Uverse

[yester64]

Hi, i recently had to move my service to a different location. So far, nothing spectacular.
Before i had only internet and nothing more. Now i added tv service and phone service to it. Since some channels i like to see are in the next up tier from the basic (U200) i have to pay more of course. I also got hd service as well. Right now i have 2 boxes sitting for two tv's (internet is max =12mbs). A friend told me that i would only need one if i taken the dvr. Since i never used a dvr i don't know.
Anyhow. Now i got my first bill and i was surprised that i passed $170 Dollars for everything.
I have to admit, before i did not have a service of any kind besides internet but was able to watch sometimes since i shared cable with the family. It wasn't digital or hd.
Is this how much you pay for it? Or am i overcharged. I do have to confess that even the bill is quite confusing. I think fees, tax etc.. make up $30 Dollars alone.

As far as quality goes, it looks very fine. HD seems good and speed it great too. Its just the price.

[fohat.digs]

Hi, i recently had to move my service to a different location. So far, nothing spectacular.
Before i had only internet and nothing more. Now i added tv service and phone service to it. Since some channels i like to see are in the next up tier from the basic (U200) i have to pay more of course. I also got hd service as well. Right now i have 2 boxes sitting for two tv's (internet is max =12mbs). A friend told me that i would only need one if i taken the dvr. Since i never used a dvr i don't know.
Anyhow. Now i got my first bill and i was surprised that i passed $170 Dollars for everything.
I have to admit, before i did not have a service of any kind besides internet but was able to watch sometimes since i shared cable with the family. It wasn't digital or hd.
Is this how much you pay for it? Or am i overcharged. I do have to confess that even the bill is quite confusing. I think fees, tax etc.. make up $30 Dollars alone.

As far as quality goes, it looks very fine. HD seems good and speed it great too. Its just the price.

It is all obscene. I used to think that it was just cellular service, but it is getting horrible at home, too.

I loved Bellsouth for decades, but when AT&T took over 5-10 years ago, they totally went to hell. I am working on switching over to Comcast, but it is impossible to decipher what the bill will really be. It is sure to be less than my Comcast TV + Bellsouth phone & internet, but probably not by a lot.

The worst thing - they reserve all the best deals for new customers rather than rewarding people who have been loyal to them !

[tp4tissue]

My place is $100 per month for 1 tv box, and 75mbps/35mbps internet, no phone

They have several tiers of tv service. I'm on the second to lowest tier because i need cnbc and bloomberg.

[yester64]

Maybe i just replace the phone with a cellphone.
I have to get the internet adjusted since i just switched from dsl to uverse and supposed to pay $30 for 12mbs. Now its $58. So i hope the honor it.
My phone is $40 and the tv runs for $68.

I got a letter from timewarner where it says basic tv and internet 20mps for $65. But basic tv is really just basic with 20 channels. So you would need to upgrade on that and then their bundles either have a lot of channels with slower speed or lesser channels with faster speed.

In the area where i live there is only timewarner or att. Well, or perhaps Dish.

[tp4tissue]

Maybe i just replace the phone with a cellphone.
I have to get the internet adjusted since i just switched from dsl to uverse and supposed to pay $30 for 12mbs. Now its $58. So i hope the honor it.
My phone is $40 and the tv runs for $68.

I got a letter from timewarner where it says basic tv and internet 20mps for $65. But basic tv is really just basic with 20 channels. So you would need to upgrade on that and then their bundles either have a lot of channels with slower speed or lesser channels with faster speed.

In the area where i live there is only timewarner or att. Well, or perhaps Dish.

If you don't watch any ticker tape channels,  You don't really need TV.  Just internet.

[jabar]

I had promotional rates that kept U200 with 12mbit internet under $100, and when they wanted to jack the prices up I dropped the TV. My bills are around $50 for the internet now.

Yes, you're getting hosed.

