MSE News: Sky and the AA are easiest to haggle with

Rob_07

Hi,

I had my AA breakdown cover renewal quote 2 weeks ago, I have Roadside assistance, At home, National recovery and Onward travel - this is personal cover not vehicle cover so can be used when I'm passenger in any car

Renewal quote = £159.57

I called to ask for cheaper and I was offered £79.78 a saving of 50% :-)

This is also about £50 cheaper than what new customers pay on the website

tgt

I have Sky TV, phone and broadband. Phone line costs nearly £13 a month, and broadband (unlimited) £7.50. Called Sky customer service saying wanting to drop phone & broadband for other providers. Was asked details of what other providers would cost. Then offered free phone line for a year.

And, just to try my luck, also asked about TV deal. Had been on basic TV for over 4 years. Was offered free Sky+HD box without having to take on the HD add-on option. Even had an installer come to replace the single cable with a twin cable for the +HD box for free.

lemonsqueezer

Yesterday I saved £140 on an iphone 4s without haggling. My network provider advertises it for £239 on a £25/month tariff. I phoned them up to get my PAC code as I had seen the same deal on a different network, but could get £50 cash back via topcashback as a new customer. 2 hours later, someone from cancellations team called me and offered me the phone for £99 on a £25/month tariff which gives me more mins, texts and internet useage than the network I was going to switch to.

I guess after the Christmas rush, they are eager to boost sales and keep customers!

DHB_2

I recently asked BT for my MAC code to look for a new broadband supplier and they offered me a new 12 month contract for £8 month! I was paying £17.99, my own fault as I had forgotten that my previous contract had expired and it had defaulted back to full amount. Even so, my previous best deal had been £12.99 so this is a real result. I have made a note to do this again at the end of the 12 month period. With line rental paid in advance at £10 month plus £4.90 month for inclusive anytime calls, and a BT vision box, I feel I have a very good deal and I have never had cause to complain about the service.:T

wrrplodder

We are currently with Sky receiving phone, hd+, internet and the full bundle of tv besides films.
I got a leaflet from Virgin Media through the post informing us they have now installed the cables in our road and they were offering a juicy worm rate for new customers.
With a call to Virgin I got their rate for the same package, when I said I needed to consult my other half as we pay through a joint account he knocked even more off. I said I'd still have to consult (a fob off as I was going to ring Sky). I rang Sky and told them of the offer but never mentioned the price. Less than 5 minutes later Sky had reduced my monthly bill from £78 to £34 for 12 months. Result!

jackonet

The other halfs and daughters AA cover is due to renew this week (£112) so had a look around at the weekend and got the same level of cover from the RAC (and they were doing free homestart) for £99 plus £20 cashback.
Rang the AA and they matched it, with homestart thrown in, straight away so we're actually saving £32 plus the homestart cost for a two min freephone call:D

Wintersmyth77

I rang up and threatened to cancel my card apr then 29.9%, I had no intention of cancelling as I couldn't afford to pay off the balance. I asked to be put through to the account closing department and they did allegedly but then that department offered me a new interest rate of 19.9% apr if I spent nothing or less than £50 per month and 9.9%apr if I spent more than £50 per month on the card (that's total spend not in one go) so now I just put my petrol on the card and concentrate on paying off the balance.

Rosie_Thorn

I've had various successes over the years. Insurance of any type is always worth a try. I always get other quotes and then ring my provider - I now mention cash back deals too and the only time my existing insurer didn't better my deal was three years ago with Direct Line buildings insurance. My van insurer always came back with a deal at least £20 cheaper than whatever I said the cheapest quote was.

I've just had a major success with Virgin mobile phones. On Boxing Day my Great Dane knocked my phone off the table into a bucket of water. Needless to say it died (the phone NOT the dog). I rang Virgin as I still had 6 months left on my contract and said that I was going to leave and go to Orange as soon as my contract ended as they had a better tariff for my needs. Virgin gave me a new contract (so I got the shiny new phone that I wanted for free) and matched the Orange tariff which now means that I have a brand new Android phone and am paying less per month than I was previously. (Great Dane has been forgiven!)

It is also worth ringing service providers if you've just transferred and things don't go smoothly. When I switched back to BT I was without broadband for 4 days (it was a weekend) and I made a bit of a fuss (politely) and got 3 months free and when I got my new phone from Virgin (see above) it didn't arrive within the 24 hours that I'd been told so I rang to 'discuss' my sitting in all day with them - I got a month's tariff credited to my account (and the phone turned up just as I was thanking the Virgin chap for being so nice!).

I don't actively haggle. I just say that I'm leaving/don't wish to renew because X has quoted me a better price.

carefulkenny

Usually the best companies to haggle with are those where an automatically renewed direct debit is in place since they will be keen to keep you. It took a couple of calls but I got £60 off AA renewal. However insurance companies are more difficult to budge these days so you may need to change. In the last few weeks I have saved £200 on house insurance and £300 on vehicle insurance. If you search on line I would advise to complete the deal on the phone so you can ask questions about the "small print" as websites can be misleading (this is obviously not deliberate??!!)
Good hunting!

gezzs

I called Sky to enquire about the 1TB HD Box. I was told it would cost me £49 as I was already an HD subscriber, but I had to speak to another department to make the payment. I was put through, and then told the cost was £149 unless I took out an HD subscription for £10 a month (which I couldn't as I already had one!).

I got back in touch with the original department I spoke to, and they put the supervisor on the phone. She took payment - £49, ordered my new 1Tb box and gave me 50% off my HD subs for a year to apologise. THATS customer service! )