Shaw "Early Bird" Renewal: 888-444-5295

[mdk]

Last Saturday afternoon, I got a telephone-call from 888-444-5295.  I did not answer, and a zero-length voice-mail message was left.

I called that number, and got a recording that it was Shaw, and that their office hours are Monday-to-Friday from 12 to 8 PM Pacific, and from 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday & Sunday.

I called on Sunday, but their office was closed. Huh?

I called again, today (Monday) just after noon, and it really was Shaw, offering me "early bird" renewal pricing. They knew all my account details. So, definitely not a scammer spoofing me.

My current two-year Value Plan was to expire on February 2, 2023 -- 3.5 months away -- hence the timing of their "early bird" offer, with a claim that they may not be able to offer the same prices closer to the end-date of my current Value Plan.

I have been paying $194/month (plus taxes) for Internet 300, Hitron cable-modem, Personal TV, Shaw Phone, with add-ons (voice-mail, Suspense Pack TV, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, and Timeshift bundle).

After some discussion, I will get a one-time $50 credit, an upgrade to Total TV (which includes those 4 TV add-ons), and Internet 500, via the XB7 cable-modem, for $207/month (plus taxes).

So, from Internet 300/15 to Internet 500/100, via the XB7. 🙂

I chose to keep my Shaw Gateway HDPVR (with all its recorded content), but can replace it, at any time, by a BlueCurve TV box, with one additional remote-TV box, at no extra cost.

So, I will be paying 6.7 percent more than what I contracted to pay, in February 2021, and getting "more". Given the high amount of economic inflation between February 2021 and October 2022, that price-increase is quite reasonable. 

Also, note that I no longer will not have those 4 "TV Add-Ons", which were announced to have a $3/month price-increase starting in November 2022.  So, instead of $206/month ($194 plus 4*$3), my total bill will be $207/month.

[rstra]

@mdk  It was probably a good idea to get locked in before the price increase. 

[mdk]

It definitely was good to avoid the scheduled November 1 increases, and good to get locked-in before the (possible) Shaw/Rogers merger.

Also, the $50 one-time credit was a bonus, as was the stronger WiFi access-point.

[mdk]

To follow up: the new XB7 cable-modem arrived on my doorstep the day after my conversation with Shaw. I connected it, and waited about 15 minutes for it to connect & activate. The Shaw Speed Test shows 10% over the promised 500 Mbps download speed, and 95% of the promised 100 Mbps upload speed. The only problem is that the previous HITRON modem does not fit into the cardboard box that held the XB7 modem.  So, I will be repurposing a MAXTOR cardboard box to return the HITRON to Shaw, via the local Canada Post outlet. Shipping will be paid for by Shaw.

[g-idk]

Hi @mdk , Congrats, glad everything so far is going great. 

[mdk · Accepted solution]

One final "glitch" -- After Monday, I lost the "timeshift" package ($6/month, allegedly with no increase coming in November 2022), so I called Shaw again. The Agent added it in, and gave me another (24-month) credit, of $25/month.

So, I am now paying a few dollars less per month than my previous Value Plan, and I am getting a lot more (especially more channels with Total TV).

Great, and I was not required to be a "very-squeaky-wheel".

[Pedreins]

money grabbing rates

[mdk · Accepted solution]

@Pedreins -- money grabbing rates

Welcome to this peer-to-peer discussion forum, where volunteers try to help.

Please read: T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L.    🙂

If you want ZERO TV channels, you will pay ZERO.

If you want just a few TV channels, Shaw has "skinny TV" -- a hand-full of channels for $25/month.

If you pay for Shaw Internet, you can freely stream programs from web-sites: CBC GEM, CITY TV, CTV, GLOBAL,  Knowledge Network, etc. onto your computer.