# Directv/ATT Combined Bill



## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

I ordered ATT Dsl for installation this week. I personally dont combine any of my bills. Just an old habit. I am on autopay on most of my bills and cancelled paper billing (trying to go green ). I get email confirmations when services are about to get deducted from my bank account. I had Comcast for both tv/internet and in January I moved to Directv. Now Comcast wont renew my promo for internet so I moved to dsl to take the price I'm at now. When I had Comcast that bill came together but it is the same carrier for both so i didnt mind. 

I wanted to know if anyone experienced any issues with the bill coming together. Directv will still give the $10 credit per month even if I dont combine the bill but I did like the idea of having tv/internet on the same bill as i did with Comcast.


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## Mertzen (Dec 8, 2006)

It might take a few calls back and forth but you should be able to bundle up. Call AT&T.


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

I called AT&T and they suggested the combined bill. Im just curious if anyone had issues with billing or a promo getting removed after the combination was done. Directv said that AT&T would be collecting the bill for both services but if I have issues I would still call the separate companies. (havent had to call Directv for anything since installation). I dont think anything should go wrong but its 2 different services by 2 different companies and sometimes a service can be removed by accident. I had this happen to me long ago with wireless and internet being combined.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Combined billing is not available yet but you can get the discount still at this time.


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

Shades228 said:


> Combined billing is not available yet but you can get the discount still at this time.


I'm not sure if you mean in your area. AT&T does offer combined bill in Miami/South Florida and has been for some time. I just had mixed reviews locally from friends and family that some said that promos/plans were removed as well as some credits that were offered prior to the combination of the bill. Others have told me that it worked out. I was looking for some feedback on experience of some of the members here that do have combined or that had to have it removed due to issues.

Thanks


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

Movieman said:


> I'm not sure if you mean in your area. AT&T does offer combined bill in Miami/South Florida and has been for some time. I was looking for some feedback on experience of some of the members here that do have combined or that had to have it removed due to issues.
> 
> Thanks


The AT&T rep told me that they have combined billing here in Texas. I have the same concern as you about discounts, so I haven't pulled the trigger.

My bill is set up to AutoPay to my D* credit card which gives me a $5/mo discount for a year. I could almost bet that would drop off. I'm also getting the AAA and promo discounts of $28 and I wouldn't want to lose them either. Hopefully someone has actually done this and will answer your original question.


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

When Combined billing comes with you still be able to get to get direct tv Referrals?


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

JoeTheDragon said:


> When Combined billing comes with you still be able to get to get direct tv Referrals?


These are the questions I would like answered also. I don't want to loose my promos (which they promised wouldm't be removed) and they said referral credits would still be valid (getting a few people at work to switch from Comcast) but really would like more feedback from anyone on here. Whether you kept it separate or combined.


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## TempeDuck (Nov 25, 2008)

I provide tech support for AT&T's DSL service. If you have the ability to use cable internet I would. You pay about the same price and get a much faster connection with cable. AT&T is so large and spread out it is a hassle to get to the correct people if there is a big problem with you connection, they have everything spread out and one dept can't see what the other is doing because a lot of them are not even AT&T.


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## bigwad (Oct 19, 2006)

I ws going to bundle my D* with Verizon DSL in our area. After many phone calls and some misinformation from more than one rep from Verizon, I canned the idea. I am not going to go thru Verizon to make sure I get the correct credits, payments, etc from D*. With the straight out lies Verizon told me, I'm keeping an even closer on the bills from them than I have in the past.
I have always been pretty successful when I needed to get things done by going straight to D*, I think I'll keep it that way.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

TempeDuck said:


> I provide tech support for AT&T's DSL service. If you have the ability to use cable internet I would. You pay about the same price and get a much faster connection with cable.


I'm surprised to hear you say that. In my area, cable has a higher speed rating, but it never achieves them. Of course if you can get FiOS or Uverse and are calling them cable, I would agree.

When I switched from cable 7.0/512 to DSL Elite 6.0/768, I had both for a couple days. When I ran the same comparison tests side by side, DSL always performed better. Especially at peak usage times, cable really slows down since you share the bandwidth with everyone in your neighborhood.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

I was told the combined billing is not available in my area yet either. I cant remember when she said it would be but I was thinking not till like Nov or the new year.


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

TempeDuck said:


> I provide tech support for AT&T's DSL service. If you have the ability to use cable internet I would. You pay about the same price and get a much faster connection with cable. AT&T is so large and spread out it is a hassle to get to the correct people if there is a big problem with you connection, they have everything spread out and one dept can't see what the other is doing because a lot of them are not even AT&T.


In terms of speed I have done the comparison and the AT&T Dsl i my area is stable at 6 mbps which is the package that I purchased. Comcast told me that I had it for too long and could no longer have my rate. I had to pay the "normal" rate for 90 days and then I could go back to getting the promo rate. The cable rate is double than my current grandfathered rate. With AT&T I was given the rate/price I wanted which kept me at 6 mbps. I did a speed test and from the time of day of this post and the next 4 hours I am on the so called "shared" time and getting major slow downs. Comcast has been out here several times but my area is still a carry over from Adelphia.

I did decide to keep them separate. I setup paperless billing and autopay (both services i wanted and were not required). If U-verse internet hits my area then that will be the internet service I will take (not leaving D*) but its not here yet. I also like no contract and the plan doesn't change over time. My brother and mother have DSL and their plan hasn't changed. I was also told that since im getting DSL direct (no phone service) that I dont have to pay the added sales tax which is added on phone lines. (mobile service is unlimited so dont need telephone).

