Six easy steps to negotiate your phone bill
and save thousands of dollars.A few days ago, my phone provider, Vonage, announced it was increasing my rate plan to $17.95/month from my current $14.95/month. $14.95/month was the lowest rate plan on Vonage’s website. The other choice was a $24.95/month “unlimited” plan, which I certainly didn’t need.
It was clear that Vonage was encouraging its customers to upgrade to its $24.95 rate plan for “only eight dollars a month!” I had a better idea.
I have had fantastic success negotiating with both cable and cell phone companies. Comcast is currently paying me to watch cable TV — I downgraded to basic cable, saving my HDTV and dual-tuner TiVo features, but my cost for basic cable is less than the 2-package discount I get by having our Internet service with them as well.
As for my cell phone, I currently pay Sprint PCS for two cell phone lines, 1000 minutes shared, 500 text messages per month per line, two data access plans with tethering, and insurance in case one phone breaks or is lost/stolen. Total cost? $67/month. (My boyfriend and I split this cost, meaning we pay less individually than anyone I know for post-paid cell phone service.)
In this article, I’m going to show you six easy steps to negotiate like a pro with your cable or phone company. All consumer cable and phone companies operate on the same basic principle — that saving a customer is better than trying to find a new one. The best thing about these tricks is if for some reason, they don’t work, you can just hang up. These companies won’t disconnect your service without you jumping through a lot of hoops, so don’t be concerned about “accidentally” canceling.
Step 1: Call and tell the prompt that you want to cancel your service.
Never call and ask for customer service. Customer service doesn’t have the power to lower your rate. Always call and ask to cancel your service. The automatic voice prompters almost universally recognize the word “cancel.” If you get to an operator, make sure you specifically state that you want to cancel your service.
Step 2: Stomach your fear and be kind.
When the rep comes on the line and asks what he/she can do for you, state “I would like to cancel my service, please.” It’s worth noting here that you should be as nice as possible. Put a smile in your voice. You want the rep to like you. They have a script, but they get personal bonuses for you to stay on as a customer. You both have the same end goal: for you to remain happy with their service and stay a customer for many years to come.
The script varies a bit here, but after confirming your account information, most customer service reps will note how long you have been a customer. The longer you have been a customer, the better. If you have been a customer less than 12 months, or are still in a service contract, odds are slim that you will get a sweet deal. If you have been a customer longer than 24 months, are no longer in a contract, and pay every month on time, you have much more negotiating power.
Pro negotiating tip #1: Always set your bill to auto-pay and pay it every month consistently to become a preferred customer.
Pro negotiating tip #2: Stick with the same service provider, using retentions when you want a better deal, instead of hopping carriers. I’ve been with Sprint PCS since 1999. The longer-term relationship you can develop, the better.
In this case, the rep said “I see you’re a long-term customer of Vonage. You signed up almost 5 years ago, in February 2004. What can I do for you today?”
Step 3: The four key words you MUST use.
At this point, you say the following words: “I can’t afford it.” These are the four words that tip off any rep that you want a lower price, not more features. What I typically say is, “Well, I’ve been with [your company] quite a while, and it’s getting tough for me to afford the monthly fee. I just can’t afford it any longer.” They don’t need a whole sob story — simply saying a form of “I can’t afford it” will trigger the correct script. Don’t threaten to take your business elsewhere, especially since you don’t plan to. Resist the temptation to justify. Just leave that “I can’t afford it” hanging out there.
They will almost always respond with “Let me see what I can do for you.”
Step 4: Never take the first offer.
Their first offer is a test, designed to get you off the phone as quickly as possible and score them the bonus. (Don’t fault them — remember, this is a script!) It’s guaranteed to be weak. In this case, I had explained I was calling because I couldn’t afford the rate increase to $17/month. The rep offered me six months of continuing the $14.95 rate.
Be polite! I said, “Hmm, I appreciate that, but that’s not really going to do it for me. I need something more permanent.” Again, no sob story, just a simple statement. That’s their signal to bring out the real discounts.
