Cable Companies (buy, price, bill)

[Leerinsmom]

Hi All,

My husband and I are on the search for a new cable company. Boy, I didn't know it would be such an ordeal. We are currently with Cox but have not been satisfied with the service and quite honestly it is a bit expensive. So we have a mid-level package mainly because we watch BBC World and there are also international channels that are free that we enjoy. I also must have the Cooking Channel but other than that we really don't watch any of the other channels. We also have the Internet included in the bill and pay close to $130 a month. I started researching and found that Verizon is more expensive and we would have to pay $50 for two international channels, their Internet is more expensive as well. Is there anyone out that would recommend DirectTv or Dish Network. Do satelities work OK when there are storms? I am open to any suggestions.

LeerinsMom

[VRE332]

I was going to get DirectTV until the installer said there were too many trees facing the southern sky and he'd have to drill holes in my roof for the s-band to clear the trees. I said no way Jose, and kept cable. Satellites work ok during storms, my neighbor never lost connections from the hurricane last spring, derecho or the big snow storm last year.

[CaliTerp07]

Love love loved having dish network. It definitely went out during snowmageddon the other year, and it would blip once in a while in super hard rain/thunderstorms, but in general it was great. The service people were the nicest I've ever dealt with, and the dvr is phenomenal.

Be careful to really check if you're going to end up saving any money though. So often when you only want 1 of the 3 services the company offers, you still pay 75% of the price.

FTR, I would not recommend Verizon. For what it costs, we were MUCH happier using Dish for TV and Cox for internet. We now pay an extra $10 or $20 a month for FIOS and have much shoddier service and rude rude rude people on the other end of the phone if I try to get help for issues. I know this board has major FIOS love, but I've yet to drink the kool aide...when our contract expires we'll be going back to Dish.

[gammann]

I was a DirecTV customer for 10 years. I was happy with the service. I used Cox for Internet and only had a couple of outages with Cox. With DTV, we would loose signal right before major storms, when the clouds were very "full". Usually a couple of minutes after the skies opened up, the signal would come back. Heavy snow can also be a problem. I would just go brush the snow off with a broom, but you can also buy a heater for the dish. DTV Customer Service is always fun, cause you can always call and get freebies. And if you don't, you can just hang up, call back and get a different CSR and try again.

When I moved to my new place I went with FiOS Triple Play. We've had service for about 1.5 years and I'm pretty sure we have not had any outages. Customer service does suck, but as long as you don't have to deal with them or have a billing issue, you should be good.

Which ever service you go with, make sure you find someone to refer you. DTV's referral program gives both people $10 off/month for 10 months. Verizon's gives both people a $50 gift card. I bet the others have programs too.

[jillybean720]

I have a Verizon FiOS Triple Play (HDTV, phone, and internet), and I pay about $100/month, including HD DVR.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

FTR, I would not recommend Verizon. For what it costs, we were MUCH happier using Dish for TV and Cox for internet. We now pay an extra $10 or $20 a month for FIOS and have much shoddier service and rude rude rude people on the other end of the phone if I try to get help for issues. I know this board has major FIOS love, but I've yet to drink the kool aide...when our contract expires we'll be going back to Dish.

Interesting! We too are considering ditching Verizon--see my other thread--but mostly because they keep raising the price. And the various temporary discounts are too much to keep track of. We've been very happy with the quality of the signal, etc., and before today, I think every person I'd talked to there was polite and helpful.

[cb at sea]

I like Cox....yeah...a bit pricey, but the service can't be beat! I switched to their 'everything' plan....had a problem with the phone service....those folks worked their BUTTS off trying to get it right...and finally, they did! Anytime I call about any problem (and problems are rare), they are "Johnny on the spot"....either on the help line or IN PERSON! Can't say enough good things about Cox.

[ArtyGuy]

We recently moved to the area and had a horrible experience with Cox. After 3 phone calls trying to give them my money, we went elsewhere--Verizon. Until I had to search for other options, I didn't know Verizon provided cable. So far so good. We are locked in for two years and received a $400 prepaid Visa. The cost for Fios is less than what we paid for TWC when we were in SC.

I have been a satellite customer in the past. We didn't have any issues with reception, even in storms. However, when I was stationed in NY, Dish could not come to an agreement with local stations so to get local TV, I also had to subscribe to cable. That got old quick and I dropped Dish.