I noticed on our Comcast cable internet bill this month that the promotion which had allowed us to pay $19.99 a month for high-speed internet since we've been here had apparently expired, leaving us holding a $58 bill for this month. Emboldened by past successes in calling companies and asking for a financial break, I did the same here and spoke to a nice woman who found us a new promotional rate of $24.95. She also asked if there were any affordable apartments in Reston which took cats, and so we spent some time running down those possibilities. People helping people; that's what it's all about! Moral of the story: it always pays to ask! As my dad would say, "The worst they'll do is tell you no."UPDATE: I just did the same thing with our Progressive car insurance policy, which inexplicably went up $100 since our last payment six months ago--despite the fact that our driving records have been completely clean (mainly because we don't drive much!) and have always paid in full. A little scouring by a phone representative yielded some insight as to why that was (mainly the fact that they recalculated their rates in June, so not much to do with us personally) but she also transferred me to an account specialist, who combed our policy and found a speeding ticket that should have rolled off our account (luckily for us, they only look back two years!). That brought our 6-month premium down by $77, or a drop of over 10%. I'll take it!
As a side note, I have been thrilled with the customer service and user-friendliness of Progressive's representatives and website; while we've never had to use them for an accident (knock on wood!), they certainly have me feeling confident in them if we ever had to. I'm all for a company that's still willing to invest in a little goodwill, instead of gouging me for every penny they can.
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