After putting me on hold for a minute (sometimes, at this point, they will pull in a supervisor, but Vonage didn’t), the rep came back with a much better offer. He said, “I see you’re only using around 100 minutes a month. We do have a special rate plan that I am authorized to give you today. [Erica's note: Those words are another cue that you're about to get a good deal.] It’s $9.99/month for 100 minutes a month. Additional minutes are 3.9 cents per minute. Incoming and forwarded calls are free; these minutes are for outgoing calls.”
I asked, “Is this a permanent rate?”
He replied, “Yes.”
Step 5: Once you get an offer you like, ask them to tweak it.
This was a great rate, and one not advertised on Vonage’s website, so I knew this was what is termed a “retention plan” — a plan designed to keep you as a customer. Once you get into the territory of unadvertised plans, you know you’ve hit gold. Now you simply ask for another tweak. For cell phone carriers, now is your time to ask for extra minutes, more text messages, or some other perk they can throw in cheaply. But with Vonage, I didn’t need any perks, so I said: “That sounds great. I’m interested. But could you get me a few months free on that? Say, 3 months?”
Most of them will chuckle at this point. They are aware by now they are dealing with a seasoned negotiator. This is a good thing; you’re developing a camaraderie with them. They should say “Let me see what I can do for you” again.
He came back on the phone and said he could do one month free on that plan. I said, “Great! That’s excellent. Thank you.”
Step 6: Thank them.
Everyone likes gratitude. Don’t forget to thank your customer service rep.
In Vonage’s case, they sent me an email confirming that my plan would be free for the next month and then drop to $9.99/month for 100 minutes/month. The total call took 12 minutes.
If I keep this plan for a year, I will save $106 ($8/month plus one free $10 month.) Based on the 12 minutes spent on the phone, that’s an hourly rate of $530 — making this strategy well worth your time to learn!
A few more tips…
- Drop the land line. There’s not a whole lot of reason to have a land line these days. Some people keep one around for E-911 service or to use during power outages, but they’re often not worth the price. Vonage requires you to input an E-911 address onto their website where 911 calls are automatically dispatched to if you call from that line. Since I only use my Vonage line at home, that works for me. If you have a landline, I’d encourage you to check out Vonage or RingCentral.
- Some carriers are tougher than others. Comcast won’t budge if you compare them to other providers, but “I can’t afford it” and then escalating to a supervisor works. To get the $67/month Sprint PCS rate, I made 5 calls and spent nearly 3 hours on the phone with 8 different representatives — 6 of whom said the rate I eventually got wasn’t possible. Was it worth the 3 hours? Yes! Over my 2-year contract, I will save over $1400 over Sprint’s posted rates for the same plan. That’s almost the same bang for the buck that my 12-minute call with Vonage provided.
- Don’t ever sign a contract without going through retentions. I’ve gotten a $200 credit, lower monthly rates, and even free or ridiculously cheap phones. Retentions is there to satisfy your needs. Use this to your benefit, and have fun with it!
Recommended Reading:
- RingCentral. Ready to drop your land line? Try RingCentral free for 30 days! You can set up a toll-free number, a local number, pr a fax line starting at $10/month. I use them for all my fax needs. My first choice for faxing and forwarding numbers.
- Why You Don’t Save Money (Even Though You Know It’s The Right Thing To Do.) Marketers are good at getting us to make emotional buying decisions. Savings and retirement accounts just aren’t as interesting.
- How To Start A Business With No Money. With all that money you just saved, how about starting a small business?
Get Rich Slowly readers: Welcome! I’d love to see you here more often! Please subscribe to erica.biz to get more free insights on starting and growing a small business and saving money.
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5. February 2009 at 7:41 am
Great post. I’ve done this but never knew when it was their best offer.
Also, once in a blue moon if I forgot to pay my credit card bill and incur a late fee, I always call to have it waived. If they don’t waive it, I say to cancel my card. Then they transfer me to retention, and it always gets waived since I am a good customer.
5. February 2009 at 8:44 am
Oh my gosh Erica this worked! MediaCom DSL was just reduced from 64.67 to 34.00 for one year – thank you!
