Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Actual cost of CenturyLink's internet deal?
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October 4, 2011 at 12:55 am #600772
ForestParticipantAccording to the junk mailer it sends to tens of thousands of West Seattle residents every week, CenturyLink sells high-speed internet at a guaranteed price of only $19.5 a month for 5 years. Of course, the deal requires bundling your net connection (1 per household) with other CenturyLink services and committing to a 5-year deal. And, of course, the fine print of the offer doesn’t specify the required extra costs for taxes, fees, surcharges, monthly recurring fees for router (only one per account), pro installation, shipping and handling, early withdrawal or service change penalties, etc.
The added fees don’t surprise — no more than they would from a Comcast deal — but they leave me guessing how much the $19.95 monthly internet deal actually costs per month. Could someone please tell me? Thanks.
October 4, 2011 at 1:52 am #735968
chrismaParticipantAre you unable to do the math yourself?
You know, you could always call them up and ask for a total cost for the 5 year package with the minimum options. They actually get paid to answer your questions, and it might be fun to put them through their paces.
I have DSL only (no special deal) and I pay $53.76 a month.
$8 a month is for renting my router I decided to buy one once, and it died a month later. It’s a peace of mind expense for me, because now if it dies I get a new one in a day or two.
They’ll charge you at least $100 to buy one, and you’ll need a new one in two years, guaranteed.
I pay about $1 in taxes and fees for DSL. No universal access charge for a data line.
I don’t need a land line or Direct TV. If you do, and they’re services you’d pay for anyway, then it might be a good deal to bundle with CenturyLink. If not, well, it’s the standard $50 a month for broadband.
Isn’t competition in the marketplace, great?
October 4, 2011 at 4:27 am #735969
kootchmanMemberThey will fold like a cheap suit if you tell them you have a better offer… ya have to remember to go through the motions every six months….or they will start to bill at the $50 plus per month again.
October 4, 2011 at 4:30 am #735970
chrismaParticipantWhat better offer would that be, kootch?
As far as I know the only players in town are Century Link, Comcast, and Clear, and they all charge pretty much the same. I’m sure they know each others pricing tiers.
October 4, 2011 at 4:51 am #735971
kootchmanMemberI am getting Comcast at the moment…. but….I tell them I can leave for a bundled deal… and voia’ $36 … but only for 90 days… usually they catch it six months later.
October 4, 2011 at 5:25 am #735972
chrismaParticipantMore power to you, kootchman.
I don’t have a television, and I don’t need a land line, so a bundled deal is no deal for me.
I could try telling Century Link a story, but I suspect they’d just cut me a better deal on a bundle.
October 4, 2011 at 1:29 pm #735973
anonymeParticipantGetting a straight answer from QWest/Century Link is like having your toenails pulled. My contract expired a few days ago, and I called to ask for a better deal going forward. Supposedly Century Link had simplified the whole bundle nonsense; not so. More convoluted than ever. It’s not as easy as simply adding up the price of components. Discounted prices on one service depend on signing up for another, high-priced service you don’t need, blah, blah, blah. I finally hung up after being told I could not speak to a “customer retention specialist” on the weekend. Any converation with QWest/Century Link involves a stiff drink and some dicey language.
October 4, 2011 at 2:59 pm #735974
FranciParticipantI’ve heard Comcast will deal if you are trying to reduce your bill or keep it at a lower rate. Qwest/CenturyLink not so much.. I called a few months back to explore my options on reducing my bill. Basically once they realized that I wasn’t going to sign up for DirectTV they said there was nothing they could do and did I want to cancel my service now? It was a perfectly pleasant conversation, I was fairly shocked that: one there was nothing they could do and two that they would be offering to cancel my service without me saying or indicating that this would be an option for me.
October 4, 2011 at 4:12 pm #735975
bsmommaParticipantBut how’s Qwest/Century Links reception (internet & Phone) in North Admiral? We have Comcast with no problem as far as service. Cancelled cable with them and now I’m paying over $100/mo for phone & internet. :(
October 4, 2011 at 4:27 pm #735976
busserMemberMore importantly, what I’m sure is buried in the fine print of that deal is that you’ll pay $19.95/mo for a certain service or speed. In a 5-year window, speeds and service could evolve pretty nicely. Then, if you want the better/faster service, guess what? More than $19.95/mo!
October 4, 2011 at 5:04 pm #735977
jissyParticipantNot to hijack this thread, but tell me if any of you Comcast customers have experienced this?
I called about a month ago b/c rates had gone up AGAIN and I felt like we were just paying WAY too much. So called and asked if they could look at my bill, be a little more competitive for a long term customer (6+ years) b/c of course there are better deals out there. But I specifically said I didn’t want to downgrade my service, just get better pricing if that was available. The customer service rep didn’t bat an eye, gave me better pricing (about a $70/month reduction on my bill) but I swear my service has SUCKED since that phone call!! I’ve called them back to discuss it and they have assured me my service was in no way downgraded. Needless to say, I don’t believe them! ARGH!!!
