Go through a parent's bills line by line

A parent’s bills can run on autopilot with no one reading them. Some people say that is where the money leaks: a cable box, a landline, an email add-on or a rented modem that nobody in the home uses any more.

With your parent’s say-so, go through their bills line by line, ask whether anyone uses each charge, and ask the company about any charge you cannot name.

This page is for someone whose parent has agreed to the look. If your parent would rather you did not, the section near the end is about that, and no bill is worth a quarrel.

Ask first, and sit beside them

Some people say some older adults keep plans they no longer use, and not always from lack of awareness. Some say a change feels like admitting a mistake; some say the fear is that changing an email address or a phone arrangement will cost them something. One person says some parents fear a change will lead to financial ruin.

One person warns that stepping into a parent’s money can cause real friction in a family where pride or control is strong, and another says taking over a parent’s accounts needs their consent and trust. One person pushes back on a common assumption: it is condescending to treat older people as if they cannot follow a bill, since many have used the internet since its early days.

So the way in is to ask, not to take over. Sit at their table with the bill beside them. A company may want your parent on the line to say you can speak for them; do not pose as your parent on a call or use their password unless they have agreed, and ask the company to add you as an authorised contact; this page could not check each company’s rule, so ask the company how it handles that.

What to look for

Go down the bill and, for each line, ask: what is this, and does anyone use it? One person’s rule for the whole exercise is to call about any charge you do not understand, drop whatever is not used, and ask for a lower price on what stays. Another says to check every bill, not only the internet one: the card statement and any phone rentals as well. Some lines that people name:

• Rented equipment: a modem, router, cable box or phone paid for by the month, sometimes for years. Some people say owning costs less over time, and that some companies now connect only equipment on their own list. One person warns that a company may install its own equipment without asking if nobody is present at the visit.
• Channel packages and speed tiers: some people say older customers get sold channel packages or faster internet tiers they do not use. One person says a plan in the 100 to 300 megabit range can cover streaming and browsing and costs less than a gigabit plan. Another suggests running a speed test, since a provider may deliver less than the advertised speed.
• A landline that is not used: some people name landlines among the charges older parents pay without using. One person says an old alarm system that depends on a phone line can force you to pay for a line you would not otherwise use, and that moving to an internet-based system can save money. Read the safety note at the top before you cancel any phone line.
• Paid email or dial-up: some people say older parents pay for email addresses that are now free elsewhere, from awareness or fear of changing their contact details. Some people warn about confusing billing, such as an email fee described as being for security. See the next section before stopping anything here.
• Extras: one person says older parents may keep old hardware and several overlapping malware protections without knowing they do the same job.
• Phone payments that go on: some people say a phone company can hide costs in the plan: a lump sum due after a set number of monthly payments, or charges that continue unless you call to stop them. One person says their phone company switched a phone they owned to a lease after 18 payments, and the payments carried on.
• A deal that ended: some people suggest a calendar reminder for the date a promotional price ends, so the bill does not jump back unnoticed. One person says old contracts can expire while the bill keeps rising. Another says some providers raise a long-time customer’s speed without raising the price, so check what your parent already gets before assuming they are underserved.

Before you cancel anything

• A phone line: see the safety note above. Find out what hangs on it, then decide.
• An email address: do not let one close until you have checked what depends on it. A parent’s bank, doctor and other accounts may send codes to it or use it for password resets, and a closed address can lock them out. One person points out that stopping payment for an old dial-up service does not necessarily mean losing its email address. This page could not check any provider’s current rules, so ask the provider in writing whether the address stays free if you stop paying. One person warns that changing an address means updating contacts, banks and shops, which can take hours. One person acknowledges that but says the cost of paying for a free service outweighs the effort. The choice is your parent’s.
• A contract with a cancellation fee: one person says early termination fees can be large enough that waiting for the contract to end is the better move, while another says a fee can still be worth paying if the savings outrun it. The check is arithmetic: the fee, divided by the monthly saving, is the number of months before you are ahead.
• Equipment you return: one person warns that returning equipment without getting the return confirmed left a friend billed for six more months, so get it confirmed.
• Anything your parent uses: this page is about charges nobody uses. It never suggests skipping a payment on a service your parent relies on; a missed payment on a phone, power or heat line can lead to the service being cut off.