5. February 2009 at 9:37 am
I’ve accidentally worked my way through most of this script.
One thing I wanted to add, though: If you care about 911 access, a land line is best. Using Vonage, at least in Canada, added almost 5 minutes to 911. We ended up canceling Vonage instead of the land line.
When we’re less likely to need an ambulance (long story) we’ll switch back.
5. February 2009 at 10:51 am
Great post, its all about keeping to your original plan and putting the emotion out of it. And adding confidence.
5. February 2009 at 11:00 am
Excellent post. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber =)
6. February 2009 at 5:42 am
Great Post! I can’t wait to do this! I had a friend who pitted a couple companies against each other in a similar way and ended up getting a super amazing deal for just under $30/month with an iPhone and free text messages.
6. February 2009 at 8:44 am
OK, I’ve got it..
Oh, what happens if you draw the line in the sand and they say OK…your DirectTV is now canceled
6. February 2009 at 11:45 am
nice post. I’m a GRS reader & have subscribed to your blog. I’m going to give this a try and report back, but I too, wonder the same as Chef. What happens when they say: OK, we’ll cancel your phone. Cya!
that would really bum me out….
6. February 2009 at 12:00 pm
@Katy: Good for you! That’s another excellent example of using negotiation to your benefit.
@Judy: AWESOME!
@Steven: Yikes — but thank you for pointing that out.
@tom, Josh: Welcome!
@Dan: Unfortunately AT&T won’t negotiate like that in the US. One reason I don’t have an iPhone…
@Chef Ralph, Brian: Don’t worry — they won’t! DirecTV in particular makes you go through tons of hoops to cancel. BUT if they really don’t give you anything, just hang up. They will NOT cancel your account if you hang up. And most cell phone providers make you record a statement to cancel. So, don’t hesitate! Every day you procrastinate is another day you pay more.
I have followed this script successfully with DirecTV, Comcast, Verizon, Sprint PCS, and Vonage. DirecTV will give you tons of stuff to stay. I would push them even harder than I did with Vonage in this post.
-Erica
6. February 2009 at 2:50 pm
am on hold with the phone company now…they have me transferring to a disconnect specialist!
6. February 2009 at 2:54 pm
have gone from $90 to $60!!!!!!!!!! this is for DSL, Local Phone + calling features, and Unlimited Long Distance….Their 1st offer was for $20 off, then I said, hell NO, and they knocked another $10 off…this is for a year, but at the end of the year, I’ll call back with confidence!!!!
our cell phone contract is up May, so I’ll be calling then…
ERICA YOU ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCkkkkkkkkkk!!!
6. February 2009 at 5:04 pm
hey, erica.
this is one of the best posts i’ve read in months. kudos!
i’m about to upgrade to a mobile package with verizon, so i don’t think i can pull this tactic just yet. i’ll wait a few months, then say the extra expense is killing me. using your tips, i should be able to get a discount. i have a cell, cable and phone package with verizon, i auto pay and i’ve been a customer for years.
again, nice work,
ken
9. February 2009 at 2:52 pm
Fabulous post. Being in sales, I always enjoy working with someone who is a negotiator. I also love being in the buyer or customer seat. These are some great pointers on negotiation.
Jarrod Morris
16. February 2009 at 12:47 pm
I still don’t understand why people stick with a company like Vonage, even at $9.95 a month, when I can use my MagicJack for $19.95 a YEAR and get the same result as Vonage. Oh, and their promotion of $59.00 for 5 years right now is practically like getting it free!
Anyone else using a MagicJack?
19. February 2009 at 7:03 pm
Great post. I worked a little in customer service back in college, and your tips are right on. I actually have had trouble negotiating with comcast over the past couple weeks, but after reading your comcast tips I was able to get a great, permanent, pricing offer. Thanks!
20. February 2009 at 6:55 am
has anyone tried this with there internet connection!?
21. February 2009 at 12:49 am
I was just wondering if anyone has tried this with DirectTv. I am having troubles because i moved to Los Angeles and my job has me moving in and out of everywhere and i might not be able to keep the directtv for 12 months. i dont want to pay a cancellation fee. I dunno what to do?
