Comcast/Xfinity price just went up $42 for me this month

Submitted by jdtoast t3_11czm6v in baltimore

When I first moved here I was paying $40 with a "promotional discount" which they said would end after a year, at which point I'd be paying $60. Fine. Feb 2022 I was paying $60. This month I just saw that I paid $102. I go online to see that another promotional discount just ended and the discount was apparently $42 so now I'm paying $102.

What in the ever loving fuck? They don't even have the balls to say "we just raised our prices a shit load because we're demon spawn and we can".

Did this happen to anyone else? Does anyone else use Verizon 5G in the 21230 area? Is it any good?

I'm going to scream.

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HarmlessHeffalump t1_ja5xdne wrote

Welcome to being a Comcast customer.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja5ycsy wrote

I've been one on and off for years. Sometimes lived in places where FiOS was available, sometimes not. This is the most egregiously they've ever fucked me.

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HarmlessHeffalump t1_ja622sk wrote

My first year with Comcast, my bill was under $70 for everything (internet and cable with all the premium channels). Now I’m at over $140 for internet and their second tier cable. I call every year trying to get a better rate (doing the whole cancel script) and this year they told me the best deal they could give me was over $200. When I reminded them that was more than I currently pay, they suggested I see if I qualify for the low income credit to try and lower my bill.

I hate Comcast, but it’s the only reliable provider in my area so I’m screwed.

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PoopIsAlwaysSunny t1_ja68zhn wrote

Verizon has been putting up towers around town recently. I saw a guy walking around town knocking on doors

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HarmlessHeffalump t1_ja7ipva wrote

The curmudgeons in my community won’t allow Verizon to install Fios in the area, otherwise I’d happily consider Verizon.

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tajjj t1_ja7ubos wrote

OP is likely referring to the Verizon 5G Home Internet Service. I switched close to ~6 months ago and it's been great. My cost is ~35 dollars a month (no-contract) with it bundled on my cell plan.

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HarmlessHeffalump t1_ja7vq88 wrote

Fair enough. I'm on a list to be emailed if and when Verizon offers anything but DSL in my neighborhood so I'll be on the lookout. I'm still pretty certain they've given up on my area though.

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anne_hollydaye t1_ja7er4h wrote

My bill went up 100/month last time. Trust, they'll happily continue to fuck you.

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pnrgi t1_ja7ltw5 wrote

A $100 has been the base price for internet for a real long time. I’ve lived all over the country, and everyone is trying to give you a low entry point and squeeze it up to about $100. I’m not saying its right, just an observation.

So just like car insurance, if you want the lower price, you may need to make changes.

Just because its the base price, doesn’t mean there aren’t options. Retention is the department at comcast you want, but they have a customer facing term. Retention only works m-f 9-5, they negotiate all day long and their compensation structure is to retain you as a customer. If you understand their motivations it helps when negotiating.

Stay clam, play dumb (“idk my bill went up, I can’t afford this, think i need to cancel”), and the first 2 people you talk with are probably going to have to transfer you — understand this going in. Usually the retention team is well train, they understand negotiation. They will try to find a middle ground. They will use techniques like mirroring( repeating back your words) to build empathy.

There first ask will be to get you back in a contract (it sounds like you’ve had good experiences so it could be a option), generally they’ll start with adding a service. So same price $100, but now you get TV. If that doesn’t appeal keep going down the line until you find an option that appeals.

Imo $40 for internet is a great price, you may not find again.

Hope this helps get you a better rate!

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jdtoast OP t1_ja82png wrote

Thanks for the advice, I'll give that a try.

As far as prices go, apparently verizon fios charges $45 or $35 if you're a mobile customer.

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coorzltz68 t1_ja89u05 wrote

Fios Gigabit is $89.99, but being a wireless customer gives you a great discount. I pay $44.99 after all the discounts. They all have no expiration as well.

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weahman t1_ja7kpp6 wrote

>This is the most egregiously they've ever fucked me

Oh this is only the beginning. Wait till you want to cancel the service. You're gonna have to your bank block them and deal with someone who has worked there 30 years but its their first day.

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PoopIsAlwaysSunny t1_ja68uk0 wrote

Call. Tell them you’re canceling. Explain the situation to the customer retention/loyalty/whatever department. Tell them that you’re canceling if they don’t credit you the difference and lower your bill.

