Most of us can’t live without our cell phones and internet, and we all know they can take a big chunk out of our monthly budget. But here’s a plot twist: did you know that you can often negotiate a discount on your internet and cell phone bill? (And cable too, if you have a cable package.) It’s true—your business is worth a lot to the companies that provide those services, and they’re often willing to give you better rates to keep you. Here are some tactics you can try to get better pricing.
1. Simply ask for a better rate
A good place to start is to just ask your provider for better pricing, especially if you’ve been with them a long time. You can just call and say that you’ve always been happy with their service, but you’re looking for ways to reduce your monthly costs and want to see if they can offer you a better rate. Often, they will work with you to lower your internet or cell phone bill just because you asked.
Sometimes they might offer you a better price for a particular period of time, like 6 months. If they do, try telling them that you appreciate the discount, but that you’d really prefer a permanent price adjustment, so that you’re not calling to have this same conversation over again in 6 months. (They may or may not go for that, but it can’t hurt to try!)
2. Consolidate for a better price
Just as you can often get better insurance rates by having your homeowners/renters and car insurance policies with the same company, you can sometimes get better rates when you use one provider for cell phone, internet, and cable. If your internet and cable provider also offers cell service—or vice versa—and you’re not getting everything from that one company, call and ask them what kind of discount they can offer if you switch everything to them.
3. Ask them to match a competitor’s pricing
Take a look at competitors’ pricing on offerings that are similar to your cell, internet, and cable plans. If you find some that are lower, call your provider and ask if they’ll match the price. If it’s a comparable service, most companies will match the lower price. (You will be in a stronger position here if you are not under contract, though sometimes competitors will pay your contract termination fee if you switch to them, so that’s worth checking into as well.)
4. Threaten to cancel your service
If you really want to go big—and you’re not under contract or can switch to a company that will pay your termination fee—tell your provider you’re going to have to cancel your service if they can’t give you a lower rate. Tell them you can’t afford it as is, or that you’re going to switch to another company—you can get creative with your narrative, even if you’re bluffing. But it’s very likely that if you actually ask them to cancel your service, they will find a way to keep you.