24. February 2009 at 9:16 am
Hi Erica – This is great advice. I only wish we had phone and cable companies over here who want to keep customers. I have had huge problems with mobile phone and TV companies over the past few years and I still haven’t received the £1000 from Sky TV that they overcharged me.
Hopefully, we will get to move to the USA this year and I will be able to use these ideas on companies who do care about customer retention.
24. February 2009 at 7:05 pm
Thanks Erica. Great advice. I just called Verizon and lowered my rate from $33 to $20, as I only average about 11 minutes per month. I’m the world’s worst negotiator and I pay retail for everything, so this was a bit hard for me. I probably could’ve gotten a sweeter deal but my nerve gave in and I took the deal, but I didn’t forget to ask for the free 3 months! In the end, I got a credit for one month. It sounds silly but I feel empowered by this experience, haha. Thanks again!
1. March 2009 at 11:30 am
Love this post! I just got Directv to shave $27 off my bill. Now on to Vonage and Verizon.
2. March 2009 at 2:10 pm
Thanks for the great post Erica. I followed your advice and Comcast offered me all the same service I had plus HBO for $30 less a month.
4. March 2009 at 8:38 am
Hi Erica, I think this information that you are putting out there is so needed!! I am from Brazil and when I married my North American husband and moved to live here in the US, I just couldn’t understand why North Americans would NOT negotiate for better deals. In almost 8 years of marriage, we have paid off all our credit cards, all our second mortgages, cars and only own on our house (we are paying it off this year!!) that we have refinanced to a 15 year mortgage. My husband has finally learned to negotiate on the phone and he has negotiated our phone and cable services down. He uses a pre-paid cell phone and we use a toll free number to make long distance calls, about $10.00/ month that we pre-pay. Whenever a credit card gives us trouble I tell him: “tell them we want to cancel our card.” They quickly give us what we want. Now, it’s important like you have said on your post, to have a good attitude and be paying your bills on time and a good history with the company in order to receive “benefits”. Whenever I go buy something I always ask for a discount. Why not? The worse thing that could happen is the seller say “No.”
thanks again, I will be back to read more!!!
9. March 2009 at 10:17 am
These are great tips! My husband negotiates with our cable company whenever our cable bill goes up. He’s learned several tricks and even knows which time of the day is best to call.
13. March 2009 at 5:44 am
This advice is great! I just called my cell phone provider, Tmobile and told them I was going to cancel because I cannot afford to pay anymore. It happened exactly as you described, they made me an offer for a plan that was very similar to the one I have now for $49.99 a month which is $30 cheaper than the plan I currently have! The only catch was it had a couple hundred less minutes but it had your favorite 5 unlimited calling which should make up for the fewer minutes. But I didn’t accept it, I told her that was great but I was still concerned we would go over our minutes. She then offered me bonus minutes in case I go over for each phone line (we have a family share plan). Then I asked her about text messages. We were paying $10 for each of us to have 400 texts per month per line. She said they could offer me unlimited texting on both lines for the same price. Lastly, I asked, “This plan sounds great, but if I take it does that mean I have to extend my contract?” My contract is currently up with them so I didn’t want to extend it and be stuck. She said yes it was a one year extension for the plan she just offered me. So I said “Well, this is a great deal but I am concerned, what if I try it, and then in a couple of months I can’t afford it? I will be locked into a one year contract.” She then put me on hold to ask her supervisor if she could do the plan without a contract renewal. She came back on the line and said they would do the plan they offered with no contract renewal. I am still month to month and I have saved $30 a month on my cell phone! Everyone should try this!!!!
24. March 2009 at 7:19 pm
I hate to be the naysayer — but what about when you do have a contract? I tried to cancel service on a land line we no longer use, but we signed a 2-year contract not seeing the nasty economy coming. We don’t even live there anymore, yet we still have to pay the bill. When I tried to cancel, they sent a letter “accelerating” the remainder on the contract (almost $4k).
Suggestions? Thanks in advance!
25. March 2009 at 7:35 am
Stumbled onto the Vonage discount by accident. Tried to cancel a two-line business account, and I really meant it — until they offered $4.99 a month plus 3 cents a minute for North American calls.
