Martin Lewis’ tip saved me £1,746 a yr on family invoice – 3 key takeaways
A thrifty Brit managed to cut their annual essential household bill after following advice from personal finance guru Martin Lewis.
Brit Sam managed to slash a hefty chunk off his broadband, TV and landline fees after testing out the Money Saving Experts’ haggling tip.
Although the best savings come from changing providers, according to Lewis, customers who don’t want to can still find saving in haggling with their current company.
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Putting theory into practice, Sam was able to save £1,746 after negotiating with his provider.
(Image: Getty Images)
He said: “I 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!”
To successfully negotiate down your bills, first work out the cheapest deal available. You can then use this to leverage a better deal.
(Image: Getty Images)
According to MoneySavingsExpert, haggling is as simple as calling up and asking for a better deal.
The website reads: “Say you’re paying too much and you’ve seen cheaper deals elsewhere. If that doesn’t work, tell them you’re leaving. You’ll usually get put through to companies’ super-powerful hidden deals departments.”
The key thing to remember is that “companies only make their best deals available to newbies” and that they love loyal customers, who “don’t check if their deal can be beaten”.
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The advice, continued: “So ask yourself a question: do you want to be a customer whose business is fought for, or one who’s taken for granted? If you don’t want to be taken for granted, take the haggle challenge.”
MoneySavingExpert stressed that although haggling “can be powerful”, some new customer offers are unbeatable, so always see what’s out there.
Timing, benchmarking the best deal, being nice and persistence are key in haggling.
(Image: PA)
Using “phrases that pay” is also key. Saying ‘I want to move to a new provider’ will get you to the retentions department, where phrases such as ‘I need to think about it’, ‘I’ve worked out my budget and my absolute max is £X’ and ‘It’s still a lot of money’, are all good ways to start negotiating down.
MoneySavingExpert also advises not to take their first offer, or cave into any time pressures imposed — people can always say they need to check with their partner or housemate before agreeing to anything.
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