Then cancel anyway and switch to Verizon or tmobile cause fuck comcast.

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jessiewicz t1_ja5y5h7 wrote

You can negotiate with xfinity. you should always be calling and threatening to cancel and you tell them that you have other options and you quote the prices for things like Verizon or T-Mobile home internet and you get them to give you a better offer or promotional rate.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja5yn47 wrote

Oh I'm going to call tomorrow for sure. I just need to remember to meditate because I think they're allowed to hang up on me if I curse.

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pakora2 t1_ja7i93r wrote

Yes this. Keep saying you are going to cancel until you get transferred to a customer retention specialist. We got ours down from $103/m to $69.99.

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MultipleSnoregasm t1_ja7yny1 wrote

Worth noting I tried this a while back and they politely told me to get fucked, basically. Threatening to quit only works if you have genuine alternatives.

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FriedScrapple t1_ja60zvc wrote

I switched to T-Mobile and connection has been fine. They’re cheaper and very pleasant to deal with too. You just have to make sure your contract is up w Comcast or they’ll charge you a BS “termination fee”

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jdtoast OP t1_ja64pn9 wrote

Yeah it's just I don't know how it is in my specific location since it depends on proximity to a 5G tower. I'm asking around to see if anyone has it near me. I work from home 80% of the time so I need it to be reliable. One thing about comcast, as evil as they are with price gouging, I've literally never had an issue with outages or reliability. I know many other people have, so maybe I'm lucky I don't know.

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YorickTheCat t1_ja65e2y wrote

I'm on the east end of Pigtown and switched to T-Mobile over a year ago. It's been stellar! I also work from home most days. I think I pay $50/mo all inclusive.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja65pzl wrote

Hmm ok. At this point it may even be worth it to just get both for a month and cancel one or the other depending on how 5G goes. I just don't want to cancel comcast now only to find out 5G is no good for me.

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Pamlwell t1_ja9emns wrote

I switched to T-Mobile 5g purely to stick it to Xfinity. The service was ok, but not reliable enough at my particular address to keep (ymmv), so after a few months I switched back to Xfinity when they offered me a $30/month rate for two years. Here’s hoping when the cheap two years runs out that there will be more or better options for internet.

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iammaxhailme t1_ja66gfa wrote

I'm in the same zip code you mentioned, and my internet drops for a few hours every once in a while (I'd estimate once per month). And I don't even work from home, so it probably happens more often than that and I just don't notice

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TonyDanza888 t1_ja5z0q8 wrote

This happened to me also and they weren't too helpful when I even threatened to switch to T-Mobile. I ended up taking a lower TV pack and downgraded the internet speed I pay for which doesn't seem to make a difference so far. I'm probably going to switch from them soon anyways.

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Mustbearobot t1_ja5yu9s wrote

I have used Trim to do this in the past and it does work.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja60gbp wrote

Just looked at the site. It's supposedly free. What's the catch?

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Mustbearobot t1_ja6168p wrote

If they get you a deal they charge you a portion of what they saved you. It used to be 30 percent but I think they have lowered it. It was worth it to me because they have kept me on my promo rates for my internet for like 5 years.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja61tcb wrote

Hm ok maybe I'll check it out depending on how the call goes tomorrow. Thanks.

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sxswnxnw t1_ja62zm4 wrote

I only have Comcast for internet service because in 2017 I stopped buying cable tv from anyone (had FIOS at the time I canceled cable tv for good). I supply my own equipment. I'm down to 70 dollars right now. I know. I have been considering getting more Comcast services to lower my fees a bit more, but I am hesitant because of the obvious and the following:

I only got my internet equipment brand new a year ago in March, selected it based on the list supplied by Comcast, and I got what was supposedly top of the line. Figured I would get at least three years out of it! Anyway, imagine my surprise when Comcast told me via email a month ago that my equipment was obsolete. I called and asked them to explain to me how that was true and to send me the list of equipment that is compatible. They couldn't and didn't. They said the email I received was some sort of promotional email, and they removed me from that mailing list?

Did I mention that I hate Comcast?