So I saved $600 per year with a single phone call, but what really made it work (for me) is that I wasn’t bluffing.
25. March 2009 at 9:17 am
Has anyone tried this with Time Warner (in the US) for cable, internet and phone? Curious . thanks!
25. March 2009 at 10:52 am
I am having the most terrible time of my life cancelling my service with Vonage started in Aug 2008. I have been told I would be charged a disconnect fee of $39.99 + an additional fee of $79.99 for a rebate they offered for the device. I don’t understand what’s the use of this gadget when I am not subscribing to their service anymore. I had lots of problem with their quality of service so I decided to switch to Ooma. I’ll appreciate if you could suggest and help me deal with these crooks!
25. March 2009 at 1:04 pm
Great Post – I have done this a few times myself and I always get something. Except for with Comcast. They were unwilling to do anything, and that was really strange because they had my cable, web, land line phone for around $200 a month for years. I really couldn’t believe they would let me go, but they did. Oh well…….
26. March 2009 at 3:31 pm
Thanks for the info. I just called Dish and got a free upgrade to HD and a DVR and $10 per month for two years. Excellent
27. March 2009 at 12:49 am
Hi Erica and thanks for this great post!
I was about to call my carrier few months ago, since my contract will end soon and I knew about this option of getting things much cheaper.
But reading your post prepared me even better and gave some valuable hints for that phone call, so now I know the first offer is…just the first offer – which I would normally accept, but thanks to your post, I will try even harder!
Will echo soon how things went between me and T-mobile!
29. March 2009 at 4:47 am
This I greate do you think this work everywhere?
30. March 2009 at 11:33 am
I just called Vonage, following this exact script and got our 500 minute plan reduced to $9.99, just as you said. I didn’t even fight for the free month, and they threw it in! Awesome tip, thank you!
13. April 2009 at 7:14 pm
Erica – great tips on negotiating these prices. In the process now of “shopping around” for a cell phone service for our company and came across your post on negotiating a lower bill for cable and phone – reminded me to do this for my home as well – on my task list for tomorrow!
20. April 2009 at 6:54 am
Thanks! I just used your approach on Vonage. The call took me a total of 12 minutes. They started by offering me an unlimited $24.99 plan (which would have increased my cost), then offered $14.99 with 100 minutes and finally $7.99/month with zero minutes. That worked out perfectly, since I just want the number for incoming calls. You saved me over $150/year!
21. April 2009 at 8:54 am
I just called Comcast and told them I wanted to cancel and the guy immediately started the process. I let him know that my triple contract just went up over $30 a month and I couldn’t afford it. “Oh! is that why you’re cancelling?” Duh! He then looked for a better offer and finally offered me almost the same package I had but a few $ more. I said that I couldn’t afford it. He cancelled me! He then said that my final bill would be only $22.00. I said “excuse me?” and hung up. Now what?
24. April 2009 at 5:09 pm
Bonnie, it might take speaking with several different people. Did you ask to speak to his supervisor? If you don’t like what a rep is telling you, always ask for someone else, or hang up and call again. You’re bound to get someone different. I’ve negotiated my way through tons of stuff in my life, saving myself a lot of money. It works, but takes some time. Keep trying!
29. April 2009 at 7:25 am
Erica, what if you are under contract with Sprint and use this method? Do you “threaten” to break the contract and leave to negotiate a better deal?
20. May 2009 at 3:06 pm
This process works well with Verizon as well- I got an extra $5/month knocked off of my current plan when I spoke to them about the fact that I’d been a 5+ year customer and was having difficulty with the bills. ^^
22. May 2009 at 4:35 pm
I just tried it with Comcast. They wouldn’t give me any features (and thought I was stupid for asking) but I was able to knock $30 off the bill for six months. She also said she couldn’t do a longer term without doing a triple play package. Oh well; good enough for a first try!
22. June 2009 at 10:12 am
I just worked a deal for Vonage and went from $17.99/month to a plan with 100 minutes, 3.9 cents per minute above the 100 minutes and 2 months free. Thanks for the tips! Now onto negotiating with Comcast.
