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.
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.
MONEYSAVINGEXPERT.COM has listed a number of other tips to boost your haggling chances:
