Martin Lewis has revealed a simple tactic that can help households save money on their broadband, insurance, and breakdown cover. The money saving expert shared the advice on his BBC Podcast, urging customers of suppliers like EE, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, Vodafone, and Plusnet to threaten to disconnect.
The magic words
Lewis explained that many customers are stuck with expensive deals because they don't haggle. He said: "The message is don't just accept your renewal - in the right industries you can often save a shedload." The secret is to ask to be put through to "customer disconnections." This actually connects you to customer retentions, where staff have the power to offer better deals.
How it works
Lewis advised: "If you first go through to call centre staff and you're politely talking with them and they're not giving you what you want, then again with a smile on our face because we must use charm to get the best deals, ask to be put through to disconnections and then you may get a much better deal."
Success stories
Fans have shared their success using this tactic. One said: "Virgin would not play last year, even disconnections, so I gave them a month's notice. After around three weeks they phoned me and offered me a really good deal to stay." Another added: "We did exactly the same... they gave it us half price for 18 months. So it does work."
Top companies to haggle with
According to a Martin Lewis poll, the top companies to haggle with include AA, CRA, Virgin Media, Admiral Insurance, Hastings Direct Insurance, AA Insurance, TalkTalk, Sky Mobile, and Sky TV.
Not always successful
Some customers didn't have success but ended up switching. One said: "Tried BT wouldn't budge so moved to Plusnet much cheaper £140 maestro card same speeds more reliable." Another commented: "I haggled with BT but they wouldn't budge so I've swapped to virgin and now BT keep pestering me with offers - too late I'm afraid."
Check your mobile contract
For mobile contracts, Lewis advised texting INFO to 85075 for free to check if you're free to switch. If there's no early termination charge, you can switch to a cheaper SIM-only deal.