Thanks again for the feedback. I think separate will give me piece of mind and I still got the discounts offered for having both services so I didnt loose that promo.


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## TempeDuck (Nov 25, 2008)

RACJ2 said:


> I'm surprised to hear you say that. In my area, cable has a higher speed rating, but it never achieves them. Of course if you can get FiOS or Uverse and are calling them cable, I would agree.
> 
> When I switched from cable 7.0/512 to DSL Elite 6.0/768, I had both for a couple days. When I ran the same comparison tests side by side, DSL always performed better. Especially at peak usage times, cable really slows down since you share the bandwidth with everyone in your neighborhood.


Yes achieving the speed advertised is a crap shoot. The biggest part for me, is that distance from the Central Office (or Remote Terminal) is a big factor in the connection speed you can get. AT&T may state you can get the "6 Meg" package but they only guarantee 3+. So you may pay for 6 and get 5 and that is "within the range of acceptable" service AT&T provides. You also have to keep in mind multiple connections, with cable you have a fatter pipe wich gives you the ability to have more connections open, even if they are only meg or two.

The biggest call I get from customers is a "No Sync" which can be caused by as little as a phone that is not filtered. With cable you don't have to worry about filters.

With support, AT&T tries its best, for example, I work for 2Wire, which is the manufacture of one of AT&T's modems, we provide support for them as "AT&Y Home Networking" we don't have access to other department's systems. So if you call in and get First Tier Support, and they can't or won't fix your issue, I can't see any of the notes that they wrote. Many times customers need to be transferred to different departments, and again they can't see my notes. Plus, many times you will get transferred to someone just to be transferred to where you need to be.

So, all in all, from what I know about AT&T's DSL and how they function internally work, I can't endorse anyone to go with their services. I would stay with cable or a fiber connection (that isn't AT&T, their fiber is 1.5MB/sec, for the same price as their faster DSL connections), I wouldn't use any DSL based HSI service.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

TempeDuck said:


> AT&T may state you can get the "6 Meg" package but they only guarantee 3+. So you may pay for 6 and get 5 and that is "within the range of acceptable" service AT&T provides. You also have to keep in mind multiple connections, with cable you have a fatter pipe wich gives you the ability to have more connections open, even if they are only meg or two.
> With support, AT&T tries its best, for example, I work for 2Wire, which is the manufacture of one of AT&T's modems, we provide support for them as "AT&Y Home Networking" we don't have access to other department's systems.


I never got the rated speed with cable or DSL. I had TW cable and it was rated as 7.0/768, but at a peak time I only was getting 3.052/476 and at an off peak time 4.546/480. With AT&T DSL, my rated speed is 6.0/768 and it tests around 4.840/640 at all times. With AT&T DSL, I've several hiccups, where it reboots after a couple minutes. No major down time like I had with cable.

I have the 2 wire gateway with AT&T and it has pretty reliable. Accept for the power cord failing. Support told me they would mail a replacement and it was only going to take a few days to arrive. That was hard to believe.

Fortunately I had the mobile # for the AT&T installer that did my original install. I called him and he had the power cord on his truck. He told where he was and if I could meet him, he would give me a replacement. I met him and was back up the same day. That's what I call great customer service!

I tried to give him cash for helping me out, but he refused. Even offered to call his supervisor to let him know what great support I received. He said he would call me back with his number, but never did. Also, during the original install, he put in a whole house DSL filter for me at n/c. Same thing, would not accept any money.


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

TempeDuck said:


> Yes achieving the speed advertised is a crap shoot. The biggest part for me, is that distance from the Central Office (or Remote Terminal) is a big factor in the connection speed you can get. AT&T may state you can get the "6 Meg" package but they only guarantee 3+. So you may pay for 6 and get 5 and that is "within the range of acceptable" service AT&T provides. You also have to keep in mind multiple connections, with cable you have a fatter pipe wich gives you the ability to have more connections open, even if they are only meg or two.
> 
> The biggest call I get from customers is a "No Sync" which can be caused by as little as a phone that is not filtered. With cable you don't have to worry about filters.
> 
> ...


Although it wasn't directly linked, 2 different installations were cancelled on me this week. And the same day I called the cable company to turn off the internet was the second installation date. I decided this must be a sign. I called my cable internet provider and went through a few tiers and got close enough to the plan/speed I wanted. Since the internet is still with no contract I will try and see if they get it right. If not I will try next month to get dsl again. My biggest problem is that due to some storm conditions in my area the power keeps going out. The cable internet goes out with the power. My brother and mother who have dsl don't loose internet during power outages.

Thanks again for all the advise.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

joshjr said:


> I was told the combined billing is not available in my area yet either. I cant remember when she said it would be but I was thinking not till like Nov or the new year.


Combined billing is not available in any market at this time. Once it is available I'm sure you'll get some communications about it.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

Movieman said:


> Since the internet is still with no contract I will try and see if they get it right. If not I will try next month to get dsl again. My biggest problem is that due to some storm conditions in my area the power keeps going out. The cable internet goes out with the power. My brother and mother who have dsl don't loose internet during power outages.


Good luck! When I had cable it worked fine for me, except for the "grid outages" that would take me down for hours. And when I had digital phone service, that was even worse. Nothing like losing internet and phone service. Although we still had our mobile phones for making calls.

If you have a UPS, are using a laptop and you have a power outage, DSL is better. If you don't have battery power and you lose power, you will lose internet access. The good news with DSL is that I have never had any major downtime, such as "grid outages".


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