8. July 2009 at 10:02 pm
I’m going to try this on my cable company, as they’re ripping me off for a long time now. As for phone, I use ooma. I bought it from Staples for $160. Add in another $40 to transfer my number to ooma.
The result? Free phone for life. I got rid of Vonage, and am using ooma for 6 months now..almost have it paid off.
2. August 2009 at 12:19 pm
I tried this tactic–it’s worked for me in the past–and this time, Comcast took a completely different approach.
When I said I wanted to cancel, and gave the reason why (”I can’t afford it”), the rep jumped right into the process. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll put that in for you. Do you know where to return your cable boxes?”
WTF?! No ‘what about these options,’ or anything. She didn’t try to sell me zilch or make an ounce of an effort to keep me on as a customer.
I chickened out. I got the impression she wasn’t even going to make an effort to haggle with me. With my bluff called, I asked about the other, less expensive options. Because it was true: I couldn’t afford a rate increase now that the promotional rate was ending, but I did want to keep cable. Comcast has a monopoly where I live and they are my only option.
I ended up downgrading my service to a package I could afford (sans a promotional rate). There was NO problem in doing this–the rep didn’t try to sell me Triple Play, didn’t fight me AT ALL, just put in the order with no problem.
Perhaps I encountered someone who doesn’t care too much about their job, or maybe, Comcast has changed their approach to people trying to cancel or downgrade? This was SO way different from any experience I’ve had with Comcast. They seemed fine with losing me as a customer (even though I’ve been loyal, always paid on time, etc) and they didn’t argue one bit when I tried to change my service.
Thought I would let others know that this might be a possibility when you call up and try to negotiate.
But hey, on the plus side, maybe for those who do actually want to cancel, there will be much less headache for you.
3. August 2009 at 11:00 am
I just tried speaking with Comcast, and I received almost the same reaction as well. My bill jumped from $90 to $132 after my promotional period ended. When I said I couldn’t afford it, Comcast tried to sell me a downgraded plan and once I said I was looking to keep my same offerings, they then offered a $10 per month customer retention credit. That’s nothing. New billing period starts on 8/7, so I’ve got to figure out another plan:(
5. August 2009 at 9:26 pm
Great Info.
Boy i forgot some of that stuff.
great work. Ive been on your site for 10 minutes
and i love it.
how old are you?????
amazing…
21. September 2009 at 1:27 pm
Oh my gosh this worked like a charm with DirecTV! I got a bill from them where our monthly had gone up $18, due to a year-long “rebate” ending, and there was no way we were going to pay the new amount for TV.
So I called, saying I needed to cancel because I couldn’t afford it. Turns out we’re still under contract for another year, BUT they still worked with me and offered me a deal for $16 off — so now our bill is only $2 more than what we were paying before.
Thanks for these tips! It’s true, I did have to swallow and just ignore the gut-wrenching fear in saying “I have to cancel,” but it worked.
Thanks so much!
5. October 2009 at 4:03 pm
I cannot thank you enough. I just saved 300 dollars a year in a 10-minute phone call!
27. October 2009 at 4:10 am
Hi Erica,
What an insightful post (I read it to see how it compared to Ramit’s advice on the same topic) – especially for a college drop-out
I assume your business experience helped you a bit, but still I can see the person behind the blog is worth following. So I’ll be back. Keep up the good work!
5. November 2009 at 10:12 am
Two phone calls with Verizon, and got nowhere. Their ‘loyalty’ offer drops my monthly bill by $15/month but also my minutes by 350, and unlimited nights & weekends, and would now have to pay for calls to other Verizon customers. I’ve been with them for 9 years.
10. November 2009 at 4:53 am
For all those that are unhappy with the outcome of their call; IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN! I have been doing this with my cable company for years with great success. One time I called, and the girl seemed all to happy to get rid of me!!! I chalk it up to being a lazy employee. I never give up until I’m happy. I just keep calling back.
Thank you, Erica. I just learned a few more things I can do, and I will be back on the phone again soon