Anyone else try TRIM to renegotiate bills?

[dvalley]

I just found out about it (https://www.asktrim.com) a couple of days ago so I singed up and let them renegotiate my COX Internet bill that went form the introductory $29/mo to $59/mo. A few hours later they sent me a msg saying they got me some savings. Sure enough I logged in and my bill is down to $46/mo. Not sure how TRIM came up with the $191.88 for the savings, may be they were able to get my bill back dated too, not sure.

Granted I probably could've called the cable company myself and managed to negotiate the bill down as I have in the past but long waits and not knowing all the negotiation tactics this was easier despite their fee (33% of the savings)

[COcheesehead]

My wife calls and says we are looking to drop your service. What can you do for us? And then she shuts up.

[dvalley]

Haha! I've done that and it has worked for me too. However, last time with ATT it didn't, then I followed through on my initial bluff and actually switched to COX which had the 1yr $29/mo and more data limit. But that one year has since passed and the bill doubled.

[COcheesehead]

Our provider has a one month period for you to become a "new" customer again. We haven't had a need to do it yet, but we could stop service for a month and then start it again under an introductory price.

[Sunset]

OP - I see $59-46 = $13 savings per month, in a year that is $156.

Don't see where they get the $191.88 from, except that at a 33% of savings fee, it means their fee is $11.96 too high. !!

[dvalley]

Agreed on the fees. I will have to wait until they have more info added to the account for their math. My version is as follows:

$59.99 - $45.99 = $14
$14 x 12 = $168
$168 x .33 = $55.4 - $168 = $112.56 net savings per yr.

I'll update here if their math works out differently. Still I'm not unhappy by any means because with literally 5 mins of clicking I saved over a $100. If I waited to call them myself I would've still been waiting several months later

[Cheesehead]

They are doing what I have done for myself for free forever. Whenever a service rises their rates, such as XM Radio, the cell phone company or I get a whopping medical bill, I call customer service and say: "I just lost my job and have to cut all my expenses, please cancel my service".

Most companies will transfer me to another department which specializes in "retention" and I get the discounted rate again. If they seem like they will let me go I stop them and tell them I will think about it. All medical and dental will put you on a $100 a month plan gladly. Now that I m retired I scrutinize all these monthly auto bills very closely. By themselves they seem cheap but when you add them up, wow. They are counting on you to not notice or feel pain but it's like being nibbled to death by ducks. Also, it's the principle of the thing. I can afford it but feel taken by these big monster companies.

So in sum, all we have to do is say: "I just lost my job". That's the key phrase.

[MissMolly]

We tried negotiating with our cable once. They wouldn't budge. We had been customers for almost 30 years. I dropped them like a hot potato. Went with a Tablo, an antenna and a Roku and have never looked back. Saved far, far more than any "discount".

[Jerry1]

I used to be easier, but I’ve kept our bill in check. You really do have to be able to walk. I’m so close to giving up cable (tv) that it’s not bluffing any more. To the OP, I wouldn’t pay anyone to negotiate my bill. Either do it yourself or cut the cord. The worse that will happen is you’ll pay nothing for awhile and then you’ll be a new customer, who, pricing wise, they treat better - for a year.

[RobbieB]

Yup, that's the game. But hey, it's not like you didn't know it (they tell you it's the promo rate up front) and you go from there.

[TrvlBug]

Some may be changing their business model. We have the Premier or whatever it's called, plan with Directv and wanted to lower the bill w/o losing any premium channels. They allowed us to pick and chose and drop channels we don't watch. Was able to reduce our monthly bill by $60-80 permanently. I don't know the exact dollar amount because we also got a 1 year promo rate on some of the channels. Me thinks they see the writing on the wall if they don't adjust.

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMolly We tried negotiating with our cable once. They wouldn't budge. We had been customers for almost 30 years. I dropped them like a hot potato. Went with a Tablo, an antenna and a Roku and have never looked back. Saved far, far more than any "discount".

I did pretty much the same many years ago. I got tired of paying for channels that were religion oriented, foreign language channels, channels to sell me something I don't want or need, and programs of no interest. Cable and satellite channels are pretty much junk for the money you pay. Only had about 3 channels of any interest out of over 100.


I have been using an antennae and Netflix for about 10 years now and mostly use the antennae for PBS and weather reports when not using Netflix.



Cheers!

[frank]

I have dish with about 150 channels and no special packages. just basic tv with local channels. they are up to 119. month. they started at about 50 and just keep going up. anyone know of any promotions on how to bring the price back in line or start over?

[dvalley]

OP here, all great suggestions. Trim supposedly does a lot more than just cable bills and I can see the value if they can renegotiate several bills for you with just a few clicks. It's not free but it's the convenience you pay for if you have a lot of bills and don't want being on hold or getting bounced around for hours in some cases.

In my case COX only provides Internet. I haven't had cable TV since 2004. Switching Internet from ATT to COX last year was a pain so I wasn't looking to go through that again.

[Teacher Terry]

We switch between direct tv and charter every few years so we always are a new customer.

[Mulligan]

I got my Direct Tv bill lowered $30 or raised $30 depending on ones perspective last month. Last year I did my annual call and they took $60 off which was an all time high reduction. This year they would only lower it $30 which is more in line with previous years. I dont really push hard I just call and say my discount expired and want to see if they have any discounts offered now. They have always given me something.