Don’t be Tricked by Promotions that are too Good to be True!

One of my responsibilities is to ensure our family is not paying too much for certain services. When I received the pictured promotion in the mail earlier this week, I was interested to see if I could save a few bucks!

According to the promotion, the local cable company is offering Internet plus Cable (over 220 channels) for $79.99 per month for 1 year. Sounds like a great deal, right? To sweeten the deal they are throwing in a $100 Amazon gift card…as an avid Amazon Prime Member this made me give the promotion a closer look.

So, I will be very candid about some of the fees I pay for internet and TV. I currently pay $69.35 per month for Internet. This includes all taxes, fees and charges. I then subscribe to a streaming TV service, which I pay $30 per month. In total, I currently pay $99.35 for Internet and TV. This makes the promotion look even more appealing. I seemingly stand to save about $20 per month!

Make the Call

This morning I called the service provider and inquired about the deal. I would be billed $79.99 per month for one year (plus taxes, fees and other charges.) I would be locked into a one year contract. It would also require the cable company to install two cable boxes…I really don’t want unnecessary traffic in the house right now, due to COVID19. So, I asked the representative how much my bill would actually be once they add in all the extra charges. I was put on hold for a few minutes. When she returned she said I would be billed roughly $143 per month plus tax!

Do the Math

So, let’s do the math. I currently pay $69.35 for internet and $30 for streaming TV service, for a total of $99.35 per month. If I discontinued my streaming TV service and added cable TV to my current plan I would pay $143 per month plus taxes! Not such a great deal… But wait, they were going to throw in a $100 gift card to Amazon! This would be a nice added perk, but the extra $100 would only offset the higher monthly fee for 2 months. Then I would be paying nearly $50 more per month than I do now.

Choose the Best Option

Over the course of a year I would pay roughly $500 more. Not to mention after one year they would be able to raise my rate to any rate they choose…This has happened to me countless times in the past! At that point, I would end up switching back to my current setup with internet from the cable company and a streaming TV service that is much more affordable!

I was tricked by a similar promotion in the past, and ended up regretting it. Please make sure you always check into promotions carefully. Call the service provider and ask them what you will actually pay per month once all taxes, fees and other charges are added in. This will enable you to make an apple to apple comparison to what you currently pay.

Have you ever been tricked by a promotion? Have you ever received a promotional price that was too good to be true? On the flip side, what promotions have you received that have saved you money? If the information was useful to you, please leave a comment with your experience!

Stay Blessed,

Jess