October 5, 2011 at 1:44 pm #735978
anonymeParticipantForest, I think I figured out the latest Century Link pricing maze.
The $19.95 internet pricing is based on bundling with a phone package – which starts at $35 per month. That’s a total of $54.90 (plus tax & surcharges, another +- $10)for ONE YEAR. The price goes up by $10 after one year to $29.95 for internet, which is the current price for stand-alone internet service. Supposedly, that price then holds for 5 years. My ‘price for life’ plan went up at least 3 times during the 2 year contract period, so don’t count on it. I even filed complaints with the Attorney General and FCC, to no avail. Apparently only consumers are held to contracts, not corporations. Kind of like the tax structure.
October 5, 2011 at 6:45 pm #735979
skeeterParticipantHmmm. $55/month for a landline package and DSL is pretty good. I might look into this.
October 5, 2011 at 7:58 pm #735980
BostonmanMemberI agree with Kootch, I pay $29 for Comcast Broadband. Every time they send me a notice its going up I call them and tell them I am going to cancel service. When they ask why I say because I can go to XYZ company and pay $25. They always keep my rates the same. I haven’t paid more than $29 a month for 2 years.
October 5, 2011 at 8:25 pm #735981
GinaParticipantI live in South Admiral, wanted to get wi-fi with my Centurylink account. Called up, they are unable to offer high enough internet speeds in this area to support wi-fi. Wasn’t my imagination that my my DSL was slooooow. So before cancelling other services and switching to centurylink, check to see what speeds are available in your area!
October 6, 2011 at 2:35 pm #735982
anonymeParticipantskeeter, the $55 package includes 12 mg service if I’m not mistaken. I’m in Arbor Heights, and the service is supported. Not sure why it won’t work in Admiral…
Looks like they just added a $15 per month option for one year. It’s so hard to keep track of what they’re doing when the options constantly change.
October 10, 2011 at 5:28 pm #735983
BrianParticipantI’m switching my home office phone and Internet service to Integra Telecom. Their service expanded to W.Seattle 1st Qtr of 2011.
October 11, 2011 at 8:31 pm #735984
anonymeParticipantUpdate: last week I renewed my service with QWest (now Century Link). I was quoted a bundle price of $64.95 minus $10 for the first year, with a five-year, no contract price guarantee.
Today I got my order confirmation dated October 5th. Not a single item or price on the statement was correct, and they added a service I didn’t ask for. I had to spend 40 minutes on the phone trying to get a straight answer, which is exactly what happens every time I try to deal with QWest. It’s essentially a one-sided contract with all the responsibility on the consumer side, none on the corporate. Sound familiar?
October 11, 2011 at 10:41 pm #735985
GinaParticipantI had my Comcast bundle installed yesterday. The speed is fast enough that I can download PDFs and photos and look at youtube things without leaving for a half hour and coming back and finding that the redline hadn’t budged. I called QWEST/Century link to confirm cancellation of internet with them. And I was the person on the phone for 40 minutes with them yesterday while they tried to talk me out of cancelling. At the end of the call they finally reconfirmed that there is only one speed of internet available in the 2600 block of 45th Ave SW from Century Link. And they would contact me when higher speeds were available.
February 21, 2013 at 11:31 pm #735986
KarlaMemberFor those of you discussing the CenturyLink speeds in West Seattle, I have been trying for YEARS to get something higher than 1.5 megs. Despite repeated promises that “upgrades are happening all the time”, I waited year after year. They said I’d be notified when faster speeds were available… I checked in January and still no increase. This week I checked and saw that now my area can get 7 megs! 1.5 and 7 are the same price but changing my service may affect the price for life deal I had. Despite the experiences of some others, my bill has not changed for years.
I am planning to cancel my land line so will have a price increase because I’ll no longer get the $5 bundle discount. I’ll have to see when my bill comes around just what I’ll be paying, as the Live Chat rep told me $45 while my emailed order confirmation said $30. Anyway, I wanted people to know that FINALLY some CenturyLink upgrades had occurred, and if you are waiting to be notified, you might not hear from them. Check it out and see if your area like mine (Gatewood) can get a higher speed.
February 22, 2013 at 12:20 am #735987
anonymeParticipantI have the $19.95 five year “deal”. It has to be bundled with the premium home phone package, and the total cost with all fees added is close to $90 per month. I was able to get it knocked down by 10 bucks per month for one year, but the advertising – as well as the sales pitch – is misleading to say the very least.
February 22, 2013 at 2:31 am #735988
KarlaMemberYeah, I should have mentioned that my bill runs about $70 for phone, internet, and modem rental, plus aforementioned taxes and fees. It’s a big mystery what it will be when the landline is canceled.
February 22, 2013 at 5:40 am #735989
HomerParticipantI’ve negotiated several times with centurylink so I pay for basic phone (just the line really) and 7mbs internet and no modem rental for $24.95/mo for just the internet. I get this for a 12 month period but then I have to re-negotiate with them for another 12 months at this price so not super fun but wurth it once a year. Phone is $13 + taxes a month on top. So, around $43 per month total. Just another data point for everyone.
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