I wanted to share this missive that I received from my dear son Mike Werner the other day. I think he's mastered that “new math” we hear so much about…

Oh, junk mail, such a staple of our society. The good news is I pass my garbage can on my walk from the mailbox to my front door. Ideally, it never sees the inside of my house. However, one recent piece of mail got my attention. I have Spectrum (the artist formally known as Time Warner) for internet and only internet. My bill runs about $55 a month. The junk mail of note said I could add a television package for $44.99 a month.

Just a short backstory--in second grade I was regarded as an “expert mathematician” so obviously I deduced this would give me cable and internet for the total of $100. Sadly, this is very far from the reality of having a Spectrum account.

So how do they advertise this? It's very simple--the TV package is $44.99, but this is only part of the overall service. You need a cable box ($7.99 a month for each one) and a mandatory “Broadcast TV Surcharge” which currently weighs in at $16.45. You have the option to add DVR which will add between $5-$10 to the bill as well. I was reassured that my first bill would be $135 but going forward it would “only” be $125. Hmmm… what is the $10 for? It is the installation fee.

My house is already wired for cable, so this fee is apparently me hooking up the cable box and activating it. I mean… $10 is not a lot to pay for labor. However, if I am doing the labor AND paying for it, it seems a bit excessive.

So you may be asking how am I watching cable if I am giving Spectrum TV the cold shoulder? The great news for consumers is we have so many other cable streaming services. Nearly all of them include free Cloud DVR and the price is the actual price. Hulu Live, Sling TV, YouTube TV, and PlayStation Vue (now discontinued) .... I have had them all at one time or another. New email accounts are free and free trials are very free. I have actually paid for each service individually and find them to be all very similar and much less of a headache than Spectrum TV.

Sadly, the most unfortunate consumers are the long term and loyal customers who can only dream of a Cable/Internet package that is under $190. See, my $125 a month is the promotional price for 12 months. Once 12 months are up…look out. This is why we see so many reminders on sites to set up the dreaded “Auto Pay” option. “Click here to set up auto pay!” “Never miss a payment” “Set it and Forget it!!” “Set it and please, please forget it” is more like it. We don't want you realizing that your bill went from $100 plus to the size of a new car payment.

If you find yourself in this predicament, there is a great game you can play to suddenly be enrolled in a “new” promotion. Should I call them up to see if something better is available? No. Call and choose the option to terminate service. Don't get nervous. You are in for a good 20 minutes of persuasive conversation with Customer Retention Agent #239864XB before anything would be even remotely shut down. I have had these conversations with these agents for different friends. My father taught me that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. And sometimes a lower rate.