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I finally did it
This afternoon, I donned my armor and called Comcast. With the new year came a new and improved bill—at least from their perspective, I’m sure. I didn’t care for it very much. It was just enough incentive to finally cancel my phone service. I cannot justify paying nearly $50 a month for a service I rarely use. If they had tiered phone service there might have been some room for negotiation, but they’ve gone to one tier digital phone service, which throws in everything but the kitchen sink. Whether I need it or not. About the only thing my Comcast phone service has been good for is filling my voice mail with supplications for donations to this or that organization. And the fact is that if they have to call me to beg, they are obviously not on my list of charitable concerns and there’s a reason for that.
After being transferred a dozen times and listening to their Kenny G style elevator music while on hold and explaining repeatedly that no, I really do love my Comcast service, but I don’t need the phone (especially not at that ridiculous price), it’s nothing personal, they finally agreed to disconnect my phone service without further adieu.
So, now I have joined the burgeoning legions who are without a land line and who depend on mobile phone service to meet daily needs. It feels a little strange to not have a land line for the first time in my life, but I’m sure I’ll adjust without much notice. I rarely used it anyway and at least it’ll be nice not to have the phone ringing from someone I don’t want to talk to. Everyone else already calls my cell phone.
Oddly, however, I still have basic cable television. Because of Comcast’s demented bundle policy, I need the basic television connection to maintain a bundle discount price for my internet. Without the basic cable television connection, my internet bill would actually increase to about $12 more than the internet/television bundle price. I have a hard time understanding exactly how that makes sense, but that’s Comcast.
So I should just call your cell now? Sigh, I wish we could do away with our land line. Unfortunately with the kids we have to keep it. It would be way to expensive for all the cell phones we would need in this household. Maybe in a year or so though we might just be able too though.
LOL, my word is pecksniff. WTH?
We still have our land line, but we use it less and less, and nearly every incoming call is a solicitation. It’s tied somehow to our internet connections (though we were able to drop the cable tv service), and I think we’ll need to keep it a while because of that. All of my children have set up their households without land lines. It’s not even an issue with them but for a certain generation of people it’s a real leap of logic to do without a phone in the house.
the only issue i had without a “real” landline (using vonage for one year which worked great via computer, but i have no idea how) was when we were without electricity/cable for 13 days in 2006 due to a storm. we had to use the car to charge our cells. made me just nuts, and i decided i had to have a landline for emergencies which, of course, we have not had since. we may brave it again, too.
Yes J, you can now eliminate one step in trying to reach me. As you well know I hardly ever answered the house phone anyway. Mostly because I never knew where it was. And because I’d turned the ringer down to the quietest, least intrusive one it had.
Pablo, the lad is like that, too. He sees no value in a land line and I highly doubt he will even think to have one installed in his home someday. The younger generations really do have a different view of communications.
I am finding, however, that I’m starting to get some solicitations on my cell phone. Lately it’s been one that leaves a voice mail saying, “This is the final notice before we close the file.” Usually a male voice, but occasionally female. I have no idea and don’t care to. They don’t identify themselves and I don’t owe anybody anything so pffft. Annoys me that it’s now legal for them to waste my minutes like that. The least they could do is call after my free night minutes start.
Sky, the power issue was something I had to figure out when I went back to Comcast. My phone service was routed through the cable modem and if the power or cable went out, my house phone went out, too. I got myself an iGo power adapter (at Radio Shack) that fits in the car’s cigarette lighter thingy and also into my hand crank charger (also outfitted to charge my Kindle). The hand crank charger works great. It gives me about 8 minutes of talk time for every minute that I crank. It’s very easy to use. I also got the lad a little battery operated charger which has been a life saver for him a couple of times, too. He just tosses it in his backpack and knows he’s always protected.
Oh...J...Pecksniff was a Charles Dickens character, one of his great villains. Reading Dickens might be sort of like eating a pile of bone dry plaster dust, but he surely did have the greatest names in English literature.
That’s where I heard it before LOL. That has been bugging me all day. I didn’t think to google it tho, da!
cell service is so spotty where I live in the canyon I would be nervous about giving up my land line. Also I found out when you diall 911 on your cell it goes the the Highway patrol! So getting emergency services could be delayed.
Supposedly I’m tied into the local 911 calling center. I also have the police, fire, and ambulance on my speed dial. Of course, the chances of me having my phone anywhere near me should I need to dial any of them are probably somewhat remote, especially the ambulance. I need to work on my telekenesis. ;)