The Foxtel hack
I’ve been a vocal opponent (and customer) of Foxtel. A service that, as the web evolves is loosing its reason for being in my life. So I decided to disconnect my service and here is the interesting story of what happened.
I called the number and the options to choose from (1,2,3,4) for the appropriate issue. This surprisingly included ‘Press 4 to disconnect’. This was the first clue things aren’t right down at Foxtel. Any business that has this issue come up often enough to include it in the first 4 options of customer interaction has some issues.
So I click it and get put through to the ‘Customer Retention Center’ and they ask me why I want to disconnect. A few of the reasons I tell them include:
- I’m sick of seeing better offers advertised to new customers. (Screw the existing ones hey!)
- They have reduced the services and kept the price the same for my account.
- I can’t get movies on demand (which I’m prepared to pay for) without signing up to a more expensive packaging (WTF, the tubes are already in my house?)
They apologise, tell me I’ve been a good customer for a few years, so they offer me a $30 discount per month. Which is 30% off what I’ve been paying. I retort with, ‘if I’m such a good customer why do you only try and keep me once I’ve already decided to leave you?’ Seems to me they have things back to front at Foxtel.
So I took the discount for now – I’m moving house in 2 months and it is all over for me and Foxtel then.
My advice to any Foxtel subscriber out there is to call up to disconnect and get the discount anyway and hack their already flawed proposition, before it gets hacked entirely by market forces.
Because I’ve lived in a series of homes with terrible connection/reception issues, I’ve been without terrestrial tv or cable for years. What I do have is an AppleTV, a US credit card, and access to a service that allows me to access NetFlix streaming via a proxy.
I would never even consider cable/satellite TV any more. Look into it, Steve. It’ll change your couch-life.
I’m on it Ross – A tip on how to get a US credit would serve me well via twitter DM.
As soon as I move house it is goodbye Foxtel.
Steve.
Great post. I need to call and disconnect too!
This is great, thanks for the tip! I phoned them yesterday and got some money off!!!
What great advice you give…..of course I gave it to you about 2 months ago, go read the comments on the last Foxtel posts you’ll see I wrote this:
‘Oh and if you are paying $100 a month for Foxtel you are getting ripped off, call them and tell them you are going to cancel, they will counter-offer and you’ll get it a lot cheaper.’
See what happens when you listen to me.
Leon,
Credit to you – I did take your advice, it was your idea and it worked a treat.
Keep the good ideas coming…
Steve.
Works for Vodaphone mobile broadband too
Works for everything actually….find a web price on your next desired TV or component and wander down to Harvie Norman with a printout…..great Saturday fun
[...] I recently read an insightful blog post entitled the ‘Foxtel Hack’ by Steve Sammartino about how he reduced the cost of his Foxtel in a few easy steps – playing [...]
This is great advice. I’m paying about $120 per month to Foxtel at the moment and we certainly don’t get our moneys worth. I will give them a call and see what I can get off the price.
This is great advice. I am paying around $120 per month to Foxtel and will definitely give them a call to try to geet a reduction. Thanks
Does this work with foxtel via telstra too?
Yes it does.
steve.
Well it seems that those hacks / easy sport watching methods are arriving very quickly. The current AFL / NRL Optus situation is a classic case in point. Also, now tTesltra will sell AFL games to mobile for $5 a pop…. it will be much easier to cherry pick events – which is where the world is going. People hate packages and fixed systems so it is only a matter of time.
Steve.
Does your employer know how ‘up shit creek’ their current strategy is – especially not allowing for ‘on demand’ ?
Steve.