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jdtoast OP t1_ja64h29 wrote

Yeah, I don't know, it's not so much the equipment I'm worried about. I'm using the same modem I've used for years (at least 7?) and my speed is fine. I don't game or anything but I do stream netflix/whatever but I've never had an issue with speed or reliability (surprisingly). I wouldn't worry about getting the best modem. I think you may only have to worry about it if you need a ton of bandwidth, like you have many household members and/or gamers.

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sxswnxnw t1_ja6592a wrote

Oh, I agree. I should have just kept it short and said Comcast is scamming everyone. Easy to do when you're effectively the only game in town for the majority of the population.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja65i3h wrote

It's ridiculous that it's legal and has been going on for so long.

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FelixandFriends t1_ja6atfu wrote

Do you have a spouse or room mate? You can get a deal rn for like $60 a month if you put it in someone else’s name.

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jonath_n t1_ja6b57t wrote

If Verizon Fios is available in your area, I’d recommend it. I’ve pretty much always had good service. Never had a price increase in the 2½ years I’ve been their customer.

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brsh2 t1_ja6br87 wrote

Check out t-mobile home internet too

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GleamingTuna t1_ja7ilpq wrote

The Verizon 5G tower is supposedly in a good location for 21230…a few months ago they were coming door to door and it was around $60/month, IIRC.

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FastBarracuda3 t1_ja8wx7h wrote

I had a similar thing happen. If you can, try to cancel they will ask if you want a promo or something to stay. You can try Verizon 5G, they lock in the price and it works well for me (although it's a pain to try and find a connection, but keep trying took me a few goes to get it in line with the tower). I've been very very happy with my Verizon 5G since

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jdtoast OP t1_ja8zdv1 wrote

How reliable is it now that you found a good connection? Does it disconnect often? I work from home so it has to be pretty reliable.

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FastBarracuda3 t1_ja90g6f wrote

Ohh it's very reliable. I only had one problem with it, my plant grew in front of it and I just needed to move the plant and it was fine. But if something obstructs the view to the tower it can mess with it. Comcast was always variable, but 5G Verizon I am almost always having 300 + Mbps with the higher package (400 + Mbps) and that's also with a somewhat bad connection to the tower (just in range and sight). Comcast barely got this with a 1Gb package. I'd try it out, Verizon had some good promos, they will even let you test it for a month

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yeehawdudeq t1_ja6j3br wrote

I don’t get why people are always surprised by this. You signed a contract that told you what your rates would be after a certain period of time. It’s spelled out in the fine print. I usually keep track of the dates so I can call them around that time to lower the price.

Renegotiate with Comcast. Threaten to cancel your service and switch to Fios. It’s sucks but that’s just how it works for all of us.

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dopkick t1_ja7t3ud wrote

People stop paying attention past the low number. And are subsequently taken by surprise when that low number is actually temporary and/or they have to pay to break a contract. Despite all of it being spelled out.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja8r92q wrote

People stop paying attention after 2 years and reading the initial contract. If they're going to change the contract on me without notice, it's pretty normal for people not to read the fine print. But go ahead and act superior, it's a good look.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja837d3 wrote

Like I said in my post, the contract was $40 for a year then $60.

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yeehawdudeq t1_ja84bli wrote

Yes, your original promotional rate goes up slightly after the first year to make it less suspicious (very likely they increased the price for whatever internet speeds your getting) and then any base promotional rate expires after the 2 years you signed for a contract and then you get normal crummy rates. Promotional contracts will almost never last you more than 2 years. It very likely said it in the fine print.

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kbeauty281 t1_ja6qlyt wrote

My former Comcast/Xfinity bill was around $170 (highest home speed, plus cable and 3/4 premium subscriptions) now I have Xfinity prepaid internet ($45), Netflix $7.00 (4+ devices w/T-Mobile discount), Philo Tv ($10), Prime Video (Free tier with prime membership), and HBO Max ($14.99). With the prepaid internet 3 smart tvs, at least 3 cellphones, 1 tablet, 1 desktop and 2 laptops are always connected and I've had 1 outage and 1 scheduled maintenance in 2 years. My modem is the Comcast modem from 2019ish and it's still going strong. I went to the Boost mobile store on Greenmount and paid for everything to get started. Took about a half hour to set up. I stopped trying to negotiate with them because they just did it again 6 months later. Good luck.

