‘My Two Cents’ on Verizon’s Triple Play Fios Offer
By CHM on Feb 20, 2008 in My Two Cents
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This is the long awaited third installment in my saga to:
- get out of my old cell phone contract without termination fees
- get the best new cell phone contract available on the market
- and cut my Cable/Internet/Phone bill by more than 50%
This is the post dealing with (#3) cutting my C/I/P bill by more than 50%, in case you weren’t sure:)
A little refresher
Way back on November 9th of 2007 Moolanomy alerted readers to a triple play package Verizon was offering. This sounded like a great idea for me; I’d be able to get rid of my existing Time Warner package and replace it with a much cheaper Verizon package, and receive a free 19′ flat screen on top it all.
There are a number of reasons that 3 months have elapsed since I’m getting back to you on this, part procrastination, part delineation of priorities, yada, yada, yada. Either way here’s what happened…
‘I still can’t hear you now’
In the end, I wasn’t able to sign up for the Verizon Triple Play offer, no matter how much I tried! For the time being, I am stuck with TWC (although I have now taken the steps to drastically reduce that bill, as well.)
Stop right here! or keep reading for sorted details of the whole messy affair
First off, the 19′ flat screen only goes to those that take advantage of the Triple Play (cable, phone and internet) FIOS offer. I then found out FIOS is not available where I live, so that immediately disqualified me from getting the flat-screen TV. (It’s not like I live in the middle of no where either, I live 15 miles away from the Empire State Building in the heart of NYC.)
The first thing I’d recommend if you were looking to take advantage of a Verizon Triple Play/FIOS offer is to see if it’s available in your area. It seems the further you are from any major urban setting the harder it is to get FIOS.
Kept marching along
Even after this little setback, it still made sense for me to make the move to Verizon DSL (instead of FIOS), Direct TV and upgrade my existing Verizon phone line (which I use as a fax line). The reason it still made sense was because they’re newest deal was offering all three services for $84.99 a month, with HBO free for the first 3 months. Although I wouldn’t get the free flat-screen TV, this offer still shaved off more than $100+ a month from my existing bill (see Exhibit A below.)
(EXHIBIT A)
Installation problems
So I set up the appointment with Direct TV (who have a partnership with Verizon, but are a separate company) to come and install my new cable system last week. I was waiting for the installation rep. last Wednesday when I heard his truck pull up out front.
A few minutes went by and there was no knock at my door, I thought that was kind of strange. So I went to the window, peaked out and saw him looking quizzically at the trees in front of my apartment, with his hand scratching the back of his head. I knew right away there was some kind of problem …
Not meant to be
As it turns out (because I have 2 large trees in front of my apartment and the roof is made of slate) I can’t get a Direct TV signal. The installation guy was very apologetic about the whole situation and told me (from his experience) this happens about 1 out of every 10 times.
So, the second thing I’d recommend if you were looking to take advantage of a Verizon bundle offer is to see if Direct TV is going to be available. A good way for you to do this is to see if any of your surrounding neighbors have a dish (chances are you will be fine with Direct TV, I was just unlucky).
Hope was not lost
Since I couldn’t get 2 of the main services that came with the Verizon deal, I decided to stick it out with Time Warner. Just yesterday I was able to slash $70 off of my existing bill, by downgrading to basic cable and getting rid of the extra boxes and DVR (circled in red under Exhibit A above), which I no longer need. I felt great about this!
Verizon is always offering great introductory deals, so if something catches your eye, just do your best to make sure each of the ‘bundled’ services is available in your area before pulling the trigger…
Tags: Verizon Triple Play Fios offer
Mrs. Micah | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
We’ve found that basic cable offers pretty much everything we need.
Sorry your triple play offer/direct tv didn’t work out…at least you found an agreeable way to save money.
Ron@TheWisdomJournal | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
Bummer.
I know that HAD to be disappointing, but it does sound like you made the most out of the situation.
CHM | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
Thanks MM and Ron,
After all is said in done, I’m paying $75 less a month than I was paying and about $50 more than I would have paid if things had gone swimmingly with Verizon.
I’m happy with the progress I made and it’s time to move on to the next challenge.
Pinyo @ Moolanomy | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
Ciaran, there’s no FIOS in my area either, but I still got the free TV. And if you have Hi-Def TV, make sure you ask for the free HD converter upgrade (it’s free only at the time of installation)
As for the dish, couldn’t they install it on other sides of the house? Mine is installed in the back of my house and fairly low to the ground too.
Anyway, looks like you are doing well with TW. My wife likes the On Demand feature with TW, which DirectTV doesn’t offer. But for my house TW reception was horrendous.
CHM | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
Hey Pinyo,
I explored every option with the Direct TV guy, in fact when I look out my back window I can see that 3 or 4 of my neighbors all have dishes, but due to the unique location of my particular building, where the trees are located and the fact that the dish can’t be mounted on our roof… it makes for the perfect storm.
If I hadn’t exhausted every option and the Direct TV somehow was installable, I would have gone back to them and fought for the TV.
I think for most, the Triple play should work out successfully, like it did for you . The only thing I’d recommend is checking out you’re compatible with all the services in advance.
Dylan | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
My purely anecdotal observations about FIOS availability seems to be that if you have above-ground utility wiring in your neighborhood, you are more likely to have it sooner. If the phone and cable lines are buried under your street, it seems like there is a longer wait.
BTW, the FIOS Internet rocks!
CHM | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
Hey Dylan,
I’m a little jealous of the FIOS internet you have. I want speed all the time, as things tend to slow for me a few times a day. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to wait for the next big thing.
Danyak | Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
If you live in a co-op or condo situation, be sure to check with management and your building’s by-laws. You actually may not be allowed to have a dish installed.
Al | Feb 29, 2008 | Reply
Call your cable provider. Tell them you are unhappy with the price they are charging you and have found a great deal with another provider and are considering cancelling your service. Ask if there are any specials or deals for combined packages. They will say yes and it will most likely shave $50 to $100 off your bill for 6 to 12 months with more features than you have now. Repeat the process when the 6 to 12 months is over. I have been doing this for years with TWC. It works.
Gladys | Mar 17, 2008 | Reply
I joined triple play with verizon, and if I would have known what rip offs they are. I would have stayed where I was I cannot believe
the amount they quoted before I joined and the amount of bill that I am getting now. Let me give you an advise, before joining make sure everything they tell you including and especially the amount you will be paying monthly is all in writing, other wise do not comit yourself or you will be paying twice what you are paying now. I am really stuck with a much higher bill. Be careful with Verizon
Verizon Triple Play | Sep 15, 2008 | Reply
I just ordered the triple play from Verizon and at the end of the order they said my monthly price would be $114.99.
What’s the difference in price compared to what they say you would get charged compared to what you really are getting charged?
Once I get my first bill I’ll let you know if Verizon over charges me too.
- Martin
John Galt | Sep 30, 2008 | Reply
Why wouldn’t you need DVR? I don’t remember when was the last time I watched something live.