireless capable modem, then the Roku hardware. That might take a few months but I'm not in any hurry as we have at least a year to figure it out.
I'll have to admit, if this Suddenlink deal was permanent at $31.00 a month, I'd be happy to just stick with it.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 9:56 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Fred, I have been using Suddenlink for years and generally been happy with it. Don't get sucked into their DVR system which is TIVO. Tivo is the most frustrating system ever implemented! I have had at least 5 replacements! I do like Chromecast but I think Roku is more advance. Your Suddenlink price should stay around $30-35 unless you upgrade. Happy New Years.
Thanks for the heads up.
I was pretty happy with Suddenlink (formerly Cox)for probably decades until maybe 4 years ago. Even then I was fairly happy.
It got up to $50.00 or more for whatever plan I was on. Not only could I not really afford it, but I realized I didn't watch TV that much. The wife, who watches the most TV, was staying away from home for health reasons so I switched to their least expensive plan that was around $16.95 when I first signed up- probably closer to $19+ with taxes and fees added.
The the wife seemed interested in Dish because with the teaser deal, $24.95 for two years, we could get over 100 channels. I checked my Suddenlink bill at that time and noticed in the 3 years I was with their cheap plan it had gone up to almost $25.00- about a dollar a year and equal to the Dish teaser deal. That's when I decided to try Dish.
I let the wife deal with the brother in law sales guy and am not sure just what the plan costs after one year. No biggie. I'll deal with that when the time comes, but if it's around $30 a month, SOLD! I may just stay with it.
Just got off the phone with Dish Network. As expected, the gal tried to cut me a deal to stay. Pretty much the same kind of teaser deal they offer to get started, but dropping the price for a year or two. First she offered me $20 off, then $30.
When I wouldn't go for that she offered me some sort of deal where you just stop paying for 3 months and can reconnect once you give the word. The purpose being if I'm not happy with Suddenlink I can return to them with little, if any, hassle.
I told her if she wanted to extend that to a year, fine, so long as I'm not paying for anything. She wouldn't go for a year and said 9 months is the best she could do. I went along with that, trying to confirm I wouldn't be paying anything.
She said I'd be getting a bill, but it was a credit of some sort, not a bill where I owe anything. Not sure what exactly she meant. I'll have to keep an eye on that to make sure I'm not getting snookered somehow.
Funny, my Suddenlink speed dropped to 0.20 Mbps (from a usual 5 to 15 Mbps) yesterday, with it slowest between 6 p.m. and midnight. My bundled phone service even went dead at the height of the slowdown.
I'd drop Suddenlink in a second if I had an alternative.
Just got an e-mail from Dish. It said it put me on some program that will expire in 9 months. After that, they'll resume regular billing.
That means, as I read it, they'll start charging me whether we're hooked up to Dish, or not. We've marked it on our calendar although I'll probably call and cancel that long before it's due.
Shady stuff. I can see cutting me a deal to stay with them. I can't see restarting my old account if I don't renew. In fairness, I'm sure Suddenlink does the same sort of thing.
"I'd drop Suddenlink in a second if I had an alternative"
I have heard horror stories about Suddenlink since I went to Dish. My prior experience with them was fine.
I got a call from Suddenlink yesterday with a gal wanting to talk me into buying their internet and phone service. This, despite me already telling the brother in law NO just a couple days earlier.
I'm not going to bundle all my stuff with Suddenlink in part because of the horror stories I've heard. Aside from that, I'm not one who likes having all their eggs in one basket.
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