QUICK TIP--CONTRACT RENEWALS/SAVING MONEY

.April—time for flowers to bloom, sun to shine and chill to subside. And, time for auto coverage and cable contracts to renew.

Our annual auto insurance policy arrived early. We’ve been lucky to have found a great insurance agent, on whom we depend for optimal coverage and appropriate pricing. As I checked this renewal policy, I noticed that our insurance company wasn’t celebrating our retirement as we had. They still had us commuting to work. I consulted with our agent. He also noticed that our insurer hadn’t had a party for us, and in fact, had continued to calculate our premium with a car commuting factor. So, he went back to the company to have that adjusted—which saved us a few hundred dollars.

Our cable contract would also roll over in a few weeks. I had made a note on the calendar to check promotions. Note to self and to all of you—-keep track of rollover, or you will probably be surprised with rate increases—special promotions usually aren’t automatic. When I spoke with the cable company representative, she assured me that she could extend our $20/month customer loyalty discount for another year. (Duly noted on the December page of the 2018 calendar, so that I can transpose to next year’s calendar.) But, there would be a $10 rate increase. Wait a minute—$10 increase isn’t consistent with a continued $20 credit. That means only a $10 credit, so we’d be paying more. This was especially annoying when the rep couldn’t explain the disconnect, other than to say that there was a rate increase. I probed intently for best price/special promotions. After too long, exasperated, I called one of my escalated contacts. If I didn’t have the contact, I would have simply asked for a manager, of course. The contact knew our history with the company, and arranged deletion of the new $10 increase. Since the call had taken over 3/4 hour, I felt that my time should be compensated, especially given the stonewall by the initial rep. My contact agreed, and added a $50 courtesy credit. So, I saved $170 for the year. Not bad—though not as good as the good old days when TV cost was simply electricity and the cost of the TV. But, those days are long gone, unfortunately. Sometimes, so are the days of customer service, though you, as an informed and persistent consumer, have the power to bring that one back.

KEEP TABS ON SERVICE CONTRACT ROLLOVERS AND SAVE MONEY