RoxanneThe Internet is an absolute must nowadays due to all of the functions it can provide. Whether you use it to pay bills or stay connected to others, or your kids use it for school or entertainment, you’ll need a stable Internet connection to stay with the times.
If you have such a connection but feel like you’re paying too much for it, the quickest way to lower it is by negotiating with your current company.
What’s the benefit of staying with your current company? The fact that you can avoid a lapse in service, having to wait for installation, termination fees, or having to switch equipment.
1. Know what’s available.
The main goal of minimizing your Internet bill is to call your current service provider. Before you do that, however, you want to be as informed as possible and know what the competition has to offer in terms of plans and pricing.
If you think comparison shopping for affordable Internet is a time-consuming task, think again. As long as you have that handy Internet connection, you can shop by going to different company websites and seeing their plans.
Make a list or a spreadsheet of the different Internet offerings in your area. Make notes of any special promotions they have for new customers too. You want to have as much information handy as you can when making the next move.
2. Call your current Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Now that you know what’s available, you have a huge bargaining chip in your corner to lower your current Internet bill.
Call your ISP and tell them you’d like to lower your bill. Let them know that you’ve shopped around and have seen lower prices with the same levels of service elsewhere.
This may make them offer you a lower price right on the spot. If not, you can make the next move to get them to budge.
3. Threaten to cancel your Internet service.
An ISP often has procedures in place to retain customers looking to cancel. The person you’re talking to may offer you a discount to keep you on board, or they may transfer you to a retention specialist to get the job done.
When speaking to any agents on the phone, be sure to stay calm and polite. As long as they know you’re shopping around and contemplating a cancellation, there’s no need to be nasty if you want to achieve your bill-lowering goal.
4. Ask for promotions.
Your ISP may have current promotions in play that aren’t advertised. Unless you ask about them, you’ll never know they exist.
This is one of the easiest ways to lower your bill without the friction involved with threatening to cancel. A simple question could minimize what you pay for at least a few months.
5. Keep calling.
Just because one agent doesn’t lower your bill doesn’t mean that the next one won’t. The more persistent you are, the more likely you are to pay less.
