GRS-reader Fritz writes with a money-saving tip:
I just wanted to share a way I saved some money on my digitalphone bill. I live in Wisconsin and have TimeWarner cable TV/Internet/digital phone service. The phone service costs $39.99 a month with unlimited long distance calls in the US. I thought it was a good deal when I signed up for it a year ago. Since then I have been thinking about switching to Vontage since they are only $25.99 a month. I called TimeWarner and mentioned this, and they dropped my phone service to only $29.99 a month. While Vontage is still cheaper, I don’t want to go though the hassle of switching services. I am glad that I called and saved $10/month.
A lot of people swear by this method: they call and ask for lower rates. I haven’t tried it myself yet — I get shy when calling bureaucracies. And I wouldn’t know what to do. Do I simply say, “Hi, I like your service, but I’m wondering if you can do anything to help me out on the cost?”
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You just simply tell them you have found services with same or better quality at a lower price and ask them to match it or you will take your business elsewhere.
Some bureaucracies will bow down to your demands, but some will just let you know your business is not appreciated, and then you switch.
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Another technique that inadvertantly worked for me recently was to ask for a downgrade in service. I had pretty much the most expensive set of services available from Comcast (digital, all premium channels, HD, DVR) and the ~$120/month bill was too much. I was ready to make a major sacrifice (I’m a tv addict) and downgrade all the way to basic cable, hoping to get my bill under $50. When I called, however, they offered to drastically cut my rate (down to ~$55) and let me keep DVR, HD, digital, and 1 premium channel. I kept almost everything and cut my bill by more than half.
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Downgrades and specials from other companies are great reasons to call. Another is to keep your eye out for sales and specials for companies you’re already with, and call and ask for them.
For example, my husband and I both had Verizon cell phones when we got married. He was sent an advertisement for a special which wouldn’t really give him a better deal, but it WAS a better deal for me. I called up and said “My husband pays $this. Can I get that same deal?” They said “Sure” without any hassle. I did have to extend my contract by a little bit, but that was all.
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This works. Our only option for high-speed Internet is Comcast, which runs for $65/month. They advertize a special for $33/month if you also have phone and cable with them. So my wife called up and asked for just their cable package, and they quoted $65. She asked if they could do it any cheaper (without any mention of other service or anything else) and they dropped it to $35 with no other required services or other strings attached. Not bad for just asking.
Also… Never ever pay an activation fee on any service. They generally drop them every time if you just ask.
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Don’t just use this for the internet. My SO and I needed brake work done recently. We got a quote from Midas. The amount was… high, nauseatingly so. And most of it was in the parts, probably because we drive a not-so-prevalent car model, but it was astronomical even so. So we called around and asked about the price at a few parts dealers, even knowing that Midas wasn’t going to be willing to use parts we brought in. Found out that one had these very parts for less than half what Midas was charging.
So we asked Midas if they could do something about that, thinking they might take off $20 or something, and instead got them knocked down to the parts store’s price and cut our total bill in half.
It never, ever hurts to ask around. While we were there, we watched a lot of people go in and out, and none of them ever questioned the amount they were asked to pay.
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I call my credit cards and ask for a lower interest rate. I don’t lead into it with anything. I just ask for a lower rate. I have excellent credit and I get a small decrease every time. I try to call once a year.
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I just did this when I joined a gym in the area. It’s new, and was offering deals for early signups. Turns out there was a $69 processing fee. That was enough to make it less attractive, and I said so. The guy said he couldn’t drop the $69, but he didn’t charge me the $19 to join and the $30 for the first month. So instead of $40 to join the Y and $47 a month, I paid (essentially) $40 to join Gold’s and will pay $30 a month. (And I get reimbursed $20 a month from my employer, so it’s an even better deal.) The key (I think) is being willing and able to walk away if it’s not a good enough deal.
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[...] your overhead. Call your utility providers to ask for lower rates. Or switch from the deluxe $80 cable package to $20 basic. Ask your credit card companies to lower [...]
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[...] telephone fees, newspaper subscription rates, and more. J.D. wrote about this one in his post Save Money by Asking for a Lower Rate and again in his post on The Reduction Quest. This is also good advice for hotel rooms and rental [...]
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