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Money expert Martin Lewis has revealed the four simple words you can use to get huge discounts on your TV, broadband, mobile phone bill or car insurance.
Speaking in a video he posted to Twitter to promote his latest podcast episode, which is all about how to haggle to get money off key household bills.
Martin said that the tip can work for anyone, but especially for those nearing the end of their contract. He advised his followers that after surveying his followers, he found that there is a more than 50% haggling success rate for four sectors in particular: broadband and digital TV, car insurance, car breakdown cover and mobile phones.
Speaking on his video, Martin Lewis said: “Haggling with call centres can lead to huge savings, especially when your contract is ending.
“But there’s one big trick everybody needs to know, and this is especially important in the four sectors where people in my polls report to me over 50% of people who have tried to haggle have succeeded.
“Broadband and digital TV, car insurance, mobile phones and breakdown cover.
“By the way in the podcast I go through the top 10 firms to haggle with and lots more tips.
“Big important one though, haggling is always about politeness and charm and trying to win them to your side. It’s never about aggression.”
Martin said there are four key words you can give to customer service staff to get money off your bills – ‘I’d like to cancel’.
Martin added: “So on to the most important thing, and that is when you ask to cancel, while they may say they are putting you through to the disconnections department, internally that will be known as customer retentions, because those people have a job to try and keep your custom.
“They will have much more deals discretion authority to give you much bigger savings. So if you’re not succeeding at first, then say ‘I’d like to cancel”, get put through to customer retentions and it may be a whole different ball game.”
Martin assured anxious listeners that it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to follow through with the plan to cancel, and if the customer services do call your bluff, you can back out by telling them you need to check with your other half, known previously as ‘the wife trick’.
Martin continued: “If you’re saying to me ‘but I’m not really sure I do want to cancel’, if they say ‘we’ll cut you off now, we’ll cancel now’, you just say, ‘I need to first check with my husband, my wife, my boyfriend, my girlfriend, my pet pigeon, before I do it. And I’ll get back in touch with you’.
“Though again, if they’re not giving you the deal that you want, and you can find it cheaper elsewhere, you may as well ditch and switch.”
The latest July 10 episode of The Martin Lewis podcast is now available on BBC Sounds, Spotify and Apple Music.
