At fairs or on the high street, in banks or in call centres, the price quoted isnât always the one you have to pay. Martin Lewis gives his tips on how to save money with some smart negotiation
The Tangier carpet seller promised an ''exceptional, handmade rug, a snip at $1,500ââ. Having been shoved into the dingy showroom as part of a tour, neither Mrs MoneySavingExpert nor I were interested, but the American family next to us started keenly engaging in whispered discussions of what to offer.
Scratching my vocational itch, I interrupted and suggested they offer a tenth of the price. Jaws dropping, they said that couldnât be right and they didnât want to insult the locals then offered $1,200 and were beaten up to $1,300. On the coach later, another couple, in the next tranche, had bought the same rug for $200.
Yet haggling isnât just for overseas bazaars it has, albeit hush-hush, become a part of British culture. Whether in banks, high street stores, bureau de change, or even with insurers, donât believe the price set is always the price you must pay.
Even if you donât haggle anywhere else though, there is one must-do UK haggle: when talking to digital TV, broadband, mobile phone and roadside recovery call centres, not negotiating is just raising a white flag to overcharging.
With these maturing industries, their profits come as much from building their share of the pie as growing the pie itself. Therefore retaining existing custom is crucial. In many cases, the real delineator of whether youâll get a deal or not is simply whether you try.
I polled my âin the knowâ MoneySavingExpert.com users who try to haggle. Their success rates are astonishing. See the box below.
Provider Success (Shenzhen: 002289.SZ - news) rate AA (407 responses) 90pc TalkTalk (198 responses) 82pc Sky (915 responses) 82pc RAC (100 responses) 78pc Admiral (163 responses) 78pc Aviva (Berlin: GU8.BE - news) (123 responses) 74pc Virgin Mobile (113 responses) 73pc Virgin Media (395 responses) 73pc Direct Line (127 responses) 70pc EE (156 responses) 67pc Source: MoneySavingExpert.com Nov 2013 poll
While you wonât get 90pc off, the savings can be huge. As âMexicanoâ in my forum says: âPhoned Sky, told them I wanted to cancel my £32 a month subscription to watch Freeview only. I was transferred to a very nice gentleman and offered a 75pc discount to only £8 a month; a saving of £290 with no new 12 month contract.â
And in the past week, @Ganesh_Pat tweeted: âSaved my parents £60 on their AA renewal! Think @MartinSLewis would be proud of my haggling skills! #ProfessionalHagglerâ; and @Adonkis: âAnother success for threatening to leave £282 saved over 18 months with Virgin Media.â
The top 10 call centre haggling tips
This is more art than science but as discounting is factored into firmsâ pricing models, itâs worth trying to tap into it.
1 Timing is crucial
Haggling works best when youâre near or beyond the end of your contract. If not, youâre trapped and have little wiggle room. Donât call at the busiest times usually any time Monday, lunchtimes, month ends and starts, and just after people get home from work theyâll have less time to spend with you.
2 Benchmark the cheapest deals
Itâs important to have a factual arsenal. Research the deals, discounts and codes it and its competitors are offering to act as a basis for negotiation. Hereâs some sector-by-sector help.
⢠Broadband & home phone: ask for your MAC (Migration Authorisation Code), which is needed to switch. Itâll spook your existing firm into thinking youâre leaving. Benchmark price: new customer deals can be £10/month for broadband and line rent combined; see mse.me/broadband for deals.
⢠Mobile phones: the marketâs deflationary, so excluding handset costs you should pay less each contract end. Benchmark price: there are £15/month Sim-only deals giving unlimited calls, unlimited texts and a high data limit; if youâre paying more, ask yourself why? Use billmonitor.co.uk or mobilephonechecker.co.uk to check.
⢠Digital TV: Do a channel audit of what you really watch and ditch the rest. Benchmark price: Freeview is free, others vary hugely, but 50pc off Sky codes can sometimes be found. Current deals at mse.me/digitalTV .
⢠Breakdown cover: Itâs not just the AA and RAC, think wider. Benchmark price: Basic cover for new customers can be less than £20 a year if you go through cashback sites such as topcashback.com and quidco.com .
