Bills seem to never end. Cell phone, cable, water, electricity, etc. – if you live somewhere, you are paying them. Add up the bills you pay every month and you will find that more than half of your paycheck goes to paying the bills. But, once in awhile, you’ll hear someone tell you about this great deal they scored with their cable company or their cell phone. So, why aren’t you getting that fantastic deal? You aren’t asking for it!
Don’t make “Full Price” your first name. Always ask and negotiate your bills.
Take time to call the companies and directly ask for a lower rate. Yup, it’s that easy sometimes to lower your bills. Find the customer care phone number on the bill, pick up the phone, dial the number, ask for a supervisor or manager, and then start negotiating. For those of you who hate negotiating, don’t. Just say a simple statement “ I need your help. My rates are too high and I need them to be lower or I may have to cancel my services.” Surprisingly, even this simple statement has a high rate of success. If you love to negotiate, then definitely do more, push more, and try every angle.
Don’t know how to negotiate? Here are a few suggested angles for you to take:
Sympathy angle: “I just lost my job. “ “I don’t have any money.” “ I am a student.” People like to help people that are worse off than them. Appeal to people’s sympathetic sides. (Even if this isn’t you, gaining someone’s sympathy helps them get on your side – something you want when you are negotiating.)
Aggressive angle: Some people just need to be bullied. Be assertive. Tell them they have to give you a discount. Threaten to switch companies. Sometimes, because companies don’t want to lose your business, they will make sure you are happy and give you what you want.
Nice & Sweet angle: Sometimes, you just have to be nice to someone and they will give you what you want. Start off with asking them how their day is going. See how they are doing. Then, explain the situation and ask them to help you.
Smart angle: Taking a few minutes to do some research on the internet can pay off. People are always talking about the latest deals they received. Places like fatwallet.com, slickdeals.net, and other forums specific to that company have plenty of discussion threads regarding recent deals that people have gotten. If you find those deals or promotions, you can point them out to the customer care agents and ask to receive the same or something similar.
Here are bills that you should always try to negotiate:
1) Credit card fee and surcharges because you forgot to pay on time
2) Monthly cable bill
3) Monthly internet bill
4) Cell phone rate and additional charges
5) Magazine & newspaper subscription
6) Gym membership and monthly fee
Finally, if they say no the first time, try calling again in a few days. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of talking to the right person at the right time. Everyone has their bad days and this includes the customer service agents. If you talk to them on a good day or talk to a nicer one, you never know what extra perks they can give you. If you want to be rich, learn how to ask and negotiate your bills down.
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