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sunhappygirl t1_ja7eynj wrote

it took me 20 minutes on the phone for them to remove my cable service cuz the lady spent most of the time thanking me for my patience and stalling to get me to buy the bigger package

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lolanaboo_ t1_ja7gi30 wrote

If you receive Medicaid or snap you can get it cut to $45 a month on that internet lifeline plan thing

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harcosparky t1_ja7gi8n wrote

Welcome to Comcast ( and Baltimore )

Oh and don't feel too bad .... Comcast is also egregiously fucking 93 year old widows!

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BillyMumfrey t1_ja7n394 wrote

I found it easier to just go to the store and cancel. There was no questions asked and no negotiating. I then signed my wife up as the new customer and got the promo price.

They also said that I would be eligible to be a new customer again in 72 hours

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Silver-Can7953 t1_ja8q0dk wrote

Verizon 5G works fantastic. I cut Infinity about a year ago. Maybe last summer. Got a new phone for myself and my girlfriend got two 5G wireless systems one for my address one for her address, and I'm still $70 in the black every month. This is in the 21244 ZIP code. If you can get Verizon 5G do it cut Xfinity Comcast leave them in the dirt.

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WVPrepper t1_ja8vuud wrote

My SO is a luddite and refuses to get rid of their landline and cable TV. We have basic internet, TV, and a phone and pay $255/month. We don't have any sort of premium channels.

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TheBaltimoron t1_ja72uww wrote

Canceled them years ago because of this shit. Use my phone, use a ScreenBeam to throw it onto the TV and hotspot for the computer when I need it.

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Decent_Crab_7685 t1_ja7hqto wrote

Just found out about the increase too. I’m glad bc I I found out about Verizon home 5g. Can’t wait to make the call to cancel xfinity.

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AccomplishedPut3610 t1_ja7lth9 wrote

I pay $157 a month for just internet. Don't even get cable with it. Fuck Comcast.

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dopkick t1_ja7sqpu wrote

You’re doing it really wrong. This is 100% on you not making any effort to navigate the system. I think the 1.2 G package without any promotions is like $100-110/month, plus taxes/fees. You need to buy your own equipment.

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AccomplishedPut3610 t1_ja7wo1f wrote

I have my own Verizon modem that I use. When I call to complain, they will drop the price to $125 or so for a month or two, and then it's right back up. Actually getting in touch with a rep is like a 40-minute phone ordeal, at least in my experience.

I'm just waiting for Verizon 5g to become available in my neighborhood. The moment that happens, I'm going to immediately drop Comcast.

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Jack0ffJill t1_ja7wcqu wrote

Verizon isn’t any better! Jerks!

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No-Lunch4249 t1_ja82es5 wrote

Just call them and tell them you’re upset that your bill has gone up so much with no change in service, after talking to a few people they’ll throw ya a $20 discount for a year. It’s the only way I’ve found to resolve it. An aggravating hour of your life but worth the time

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moderndukes t1_ja8k00j wrote

Call and say the words “I would like to cancel.” You’ll then get on the line with someone whose directive is to try their best to keep you as a customer.

If you’re on the SoBo peninsula then you might be able to get Verizon FIOS. I don’t believe they have it west of 395 though, so your other option is mobile Internet from Verizon or T-Mobile. FWIW, I’m in Pigtown and my phone’s 5G signal rarely goes out - my speeds are currently 40 down / 4 up. Idk if that translates to the signal home mobile Internet would receive from them though.

I’d call Comcast and negotiate, and compare that to whatever the others are offering.

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jdtoast OP t1_ja8qvzm wrote

Yeah, still not available on the peninsula. Been checking every few months since I got here. It seems like we're the only zip code in bmore that doesn't have it!

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Fickle_One4309 t1_ja6z1b7 wrote

Internet service providers frequently behave in this way. Without more information, it's difficult to say whether other Verizon 5G users in your neighborhood may have experienced issues similar to yours. If you're dissatisfied with the unexpected price increase, think about speaking with your internet service provider to discuss the matter and see if there are any other plans or discounts that could help lower your bill. Compare offers from different local service providers on websites like broadbandsearch or highspeedinternet to see which ones are offering the best discounts.

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