We love our boob-tube and digital highway, a.k.a. TV and Internet. We love it so much that we sometimes let our bills and increasing amounts slip away from us. Watching Bravo, HBO and having high-speed WiFi Internet access is invaluable, right? Well, maybe, but it still doesn’t mean you can’t slice your Verizon FIOS bill in half like I did.
So, how did this all begin for me? To be honest, I don’t really watch TV much any more. I’m 98% on my iPhone streaming movies, watching news via apps, and when I want to watch a show, I’m on the FIOS mobile app anyway. Just more convenient. And hey, I have the iPhone 7 Plus so why not use that big ol’ screen.
As we know, these cable providers have their own script when you speak to them so why not be equipped with your own script.
Understanding price match guarantee can be helpful to you as you can save some money through it. Having a pricematchguarantee on your product means you can save yourself from buying that product for a higher price.
Here’s the script and approach to use to lower your Verizon FIOS bill in half:
- Know what your paying now and what services you have. Pull out a paper bill or go online. Or you can, it’s better to log in online via the My Verizon Account Site. The site will show you what you have and what packages you can downgrade to to save some shekels. I have Verizon Triple Play so I immediately went to the TV package to see that there are thousands of channels I don’t even watch. Well, I knew this but needed to be banged over the head with this for reality purposes. So, I knew my Ultimate HD package was well too rich for my viewing tastes and wallet validation purposes. So, I eyeballed the Custom TV – Sports & More package knowing that contains all the channels I’ll ever need. That’s an immediate $50 decrease. So, have this knowledge already of what you want to decrease. This is good ammunition to go in with. Also, check out your Internet speed to see if you are able to decrease. I left this alone since I’m an Internet junkie, and my wife would have killed me if her Facebook activities slowed down. Also, see if you even need the phone service. Aren’t we all on cell phones anyway nowadays? So, have all this info of what you’re paying and what you’re willing to downgrade to ready and armed.
- Know who and when to call. You don’t want to call tech support or account services. You want to call sales and only sales. Hey, they want to make a sale and that is how they are judged, by how many sales they make. The sales number is 1-800-837-4966. Call only this number. Also, most of the contracts are 2-year terms. Try to call within 1-2 months before it ends. This will allow another sales person who you call to swoop in and get credit before you are automatically renewed.
- Know what to say. Tell the sales person your bill is too high. I did this and all of a sudden he found a promotion to lower my bill by $20/month for the first year. I said that wasn’t enough to make me happy. He didn’t budge and then told him what all sales people hate to hear, “Alright, in that case, I’m thinking of cancelling and going to TimeWarner.” That agitated him and he proceeded over the course of 20-30 minutes to check in with a supervisor who lowered the bill to $45/month for the entire 2-year new term! Great, then I hit him with the okay I’ll take that along with downgrading my TV service. At that point, my sales rep knew he was played by an IT service professional. It’s like great, I’ll see your flush with my full house. I proceeded to take his $45 decrease and added another $50 decrease on top of that slicing my monthly Verizon FIOS bill to $95/month less!
- Don’t forget to remove any unnecessary boxes and equipment. I also saved an additional $10/month by removing that ridiculous global DVR service where you can record a show from another room to another TV. How lazy can we be?! So, make sure you are not hit every month with these ridiculous services. Also, get rid of any TV boxes you don’t need.
In total, I reduced my bill in half, saving $105/month! That’s huge! You can do it too. Just be armed with all this knowledge and use this script. You don’t have to be a genius or need to hire a team of dedicated developers to figure this one out. Good luck!
If you need to create your own bill for services you offer, try an invoice maker like invoice4u.
11 thoughts on “How I lowered my Verizon FIOS bill in half.”
These are the same people that call us and there is nothing we can do so I have to get them over to customer service. The only time I can help is if your renewal is 180 days before expiration or 90 days after. You recieve promotions but to be honest unless you are a customer service representative that gets graded or bonuses for keeping customers there’s only so much we can do. Going to Spectrum or Comcast really wouldnt matter. In 2 years they will go up and then it’s back to Fios. Everything is regulated.
Can I remove the Verizon Fios cable box and connect the white cable directly to the back of my old tv, and still get some channels. My old tv only has 3 ports: one marked “Antenna”, and the other two ports are Audio and Video. It is an old CM19102 Curtis Mathes tv. Can I use Roku Express Plus with that tv to stream Sling TV?
Hi Joana, there are digital / hi-def antennas you can buy online that will connect to your TV for satellite channels.
As someone who actually working in the Customer Sales and Service Center (CSSC) of Verizon FiOS. I get a kick out of these articles talking about negotiating the bill. I work in retention and usually just get calls from customers that are within $5 or $10 of new customer introductory pricing thinking that saying you are going to a competitor is going to yield secret offers. We’re bound to what is on the screen and my escalation reps routinely laugh when a customer demands a “supervisor” thinking they have more discounts when they don’t. From a rep’s point of view if you’re going to call in, just ask nicely if there’s anything you can do because you’re thinking of switching and if there is, great, if there isn’t, say thanks for your time.
Hey George, thanks for defending the world of Verizon FIOS for us. I’m still gonna stick by my blog post as it has helped and worked all the time. Yes, trying with the rep on hand is the kind approach; however, as you know, the supervisor or person in charge of the department usually has more leeway to give more or can at least make more exceptions. You may think not because it’s by your policy book, but the reality is, that it has worked numerous times for me. That’s why I recommend it. Thanks for reaching out. I do appreciate loyal folks like yourself pitching for your company, but as someone who is looking to empower consumers, I stand by my words.
Been a Verizon Fios customer for almost two decades.
Have gone with their 1GB Internet and premium television package under a 2-year contract.
The contract came up for renewal this year and my rates went up over $70 per month WITH A NEW CONTRACT.
In order to keep my 1GB internet, I had to go with a minimal channel package, pay $200 for my router (to avoid long-term rental fees) and go to paperless billing just to bring the bill down. I am still paying $30 more a month than I previously was.
I wrote a scathing letter to Verizon CEOs. Got a phone call from their executive team saying there was nothing they could do about the price increases.
Horrible! No wonder people are leaving cable for streaming.
Yep, I hear ya njronbo.
f*ck verizon. they suck and are the least customer centric people. they’ll crash and burn one day. watch
Well said, William! 🙂
Thank God we have many more cable companies to choose from. Verizon needs to step it up or lose a great percentage of Verizon customers.
My sister and husband changed from Verizon to Direct TV because Verizon is charging way too much for services. We went to her home for Christmas and direct tv has a really good setup.
I also pray that Verizon is charging me to watch sports and Spanish speaking stations which I NEVER ASKED FOR! Also I have zero money coming in because of the virus so Verizon should help people in good faith.
Agreed, Jennifer. Unfortunately, I’ve heard from cable and internet companies that there are really no discounts because of COVID-19. The only thing you can request is forgivable delayed monthly payments.
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