Updated: 01/26/2009 3:24 PM KSTP.com | Print Story
By: Art Barron

BARRON: Babysitting your cell phone, cable companies

I've been wrangling over the issue of the high price of cell phones and cable tv for a while. Seems like anytime I want to scale back, either my request was not implemented, or somehow I ended up with "so-called" extras. My bills tend to increase not decrease.

I remember when I called my cell phone provider a half year ago and asked to be placed on a plan where I would use a higher number of minutes so I wouldn't be charged 40 cents a minute in over use charges. Come to find, that request wasn't implemented, so I began seeing higher bills at the end of the month.

On the cable tv level, I asked to drop the premium channels and HD channels. A couple months later, I noticed my bill was actually higher, no action had been taken to give me a "scaled back" plan.

So, I took action over the weekend. I made sure the cable company placed me on a "basic plan" . The cable guy came over and removed my digital box, and placed a filter on my cable line so I only receive the 22 channels.

My cell phone provider placed me on an "unlimited plan", and I called back to make sure they put it into the computer so there is no confusion.

I think many of these companies try as hard as they can to resist customers' requests to scale back. Finally once the customer calls them on it, the providers have already pocketed that extra money for whatever time went by.

It's really sad we have to double check with cell phone and cable companies to make sure we aren't being overcharged for something we had previously arranged. I look at my monthly statements very closely now, and still shake my head at these extra little charges they tack on as well.

If I had it my way, I wouldn't have a cell phone, nor would I have cable... but we have become so dependent on this stuff we can't think of doing without... and when you have children, you need these items.