Setting up new t.v. and internet service - what a pain!

[simple girl]

DH and I are moving, and I am in charge of setting up all the new services. The t.v. and internet service is absolutely THE worst. I have spent way too much time on the phone and internet researching this today.

I finally think I found the best deal for our area: U-verse with ATT. However, they won't put the rates they quoted me in writing. "You'll get it in writing after we activate your account. I have no way of sending it to you now."

Now what the heck? Is it unreasonable for me to expect a quote on services to be sent to me in writing

If DH wasn't so addicted to ESPN I'd consider giving up cable (but not internet!).

 

[Koolau]

Since I just moved, I had to go through this process, but my situation was much simpler. Originally I had only 2 choices. Cable w/hs internet or Dish w/hs internet. Cable was simpler. Only problem was addition of more TVs and computer which was resolved by adding a booster to my connection. Good service and friendly folks (though the wait time could have been better - they do call YOU back instead of making you listen to elevator music).

After the move, even fewer choices. Cable is "free" (OK, included in maintenance fee) so just had to cancel old cable/internet and call for new internet turn on. Took 5 minutes (after a 17 minute call-back wait).

Decent price (about $65/month total as nearly as I can tease out the cable part of the maintenance fee).

Hope your "quest" for cable and internet is successful. By the way, I could live without the sports channels, but I'd hate to give up History Channel and the "Law and Order" channel.

 

[W2R]

Simplegirl, I don't see how they can expect for you to pay them if you haven't signed a contract. That is really ODD. One wonders how AT&T could continue offering this service if they lied about the price. If I were you, I'd go ahead and get it, and assume that the prices will be as stated. If there is a local office, maybe you can go down there and get something in writing. It could be that the person you talked to on the phone was just lazy. (?)

OK, since we are sharing personal experiences... When I moved from my apartment (where I had cable internet & TV) to my present house, I had a little problem. Namely, my house was not set up for cable at all. The prior owners had bought the house when it was built in the 1970's, and did not want cable.

So, I had the cable company come out and put a cable outlet in each of the three bedrooms, the living room, and the den. At that time (2002) they only charged $150 total for that. The cost was less for the outside walls, so I only had two cable drops on inside walls.

The rest is simple. My bill went up $2 this month, from $60.51 to $62.51. $46 of that is for medium level highspeed internet, and $15.55 is for bare bones basic cable TV.

 

[Alan]

DH and I are moving, and I am in charge of setting up all the new services. The t.v. and internet service is absolutely THE worst. I have spent way too much time on the phone and internet researching this today.

I finally think I found the best deal for our area: U-verse with ATT. However, they won't put the rates they quoted me in writing. "You'll get it in writing after we activate your account. I have no way of sending it to you now."

Now what the heck? Is it unreasonable for me to expect a quote on services to be sent to me in writing

If DH wasn't so addicted to ESPN I'd consider giving up cable (but not internet!).

I'd ask for the name of the rep that gave you the verbal quote and then just go ahead and order. We have U-Verse and DD just had U-verse insalled in their new home. No issues with getting something higher than was quoted.

Looks like you realize already that in giving up ESPN you would also be giving up your DH

 

[simple girl]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I did call U-Verse back, and a different rep was able to tell me correctly what the other guy quoted me. So that certainly helped me feel more comfortable with proceeding forward.

If the first rep hadn't promised me he'd send me an email with all the info so I could review it with DH before deciding, I wouldn't have been nearly as upset. It's just I had that expectation, and when the email arrived confirming our installation date (acting like we had already signed up for service, which I hadn't agreed to yet), well, I felt duped! Slick salesman for sure.

Anyways, good to hear Alan that they appear to be honest with their quotes. We'll be looking over the paperwork closely, though, on installation day. And yes, DH would disown me if we didn't get ESPN. He was aghast when I suggested it jokingly.

BTW, we are getting basic cable (plus a few extra channels, but not HBO) in addition to internet for around $64/mo for first 6 months, then it goes up to like $109/mo.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Great information, but I have to ask, what is U-Verse? New term to me. DW and I are in the process of moving but won't be in 100% for a couple months. Seems like most people out in that area have Bright House, a local network, but we currently have Verizon Fios TV, internet and telephone to the tune of $184/month including taxes. Yes we have all the goodies like the movie channels, HBO, Cinamax, Encore, Starz, etc, etc. Also HD service with two DVR's for two systems. We also have Verizon cell service for $84/month. I like the Verizon service but hate their customer service department. They don't have a local office where you could go down and demand to speak to a live person. Everything is phone contact and theirs stinks. Not sure I want to go with them again. Again, What is U-Verse?

 

[simple girl]

Again, What is U-Verse?

It was completely new to me, too. The only reason I knew about it was because our new apartment complex told us that only 2 providers serviced the complex: Direct TV and U-Verse. We had Direct TV before, and I was never real happy with their customer service, so I proceeded to investigate U-Verse.

Here is a link that will expain all of the details:

AT&T U-verse - Advanced TV, High Speed Internet & Phone

By the way, call to check if it is available in your area, rather than use the website to check. The website couldn't identify our new address - I did not find it as reliable.

Watch out for smooth sales persons, LOL! Note that if you tell them you saw the deals for "x" amount off on their website, and you continue to tell them you aren't sure if you will go with them...they magically find a way to reduce the price further for the first 6 months. Also, if you tell them you are considering switching service providers, that seems to knock some $ off. Seems they have a lot of "wiggle room" in the fees that are charged.

 

[Midpack]

I have Dish for TV and Comcast HS Internet, never had any problems at all, but I pay too much.

The bad news: My parents and my sister have AT&T U-Verse. Installation was a nightmare for both of them (in complete different cities), took weeks to get it right.

The good news: It works fine once they got it all done correctly, and they're saving bundles.

So it's probably worth the hassle...