Negotiate Bills to Slash Your Spending

Have you tried to negotiate bills for lower payments in Canada? If you haven’t, read this post and find out how you can save on your cable, internet, and phone payments.

The current economic situation is forcing us to find ways to save. Fortunately, there may be one more way to slash your spending without sacrificing your lifestyle – negotiating cable, internet, and phone bills to reduce payment. This way, you can divert your money for more meaningful spending.

Here’s my story.

Two years ago, I switched my cable, internet, and home phone to a different provider. They offered a 40% group discount for our building for 2 years for packages that were more attractive to me. I paid around $120 monthly for these 3 services. A month or so ago, the discount lapsed and I saw a $209 bill. That was a huge jump!

I called the provider to negotiate the services and the bill. The customer service representative offered me an upgrade for $234. I wasn’t using the services beyond the basics so I refused. At that point, he offered to connect me to the loyalty department.

In my limited experience, this is where negotiating bills and service inclusions really happen.

I was initially offered a package with almost the same services for a discount of $53.70. After explaining my current requirements and usage, I got a cable, internet, and phone package for a total monthly discount of $72.50. This means I will enjoy a savings of $870 per year for two years after 2 5-minute phone calls.

I’ve also negotiated my mobile phone bill in the past. I successfully got a lower payment for the same package with the service provider’s loyalty department a few years ago. However, once this contract lapsed and upon the introduction of new technology and bigger data plans, I was not able to negotiate. Instead, I was offered a better package for a higher rate.

So, here are my tips.

• Take note of when your promotion period or contract ends. This is the best time to negotiate bills.
• Know your current usage and requirements. Take a look at your most recent bills and look at your usual usage. Are there frills that you can do without? Maybe you don’t make long-distance calls on your home phone since you use Zoom, WhatsApp, or FaceTime instead. Maybe you don’t need as much data because you are always on Wi-Fi.
• Do your research. Check out the latest deals from your provider and its competitors that may suit your needs. Also, look at incentives offered for customers who switch over.
• Call customer service to negotiate. If you have been a long-time customer, it would help to mention this. You may mention deals you have found through your research and that you are considering switching. However, premium service providers might push back when their deals are being compared to smaller players.
• Aske to be redirected to customer loyalty. Customer service may only be authorized to give certain deals. If you have not found an offer attractive, they may pass you on to customer loyalty. If they have not, ask if you can be connected to customer loyalty.

Service providers are motivated to offer discounts as this may be cheaper compared to losing a customer. Also, it is possible that they started using new and cheaper technology so they can pass on their savings to customers.

Negotiating bills can then be a win-win situation for both the service provider and the customer.

With today’s economic uncertainty and rising costs, every dollar counts. Try these tips to negotiate bills and divert your cash to more meaningful spending.