[yester64]

****. Did you had phone too? I have to go to the AT&T store. Over phone its so sh** to talk.

[Jack]

I worked on Uverse tier 2 and, yeah, the prices are ridiculous. Handed out discounts like candy. The direct numbers to T2 that I have are disconnected, but if you try getting to them and asking, they might help. Depends on the agent. The good promotions are under the "Inactive" category, so it may be that not everyone will think they can apply them. Just get through the IVR to sales or wherever and ask to be transferred to tier 2. If you have no luck there, call the service number again (800-288-2020) and say "retention" when the bot asks what you need help with. Tell them you can't keep up paying for the service as it is and you might have to cancel or drop some components, and they should have some discounts they can use, but they generally won't do anything as good as what T2 can.

The staff at the AT&T store will just call the retail support line, who will call retention or tech support or whoever, so in the end there's not really anyone different handling your request.

When someone is looking at your services in the order management system they won't see the local fees and taxes, so there'll be some difference between what they see and the grand total on your bill.

You could also try the Live Chat link here. Take the tech support path; they have good agents on smart chat. That, and those guys have to juggle a few chats plus taking calls here and there, so they might just do what you ask without fighting about it. Worth a try.

People keep horrible notes / don't read the old ones so don't worry too much that you'll be caught out trying to game the system.

I'm not sure what your friend means about the DVR. As far as I know, one set-top box outputs to one TV, and a DVR isn't really any different except that it has a hard drive to record shows onto. Two TVs served by one box would involve splitting the signal the box outputs, and in that case you wouldn't be able to control the channel separately on each TV. Maybe they've come up with something new, though. Goodness knows they make changes constantly.

[noisyturtle]

What is this 'television' you speak of? Did you misspell internet?

[yester64]

I worked on Uverse tier 2 and, yeah, the prices are ridiculous. Handed out discounts like candy. The direct numbers to T2 that I have are disconnected, but if you try getting to them and asking, they might help. Depends on the agent. The good promotions are under the "Inactive" category, so it may be that not everyone will think they can apply them. Just get through the IVR to sales or wherever and ask to be transferred to tier 2. If you have no luck there, call the service number again (800-288-2020) and say "retention" when the bot asks what you need help with. Tell them you can't keep up paying for the service as it is and you might have to cancel or drop some components, and they should have some discounts they can use, but they generally won't do anything as good as what T2 can.

The staff at the AT&T store will just call the retail support line, who will call retention or tech support or whoever, so in the end there's not really anyone different handling your request.

When someone is looking at your services in the order management system they won't see the local fees and taxes, so there'll be some difference between what they see and the grand total on your bill.

You could also try the Live Chat link here. Take the tech support path; they have good agents on smart chat. That, and those guys have to juggle a few chats plus taking calls here and there, so they might just do what you ask without fighting about it. Worth a try.

People keep horrible notes / don't read the old ones so don't worry too much that you'll be caught out trying to game the system.

I'm not sure what your friend means about the DVR. As far as I know, one set-top box outputs to one TV, and a DVR isn't really any different except that it has a hard drive to record shows onto. Two TVs served by one box would involve splitting the signal the box outputs, and in that case you wouldn't be able to control the channel separately on each TV. Maybe they've come up with something new, though. Goodness knows they make changes constantly.

Thanks for the insight. Very helpful.
Well, i do understand that companies need to make money and i am willing to pay for something that really makes a difference in my life. But generally, i think that tv services and internet pricing is quite high. I do need the phone though, since we do need to receive calls.
I was having lifeline discount on the old phone since my wife get medicare which qualifies for the discount. No one really uses the phone but being able to receive calls sometimes is a plus. Mobilphones are great and everything but i have my phone with me and at home they don't need a mobile.

Anyway, i will go through the chamber of pain and hope they can make a deal.

Thanks again.

[Badwrench]

Is this your first bill?  If so, you probably have some installation (second box) charges on your bill.  If you log into your account online, you should be able to see the main things you were billed for. 

[yester64]

Yes it is. But it got waived. I made sure of that. I told them i cancel my service if they charge me for that since it only got moved within the property.