87% of customers who negotiated with their internet provider earned discounts or other incentives to stay, but most people don’t bother trying, a new survey had found.
Which? magazine quizzed 1,000 UK broadband customers about whether they’d haggled with their provider, and if they didn’t, why not.
Among those who didn’t negotiate, many (24%) thought it would be too much hassle to argue for a better deal, while others (18%) weren’t confident enough to try.
9% didn’t know how to haggle, and a further 6% thought it would be too difficult.
But customers who don’t haggle are leaving money on the table. A survey of broadband customers conducted by Which? earlier this year found that subscribers to broadband and TV bundles who don’t negotiate for a cheaper deal are hit with loyalty penalties of up to £690 a year.
But haggling saved customers of these bundles an average of 22% of their bills, or £180 a year.
Sky customers who didn’t haggle paid the most for their TV and internet packages: an average of £1,050 a year. But Sky subscribers who did bother to bargain with their provider paid an average of just £930 a year—£120 less.
Customers of BT’s bundles had the most to gain by negotiating. Those who did haggle with the provider paid an average of £510 a year—£210 less than BT customers who didn’t bargain.
Many customers sign up for contracts with attractive introductory offers, which last between 12 and 24 months, and when those contracts lapse, are rolled onto expensive out of contract pricing. Price increases for these customers can be as much as 60%, with subscribers to Virgin Media and TalkTalk’s broadband facing the highest hikes—of up to £192 or £162 a year, respectively.
However, the expiry of these introductory offers is the perfect time to negotiate for cheaper rates, and loyal customers can often persuade their ISP to offer them the prices extended to new customers.
How to convince them? Pick up the phone. Be polite. Play up any service issues you may have had. Suggest you may depart for another service. And it helps if you can mention the prices being charged by a competitor or that your ISP is offering to its new subscribers.
However, bargaining is most likely to work with large internet providers, which offer significant discounts for new subscribers and different sales throughout the year. Smaller ISPs tend not to discount as heavily and will be more reluctant to knock down prices for hagglers.
