How I made $120 in 7 minutes from my Internet Service Provider
Written By: Nick Nguyen | Read full profile
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I promise, this is not a scam. I’m trying to prevent you from being scammed.
So I’ve learned over the years that in the wee-hours of the morning, the internet likes to cut out.
Most of the time this is due to routine maintenance, but other times these are blips in service. Talk about becoming enraged at 3:30 A.M. when you’re trying to write a manuscript and can’t access Google Scholar to read some papers (oh...the life of a young scientist…).
Maybe for you, it’s because you can’t binge watch Netflix through the night. Or from a more practical standpoint, it’s because your Ring and Arlo security systems require the internet to record the hooligans trying to rummage through your car at dusk.
Either way, you’re paying anywhere from $50-120 a month for 24/7 access to the web. Whether you use it or not, you’re paying for it. So I figured, I’m not going to pay for a service when it’s not provided! You ain’t duping me [insert unlucky internet service provider who will face my wrath].
So, at the end of every month, I will call, chat, or even tweet to let them know that I would like a credit for all the outages that happened for the entire month. Sometimes, there are no credits, other times it’s only a couple dollars. But if you add it up over 12 months, you could be getting $25 back. That’s the price of one All-You-Can-Eat korean bbq lunch.
Many times in the last decade though, I’ll hit the lottery and will suddenly score a $20-50 credit for that month. This last time, I got $120 back in a 7 minute call that started with me messaging them on Twitter.
If you don’t include wait times, this would only take 5-7 minutes. I typically do this in my commute to/from work or as I’m netflixing. If you have waterproof headphones, you could do it in the shower too!
Here’s exactly what you say, so you can advocate for your finances:
You: Hello! My Internet/Cable service hasn’t been working all day and has been having spotty connection for the last month. Could you please help me review my account for all outages? Here is my account number: [insert account number]
Customer Service Agent: Hello, I’m so sorry for the trouble! I’ve reviewed your account and can see that you’ve had some outages in your area.
You: Thanks for confirming. Will I be credited back for these outages?
Now typically, the agent will say something along the lines of… “Of course, let me run it through the system to see how much you’ll get back!” and you wait a minute before they tell you how much you’ll receive. But once in awhile, you might get a tough rep who’ll give you a hard time and say they can’t do anything. When that happens...
You: I’m incredibly disappointed. I signed a contract with you for [insert contract length here], believing that you would do me right for the entire contract duration. Any outages are very difficult for me because I work from home and require internet service, and my security system requires the internet to run. Not having it will put my family in jeopardy. Now you’re telling me my Internet Service Provider doesn’t care about correctly charging my service? I’d greatly appreciate it if you would credit me back. I would like to stay with you long-term, but it’s quite difficult if this is the level of service your customers receive.
You could even throw in some pizazz if you’ve been with them for a LONG time. 8 out of 10 times, this does the trick and I get refunded on my next statement.
And if you’re like my parents and you think that I’m scamming them, I’m not. If anything, these companies are scamming you by not automatically applying those credits when they know the services were down! In fact, there’s a whole industry dedicated to negotiating your bills for you!
One notable service is AskTrim. I’ve personally used them, and every few months, they’ve nabbed me an extra $20. This is great if you just want to set it and forget it. They ask you to sign in with your account on their platform and take care of the rest! And these are for ALL your bills, not just your internet plans.
For me, I like to practice negotiating every chance I get, not to mention I get more money out of the calls/chats than just letting a bot do it for me. Plus it keeps me entertained while I sit through Houston rush hour traffic.