Is the old plan really the worse deal?

Some people say long-time customers can be on older plans that cost more, or run slower, than the entry-level plans now advertised, and that comparing the advertised price at your parent’s address with their bill can show a real difference. One person says it can go the other way: prices have risen, and sticking with an old contract can occasionally cost less than a new one. Another found the same speeds would cost $20 more a month if they switched after five years on one price, and a third says a bundle of old cable, phone and internet can cost less than dropping part of it. Some people say some providers keep their best prices for new customers and will not let a long-standing one upgrade.

So write the two monthly totals side by side, new and old, before changing anything.

Many people say the way to a lower price is not to argue with whoever answers but to say you are thinking of cancelling and ask for the retention department. Whether a call is enough is disputed: some people say a call and a cancellation threat is enough, while others say some providers refuse good deals to existing customers whatever you say, and that the only way left is to actually switch, where there is another provider. There is a page here called “Say you want to cancel, and then say nothing” that covers the call. Some people say that where a company has no competitor, the threat carries less weight.

Help paying for the line

In the United States, the Lifeline program takes up to $9.25 a month off phone or internet service, or a bundle, for a household that qualifies, according to the program’s own site. A household qualifies by income at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines, or by taking part in Medicaid, SNAP, Supplemental Security Income, federal public housing assistance (including Section 8 vouchers) or the Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit. Some people name an older federal internet discount and say people on Medicare may qualify; Medicare is not on Lifeline’s list (Medicaid, a different program, is), and this page could not confirm that older discount is still open, so ask the company what it offers low-income households. One person says people on Supplemental Security Income can qualify for internet and phone benefits through Lifeline.

The TV question

One person says moving parents to fiber internet and free streaming can save a lot each month. Some people warn about the cost in confusion: a parent who watches only live channels by their numbers can be thrown by a new remote and different channel numbers, and switching to streaming needs someone to handle the cables and inputs. One person says that after a grandmother’s TV was simplified, she kept phoning to ask how to use the buttons. Another says relatives can still get called to fix basics like a Wi-Fi password even after the bills fall. A TV setup that works and that your parent likes is a fine thing to keep. Price the saving against the confusion, and change only what your parent wants changed.

When a charge is more than a mistake

Some people warn that repair and service companies can exploit older customers with false emergencies or billing that is hard to follow. One person warns of fake calls that claim to come from an association. If a charge is from a company your parent has never dealt with, or someone is pressing them to pay at once, treat it as possible fraud and not a billing mistake. Tell the bank or card company first. In the US, report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, or call the National Elder Fraud Hotline on 1-833-372-8311 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm Eastern). In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Report Fraud is on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, tell Police Scotland on 101. Keep screenshots and transcripts of any chat with a company; one person says verbal promises are often ignored or reversed later.

Who this page is not for

If your parent does not want help, this page cannot make them want it, and it does not cover how to get legal authority over their accounts, or how to handle a parent who refuses everything. If you think a relative is taking your parent’s money, this page’s method is the wrong tool: one person warns that older people can be bullied about money by family. In the US, a suspicion that a relative is taking your parent’s money goes to your state’s Adult Protective Services, which takes reports of financial exploitation of older adults; the Eldercare Locator, 1-800-677-1116, can point you to local services. In the UK, Hourglass (0808 808 8141, free, open 24 hours) takes calls about abuse of older people, including financial abuse. If your parent is in immediate danger, call 911 or 999.

The Lifeline discount and the rules above are American. In the UK or elsewhere, the line-by-line check still holds, but the discounts and your rights differ, and Age UK or your national consumer advice service is where to ask.

This page is about phone, TV and internet. Power, water and heat bills are a different problem.