Have you already cut and lowered every expense in your monthly budget? I thought I had until I decided to try something new earlier this year: negotiating for a lower monthly bill for my TV subscription.
You see, I signed up for a TV subscription in mid-2013. I felt pressured to do so since I now had a “big kid job”. At first things were okay, and my monthly bill was only about $35. But, a year later, the “special pricing for new customers” was no longer in effect and my bill skyrocketed. It nearly doubled, coming in at $65/month.
When I saw that first $65 charge I think my eyes about popped out of their sockets. Luckily, I had just read about negotiating to lower your bills, so I decided to give it a try. I was successful in getting my TV bill lowered, and now I’ve used negotiating to lower a lot of my monthly bills.
Here are 4 negotiating tactics you can use to help lower your bills too.
Ask for a Better Rate
When I made my first phone call to try and get a lower bill for my TV subscription, the only negotiating tactic I used was to simply ask if the company had any new pricing deals that I might quality for. The customer service rep told me they did have a new pricing structure that could lower my bill by about $5 a month, but by switching to a different plan I was able to shave $10/month off of my bill.
Reiterate Your Loyalty
My car insurance was up for renewal last month, so I inquired about lower rates. I mentioned my loyalty, as I’ve been with the same insurance company since I started driving in high school. After looking things over with my agent, I was able to save some money on my car insurance premium that was partially due to my long-term membership.
Mention Competitor’s Deals
I haven’t personally used this negotiating tactic, but a good friend of mine did. She got a flier in the mail for a direct competitor of her TV company and used it get them to lower her rate. This worked out pretty well! She didn’t have to go through any hassles to change her service but was still able to lower her monthly bill.
Tell Them You Want to Cancel
Because I signed a two-year contract for my TV service in 2013, I wasn’t able to cancel my subscription with them until earlier this year. When I called to cancel my service, I was immediately transferred to the dreaded “customer retention” department. Of course, they feebly tried to convince me to continue my service by lowering my bill drastically. If I were indeed planning to keep the service active, this would have been a great way to lower my bill, but unfortunately for them, I did cancel my service. Still, it is a great negotiating technique if you are looking to stay with the same company at a lower rate.
One Last Tip
When you are negotiating to lower your monthly bills, keep in mind that the person on the other side of the phone is human too. There’s no need to be rude with them. Better yet, I’ve found that being firm but kind in asking for a lower bill has been pretty successful for me so far.
Have you ever tried to negotiate your monthly bills? What tactic did you use?
Another tactic is to try again if you’re rejected, where possible. If I call my cable company and they tell me that they can’t do anything more, I’ll politely hang up, wait a few days, and call again. Often times, simply talking to someone else can end up yielding a different answer.
Great tip! It’s definitely worth another try if you are rejected.
I’m glad you added that last point : ) I agree with Money Beagle. Sometimes, trying again is worth it simply because another person answers the phone. Not all reps are created equal : )
That’s definitely worth a try!