High Street Haggling Discussion

Busby46

We received our renewal from THE HALIFAX priced at £494. Called them up and told then I didn't like the price so they reduced it by £70.
Received a quote of £259 from my car insurance broker so accepted that as it provided like for like in all except rebuild costs, Halifax was unlimited, broker was £500,000 and this was OK for a Victorian 3 bed mid-terrace.
Called the Halifax to say I didn't want to go ahead with their renewal and they said they could have done the insurance for £190ish.
You need to check the policy carefully but it can be a useful saving.

felixthemoggy

I'm glad I found this thread, just wanted to post my small but still quite good haggle. I wanted to buy 12 metres of white and 12 metres of gold cord for a craft project. One was priced at £1.25pm but the other was priced at £1.75pm yet were the same style, so I was looking at paying £36, I questioned why one was cheaper and after arguing my point, they reduced it and offered both at £1.25pm, but then I cheekily said I only had £25 on me, and managed to get it for that, I know it's only an £11 saving but it still put a smile on my face!

Cuilean

Thank you MSE for giving me the guts to haggle with RAC :T


I've been with them for 4 years, and every year the policy price went up and up. I like RAC - I don't really want to cancel, but I do want to save some money. This year, the renewal quote was £155.50, and I decided to spend some MSE time looking for success stories. Not many about RAC, but some good advice from real people!


In the MSE spirit of things, I used SayNoTo0870 to get a freephone number instead of the provided premium number, and had a nice chat with a call centre guy about how I was leaving as I'd got cheaper quotes from Green Flag and AA.


RAC train their call centre people well - he was able to tell me how Green Flag can never be price matched because they use sub-contractors, and they'll just hit me for repairs and labour charges once my car gets to their garage, then he waffled a load of poor statistics about AA (I'd had a bad experience with them before and didn't want to go back anyway, but he didn't need to know). I just kept repeating that at the moment, every penny counts, and if I could save money by cancelling and going elsewhere, I would. Suddenly, Mr RAC was in a position to offer discounts.


I used Martin's "I'll need to speak to my husband", and "Is that really the best you can do?" lines, and eventually accepted an offer which saved me just over £30. Not a huge amount, but for my first time haggling, I'm pretty chuffed. Now I know I can haggle, who else can I haggle with?

wackynut

I'm so pleased. I have just haggled with virgin and got my monthly mobile bills reduced. :j

I got a £12 a month, 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data on a 30 day rolling contract, down to £8 a month and then down to £5 a month. This was on 2 mobile accounts. :money:

good_advice

I have become an experienced haggler with lots of practice.
There is often flexibility with some shops.
Until money changes hands no sale has been struck.
The salesperson can always say no and loose my sale

I find showing an interest but put on my not too bothered look, can walk away.
Ask for something extra after finally agreeing a price. I did this with our car. Noticed there was no mats and petrol tank was nearly empty. The salesman soon said mats would be found and a bit of petrol put in.:)
Flaws also help, look for scratches on paintwork.

Insurance, I practice every year. Car insurance and home insurance.
I start by a little phone call and canceling policy on renew date. (no points for loyalty here!)
Look on several comparison site's and a few stand alone like Direct line.
Once I have the best quote I get on the phone and haggle.
Joining x2 or more policies reduces the price.
Last year I had our car and home insurance joined for added discount with Direct Line.

I am helping son and daughter with both their car insurance at the moment. I have plenty of time to look/ no rush or done in haste.
I have quotes from Compare the market, Moneysupermarket and Gocompare as kindly provided on MSE Insurance page.
Looked at Direct line.
Our choice for 2015 is Admiral for both cars and a joint policy.
We have been on the phone to haggle. Got price for adding extra older, no faults person on policies or not.

Flaws mean discount = On holiday we found our caravan had not been cleaned. It turned out to be missed off the vans to be cleaned list. No we did not want another van. We had the cleaner come around and do her best.
Always be polite and put in a complaint at reception. Wait for the manager to respond.
We, x2 had a complimentary evening meal that night with drinks.
We did not go mad but had the standard meal and some larger, it does not do to be greedy. Lovely meal of fish and chips.

Independent stores are great.
The owner has complete discretion.
Husband and I went to a jewelers to choose our daughter a necklace for her birthday.
We had a laugh with the owner, the shop was empty.
He got out what he had for our £20 price bracket. Some a bit more and some less. We were able to swap chains and pendants. Had a box added in free. Wrapped in a paper bag so no gift paper needed. Handed over £19 after haggling. Said it would pay for the car park :rotfl:

Just been shopping in Boots, I got plenty of discount with no haggling needed.
I was looking for baby clothes in the 50% off sale to stash for my x2 grandbabies for Easter.(Too small for eggs).
I had several coupons. One was spend £20 and get £5 off.
I have my receipt here! = Total saving £25.80
Total to pay £16.35.
Points received 64, offer points for parenting club 84.

Each sale counts in the recession so haggle a discount.
Any sale is better than NO SALE.

:money: Thank you MSE for all you helpful advice.

luxor4t

I haggled at TK Maxx and got a 15% reduction on a lacy cardigan as it needed a few stitches in n inconspicuous place. Very happy
:money:

JeffreyR

I once managed to haggle down the cost of some mens clothing from M&S by 30%. The sales associate seemed surprise at first, but after speaking to her supervisor was happy to discount my items! Result!

Evie_Clarkson

We've never paid full price for a holiday or broadband package, playing the companies against each other honestly works wonders! If I'm buying an item in a store that has a slight defect, I will always ask for a discount (baring in mind that it's the only one left/in that size!)

uncreative

Get in!

After reading this thread we went furniture shopping yesterday for our new house. New sofa, beds, wardrobes, tables, tv stand, carpets.

We went to Dwell as I felt it was a bit different to IKEA. The stuff in there was really nice but came with a bit of a price tag. We spent £2,940 and because we had saved the money I felt totally empowered to haggle. After coming through a debt free journey I know how hard it is to earn money.

Well we managed to negotiate 20% off the lot of the order, and free delivery worth £69. A total saving of £657. Then asked if paying by credit card was ok or did they add a surcharge. No, credit card is fine. Do you accept AMEX, Yes!!! So 1% cashback too into the bargain.

Couldn't believe it.

xxxJOJOxxx

I use to work in a high street clothes store. I'm a hard lady but occasional ill knock off a couple off £££'s


* I'd only knock money off to nice, friendly people. Even more so if I've been chatting to them in store. Rude or people who 'expect it' never got any
* New staff are unlikely to discount, it takes confident to do it (after all you don't want to lose your job)
* Chatting away with staff can sometimes reveal sale dates, offers coming up
* buttons missing etc. tends to give you a standard 10% off on the label but most salespeople who knock off a little extra if asked to clear the item
* A little check could make the store person consider you a 'student'
* Sign up to mailings at your favourites shops for discount offers etc


Be Nice, It goes a long way x