⢠Car and home insurance: always do a full market comparison, then take that price back to your insurer to match and beat it. Without doing so youâre often overpaying, even after haggling.
⢠Credit card debt: ask your existing cards if theyâll let you shift debt cheaply from other cards to them: Barclaycard and MBNA commonly agree. Then shift all debt to where itâs cheapest, so youâre using your existing credit efficiently. For any remaining costly debt, apply for a new card with a balance transfer deal. Full instructions at mse.me/shuffle .
3 Itâs all about getting to the retention department
Most front-line call centre staff are there to process standard administration requests, not to negotiate. So ask them for the deal you want, but if they canât deliver donât think the storyâs over.
The real powerhouse technique is to get put through to ''disconnectionsââ, a department which is usually internally called ''customer retentionsââ, as itâs their job to keep hold of you. This team generally has much stronger deal-making ability than customer service.
Therefore a simple âSorry, but in that case I think I may need to leave,â can pay dividends. I'm not asking you to lie; but if your deal isnât good enough, do genuinely consider going elsewhere. Once at disconnections, repeat your request and the haggling can start for real.
4 Donât panic about actually being disconnected
Many tell me theyâre just too nervous to try this in case theyâre disconnected. My easy ''get out of jail free cardââ on this is the phrase: âHold on, Iâll call you back on that. Iâd like to check it with my husband/wife/dog/Aunt Fanny first.â This gives you thinking time.
5 If it doesnât work once, you can try again
Iâve been informed by former call-centre operatives that they had daily discount quotas in customer retentions. This is only anecdotal, so I canât guarantee itâs true, but it does mean you may find a rejection one day turns into an acceptance the next.
6 Use charm, chutzpah, cheek and a smile
Aggression or anger will just put their back up. Youâre asking for a discount, and theyâre just as within their rights not to give it, as you are to leave.
You can hear if someoneâs smiling, even on the phone. Hagglingâs all about charm and chutzpah. Youâre dealing with a human being, with discretion, so utilise that to win them to your side.
In the very early days of dating Mrs MoneySavingExpert, I had boasted of my haggling techniques. She then came to John Lewis to help me buy a lamp I needed for my home. I tried a basic store haggle, and asked the male shop assistant to throw in some spare bulbs (which werenât cheap) for free, but was met with a flat refusal.
Yet when Mrs MSE nipped off to grab herself something, I explained to him I was on a date, had boasted I was a good haggler, and really needed to impress her. Turned out he was a single man sympathetic to my plight, so I got the free bulbs. It must have worked, as Iâm now married (to Mrs MSE, not the shop assistant).
7 Problems mean discounts
If youâve had issues with a company slow broadband, breakdown call-out response wasnât fast enough, poor mobile network coverage politely tell them when you haggle. They should want to try and make it up to you. Then again, are you sure you want to stay?
8 Use the phrases that pay
If youâre nervous, remember all youâre doing is asking for a better price because you think it's too expensive. Some standard phrases may helpâ¦
âIâve worked out my monthly budget and my absolute maximum price is £x per month.â
âI need to think about it, that price is just too expensive.â
âMy partner will go bonkers if I pay that much.â
âThatâs still a lot of money, is it the best you can do?â
Remember, donât say yes to the first offer they give you, unless itâs what you wanted.
9 If theyâve got a deal on for new customers, call up and ask for it as a retention customer
Make sure they understand you are frustrated that a new customer is getting a better deal when you have given them your loyal service. This is a very powerful haggling point.
10 Donât fill in the silence
A classic sales technique is to stay silent and leave the other person to feel they need to fill the silence and agree. If thatâs done to you, simply tell them youâre waiting for their better offer, or at least throw a question back.
11 Added extras are equivalent to a discount
If they canât drop the price see if they can throw in any extras - like this extra 11th tip such as free calls, a handset upgrade, extra six months warranty, Sky Sports for free, or Sky Movies for free if youâre getting Sky Sports. Non-price haggles like these can still provide decent, effective savings.
⢠Tweet Martin at Twitter (NYSE: TWTR - news) .com/@MartinSLewis
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