Top 10 service companies to haggle with

courtchamp

i tried last week and got them pushing v 6 box i told them i no longer want tv this current one been in cupboard 9 month was told £40 with new v6 line and 100mb but i need to cut my bills due to circumstance so last night i was told 50mb £33 no phone line
with phone £40
or all 3 £45
what am i doing wrong 45 is what i started on
bt have just offerered 29.99 unlimited upto 40mb
free line £worth 140 is this right and weekend calls
is this a good deal haven't haggled before just stayed with vermin all time they wont change either just rang them back
i forgot to ask about reward card offer which was online

Doc_N

Thanks to a recent Hotukdeals thread, loads of us managed to negotiate really excellent mobile deals with Three on SIM-only contracts - like these:

AYCE mins/AYCE texts/4GB data/Advanced/£5pm
600 mins/AYCE txt/8GB data/Advanced /£5pm
200 mins/AYCE txt/AYCE data/4GB hotspot / Advanced / £5pm
200 mins/AYCE txt/AYCE data/£5pm
200 mins/AYCE txt/12GB data/£7pm
AYCE mins/AYCE txt/12GB data/Advanced /£7pm
200 mins/AYCE txt/12GB data/Advanced /£8pm
300 mins/AYCE txt/AYCE data/Advanced /8GB hotspot / £8pm
AYCE mins/AYCE txt/8GB data/Advanced/£13-£4 discount = £9pm
AYCE mins/AYCE txt/AYCE data/30GB hotspot/£10pm

Always worth a go.

Ken68

Admiral phoned after I changed home insurance..... offering £30 discount.
Also Scottish Power chasing me to go back.

FB74

Hi, really wished I'd read the top 12 tips before I phoned BT to renew my line rental discount. Whilst doing this asked if wanted free upgrade to super fibre, I said it wasn't free as there was a delivery charge. Person on phone kept pushing referencing that my current hub was out of warranty and if it broke I would have to pay over £100 for replacement. I didn't fall for this but was then offered a couple pounds discount on my bill per month. Sounded a good offer, I asked to put my line rental payment through while considered it, reply was that couldn't do that would have to go through on one go. I then said okay put deal through, reply was then ooh sorry deal now no longer available. At which point I got upperty (I wasn't even phoning for a deal but now felt hard done to) said they had offered me a deal and that because they had logged out of the page it should still be honoured. Sales person got shirty when I said I wasn't happy and in future would be looking elsewhere, reminding me that the call was being recorded. I was not rude or obnoxious but found the person on the other end of the phone rude, talked over me and tried to bulldoze me into something I didn't need. They certainly did not like that I said they were wasting my time. After another few icy minutes my line rental was processed. Certainly not happy with their customer service.

Lumphammer1

I think you will have a 14 day cooling off period for stuff like this over the telephone (should you wish to change)

bilbobaggins

I posted this on another, specialist, website....

It's been a good day for haggling. A week ago I'd rejected my LV= car insurers' 'indolence marketing' new premium as hugely inflated, and spoke at length to their rep when finally I waded through the morass of bad canned music, 'AllOurRepresentativesAreBusy' announcements, and shifts from one department to another to another. They indicated they wanted £350-ish and would debit my account the day before 'roll over' renewal was due to commence. I got onto them 3 days before to reject that, and to have them remove the exorbitant Breakdown Cover element - which had almost doubled. They insisted - rep then 'manager' - that the instruction had been entered into their system and their renewals department couldn't ( wouldn't ) change it. I'd have to stump up the full inflated premium and then ask for a refund in respect of the unwanted Breakdown element.

No way! I have experience of wrangling with insurance companies, bouncing from one department to another to another. They were intransigent. So was I. "Just terminate the contract with immediate effect. It hasn't yet commenced, so you are instructed to attempt to debit NOTHING from my account." And that instruction was given to my bank, who were pleased to comply.

Today I went back to LV=, to their New Business people, who had a wholly different attitude to doing business. The premium they offered this morning, after discounting the unacceptable Breakdown Cover element, was just under 2/3 what they'd originally sought. Intransigently.

Then, over to the RAC. I'd left their setup some time back, due to a similar 'indolence marketing' ploy ( awlrite, awlrite. I know the tech-term is 'inertia' ). Today they offered me a premium, for us both, well under last year's speculative renewal..... down from £129-ish to £99, for us both.

I'm feeling smug and self-satisfied ( again! ) so I'll now go pour mesulf a healthy acknowledgement, and raise my glass to Martin Lewis' team....

Frankie56

I was paying £53 for Mix tv with V6 box and Vivid 100 Optical fibre. I decided to have broadband only and get Netflix so phoned Virgin. The best they could do was reduce my bill to £51 so I signed up for Talk Talk broadband only for £20. Got a phone call from Virgin 2 days later offering me Fibre 20 broadband for £12. So that with Netfix will be £22 a month.

shaunmayhew19

Just used your site for hints and tips, rang Virgin 4 weeks ago and could only offer reduction from £87 to £83 per month, (I got full house tv, 100mb broadband, weekend calls and 2 x mulitiroom, just rang today as my previous discount ended, looking to move and offered same package for £68.50 per month with no contract!! If you say you are leaving they seem to bring out the deals? A hint from MSE website!! So thank you!!

ih8stress

I'm not very good at haggling had a little success 3 or 4 years ago but last year and this year had virtually no success with Sky bb. Looks like I will have to bite the bullet and actually leave, this time.

Can someone please let me know if I apply online for one of the competitor offers (£13 cheaper for same package) do I have a 14 day cooling off period, just in case Sky get back to me a week or two later with an offer?

Thanks in anticipation

[Deleted User]

@ih8stress
yes there is a 14 day cooling off period which starts from the day you sign up .

Act within the cooling-off period
If you entered into the contract over the phone, online or on your doorstep, you have 14 calendar days to cancel the contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations.

The cooling-off period starts the day after you agree to go ahead with the service.

If you want to cancel a credit agreement, the Consumer Credit Act gives you a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel the agreement.

Cite the relevant legislation in all your correspondence with the trader when explaining you wish to cancel your contract.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-cancel-a-contract-without-being-penalised