A SMART tip from Martin Lewis has helped a money saver save £849 a year on an essential household bill.
The fan, named Tim, followed the advice and this week explained how he did it Savings expert (MSE) newsletter.
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He told MSE that he had followed him Martinus haggle in an effort to cut costs on his virgin media bill.
He said: “I get all my media stuff through Virgin Media, but as I’m a sports fan we have a full package of £136 a month.
“This would rise to £157. After about an hour I managed to bring the bill down to £86.25 with an upgrade to HD sports and no increase.
“Thanks for reminding me to haggle.”
The tip comes just weeks after the telecom company announced it will rise prices for millions of customers.
BT, EE and Three all announced mid-contract price increases also in recent weeks.
Many telecom providers increase their prices every year on the inflation rate plus another 3.9%.
The current inflation rate is 10.5%, so the most bills will are up 14.4% – but not all companies are following exactly, so make sure you’ve checked what your provider is doing.
Most customers will see them bills increase from April 1, although some customers will have already seen an increase.
Customers who are still within their contract, or at least still within their minimum term, can’t do much about the walks, although it’s always worth haggling.
If you are out of contract, you may not have to pay the higher price.
But you may end up paying more than you need to, as a new deal is usually cheaper.
How to negotiate for a cheaper deal
If you think your bills are too high and you want to lower them, the first thing you need to do is find out what the cheapest deal on the market is.
You can use this rate as a bargaining tool to get a better offer from your carrier.
Check with your carrier to see if they can match this rate – if not, you may want to switch.
However, if you’re on half contract and want to leave, be aware that you may incur exit fees, so check with your provider for any charges.
Virgin Media customers who are dissatisfied with the bill increase have the right to terminate the contract prematurely free of charge within 30 days of being notified of the change.
In addition, these prices can be more difficult to negotiate since they come from all providers most years.
Make sure you do your homework.
Whether it’s a car insurance or a TV package, compare deals on the market and, once you find the cheapest one, use it to boost your bargaining power.
Try price comparison sites like Money supermarket, GoCompareAnd Compare The Market.
Companies usually also have a customer retention department, so knowing who to talk to is important.
You will most likely be transferred if you have threatened to leave.
They have the power to best deals and discounts.
You can even ask yourself to be put through to these people if that is not offered.
Just explain that you’re shopping and you’re willing to walk out if you don’t get the deal you want or if you get certain perks like TV channels or cashback.
For more ways to lower your phone bill, we have eight tips to save costs.
How much will my bill be increased by?
Your ISP or mobile network will contact you to let you know how much your bills will increase in April.
If you’re a BT, EE, Plusnet or Three customer, there’s an easy way to work out how much more you’ll be paying from April.
Just figure out what 14.4% of your current monthly bill is – you can use an online percentage calculator to calculate that.
If you’re a Virgin customer, you should use 13.8% instead, but remember that’s an average increase.
Then add those two numbers together – that’s how you get your new monthly payment.
To calculate your annual cost, multiply that total by 12.
Do you have a money problem that needs to be solved? Contact us by email [email protected]