Martin Lewis’s tip saved me £1,746 a year on essential household bill – all it took was a quick call
A MARTIN Lewis tip saved one savvy bill payer £1,746 after just a quick phonecall.
The handy haggling tip, shared on Martin’s MoneySavingExpert (MSE) website, slashed a considerable amount from Sam’s broadband, TV and landline fees.
According to MSE, the best savings typically come from changing provider, but customers who don’t want to can still hagge with their existing company.
Sam emailed in February saying: “I had an email to say my contract was ending and my monthly bill would rise from £79 per month to £158 per month.
“I phoned them and, after haggling with them, my new monthly bill is £61 per month, a saving of £1,746 over the 18 month contact.
“Bingo!”
Earlier this year, another bill payer revealed how they slashed an essential bill by £312 thanks to another tip.
HOW TO HAGGLE YOUR BILL DOWN
If you think your bills are too high and want to drive them down, the first thing to do is find out what the cheapest deal on the market is.
You can use this rate as a bargaining tool to get a better offer from your provider or as inspiration to switch providers.
Sites like MoneySuperMarket and Uswitch all help you customise your search based on price, speed and provider.
If you’ve found a cheaper rate with another provider, get in contact with your current provider to see if they can match the price.
MoneySavingExpert.com recommends that you reach out to your network providers “disconnections” helpline as a last resort.
This is because most companies refer to disconnections as a synonym for “customer retentions”.
Once connected, repeat your request – if you seem genuine about disconnecting, you should get a much-improved offer matching the market’s best openly available tariffs.
If you’re unsuccessful at haggling, then you could threaten to leave.
Your provider might then feel more inclined to keep you by offering you a better deal.
Attempting to haggle will always make it easier to decide whether to renew your contract or move to another provider.
OTHER HAGGLING TIPS
MONEYSAVINGEXPERT.COM has listed a number of other tips to boost your haggling chances:
- Timing is crucial: Haggling works best when you’re near or beyond the end of your contract.
- Benchmark the best deal: It’s important to have the factual arsenal at your fingertips before you pick up the phone, so do your homework.
- Use charm, chutzpah, cheek… and a smile: Aggression or anger will just put their back up and won’t get you anywhere.
- Use the phrases that pay: You may find that your customer service rep will only offer a small discount at first, but if you don’t agree with the price, try phrases like: “I’ve worked out my budget, and my absolute max is XXX…”, “[EE/O2/Three/Vodafone] can do it for less,” etc.
- Problems mean discounts: If you’ve had issues with your network in the past – for example, poor coverage or long waiting times on customer care calls – then politely tell them when you haggle.
- Don’t say yes to the first offer they give: You should never go with the first offer. Chances are, it’s not the best deal they can do.
- Don’t fill the silence: They may push you to agree because it’s a “limited-time offer”, but don’t feel pressured into agreeing to the new price or deal unless you’re certain.
- Ask if they can throw in extras: If they won’t slash the price, ask them if they can at least include any extras.