Haggle with Sky, the AA & more

New customer offers abound on TV packages, but often people get complacent and want to stick with one provider, as it has what they want and what they're used to. Keen footie fans may want certain sports channels, for example.

Fortunately, it's one of the best areas for existing customers to haggle on – here's an example from a MoneySaver:

The best providers to haggle with are Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Now. For a full breakdown, see the 2024 poll results.

For full info on haggling with the biggest providers, see Haggle with BT, Haggle with Sky and Haggle with Virgin Media, and to benchmark the best offers, compare cheap TV deals. Here are our hot haggling tips for TV:

• Say you'll move to Freeview. The cheapest TV option is Freeview. It's a one-off cost of around £30 for a set-top box if your television set doesn't have a built-in tuner (very unlikely these days), and there's no monthly subscription. It's a great ditch-and-switch threat to make, and often providers will give you a few months at half-price or lower your monthly payments in response. For more on making the most of Freeview, see our TV MoneySaving tricks.

• Do a channel audit. There's no point paying for access to channels you don't watch, so decide what you want and get the right package.

  Scanning through channels (with the rest of your household) should let you know which are important. If doing a channel audit shows you're over-subscribing, tell your provider you want to reduce your package – can they offer special rates?

Speaking to your provider could also net you faster speeds, a new (better) router, and possibly some other freebies, such as a Wi-Fi extender, as well as a better price.

Even if what you're currently paying is pretty reasonable, you can STILL save. Here's a great success story from MoneySaver Russell:

The best providers to haggle with are Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Now. For a full breakdown, see the 2024 poll results.

For more full info on haggling with major firms, see our Haggle with BT, Haggle with Sky and Haggle with Virgin Media guides. For general help and best buys, see our Broadband haggling and Cheap broadband guides, or compare the best broadband deals in your area, but here are a few quick tips:

• Monitor your broadband speed. Doing speed checks at different times of day will give you an idea of the actual speeds you're receiving. If those speeds are way off your package's advertised speed, ask for a discount, as the service you're getting is slower than what you're paying for. For more info, see Boost your broadband speed.

• Check your calls package. If your package includes a home phone calls plan, and you're not on the right deal, you could be overpaying. See if you can haggle a discount or ask to downgrade.

  You shouldn't automatically pay for the most expensive unlimited anytime calls package if you're not going to use the calls, especially if you're also paying for a mobile phone deal that includes free calls.

  As a rough rule of thumb, it's only worthwhile taking an anytime package if you make over an hour of peak-time calls each month.

• Pay line rental upfront for a discounted rate. Unfortunately this is no longer an option. A number of major providers used to offer you the choice paying line rental upfront as the cheapest way of getting it, but with Plusnet ditching it in 2021 and BT ditching it in 2023 , it's sadly not on the table anymore.

If you've a contract, and you're nearing the end of your fixed term, the network will be frantic to keep you, so it's the best time to haggle.

The best providers to haggle with are Sky and EE. For a full breakdown, see the poll results for 2024.

For more info, best buys and pointers, see our Mobile phone haggling and Cheap mobile tips guides, and benchmark the latest deals using the MSE Cheap Mobile Finder, but here are a few quick tips:

• Match your tariff to your EXACT usage. The best way to save money on your mobile bill is to match your tariff to your exact usage.

  Use Billmonitor* to get a detailed analysis of your latest bills, then use the comparisons to find a deal that's cheaper and best matches your usage.

  Once you've done this, call up and haggle a better deal with your current provider using the info you've gathered.

• Compare tariffs first. Use the MSE Cheap Mobile Finder to quickly benchmark prices. Simply put in what type of Sim you want and your usage details and it'll speedily reveal the cheapest tariffs available.

  Once you've got info on the best deal for you, you'll be fully armed to take on your current provider to see if it can match it.

• Ask for a better handset/allowances. Unless you have a Sim-only tariff, monthly contracts usually come with a handset, which is subsidised in the monthly cost. There's plenty of room for negotiation here, and it's even possible to save a bit of cash on your bill in the process, as Elaine told us:

For full info, tips and best buys, see the full Breakdown cover haggling guide, but here's a quick tip:

• Benchmark the top new deals, including cashback. Check out the best buys in our Cheap breakdown cover guide, and see if they are better than your renewal price. A lot of users have found that using a cashback deal available to new users as a bargaining chip can help them haggle down the cost of their renewal.

  And if you can't secure a better deal by haggling, then ditch and switch to a new deal. Be aware that cashback is never 100% guaranteed though – for full info, see the Top cashback sites guide.

The best insurers to haggle with are AA Insurance, Policy Expert, Hastings Direct, Tesco Insurance, Admiral and Churchill. For a full breakdown, see the 2024 poll results.

For step-by-step instructions, see the full Car and home insurance haggling guide, and use our Compare+ Car Insurance and Compare+ Home Insurance tools to benchmark the best deals. But here are our top tips for when you're looking for a new deal...

• Never accept your renewal price... Insurers know that many people just auto-renew with their current provider, as they've no time or inclination to compare deals. So they hoick prices willy-nilly – effectively a fine for loyalty. So you're right to haggle here, as discounts only come to those who ask.

• ... but always compare across the market. The easy way is to combine comparison sites, as each one searches different companies. The top ones to try are listed in the Cheap car insurance and Cheap home insurance guides. Ask your current provider to match the top result. If they can't better it, consider leaving.

• Try for cashback. Check if your cheapest insurer is listed on cashback websites. You can get up to £100 back on top for signing up this way – another useful bargaining chip when haggling. Be warned though, cashback isn't 100% guaranteed – before doing this, make sure you read our Top cashback sites guide.

See The Credit Card Shuffle for a full how-to, but here are some quick tips...

• Haggle if it ups your rate. If a card firm increases your APR (annual percentage rate), call and ask it not to.

• Call and ask it to reduce interest. This almost never works, but 'almost never' isn't 'never ever'. Having said that, the deals you'll be offered won't come close to what you'd get by doing a new customer balance transfer to another credit card – where over two and a half years at 0% is possible.

• Room on your credit limit – ask if it'll let you shift debt from elsewhere. This is the powerhouse credit card haggle. Rather than letting you cut the cost of debt already on the cards, many cards will let existing customers shift debts to them at a cheaper rate. This is often a negotiation but it can work well.

  While the deals still won't be as cheap as new customer deals, doing it this way protects your credit score.

Aggression or anger will just put their back up. You're asking for a discount, and they're just as within their rights not to give it to you, as you are to leave because you don't want to pay what they're asking.

You can hear if someone's smiling, even on the phone. Haggling's all about charm and chutzpah. You're dealing with a human being, with discretion, so utilise that to win them over. As forumite anitalg (who works in an independent mobile phone shop) says:

And it really works, as this success story from MoneySaver Philip shows: 

If you've had issues with the company (slow broadband speed, poor mobile network coverage, wrong payments taken), mention this politely.

They should want to try and make it up to you. Then again, are you sure you want to stay? Let the person you're dealing with know that you're genuine about wanting to leave and they may offer you a deal to compensate for the past issues.

Call centres are more amenable to haggling at slower times of the year, when fewer customers are after their wares.

Our analysis of millions of quotes has found that the best time to buy car insurance in order to save money is 26 days ahead of your renewal date and the best time to buy home insurance is 15 days ahead, so bear in mind you may get a better price by doing that – or at least a better benchmark deal to use as leverage when haggling.

The end of the month or end of a financial quarter is a good time to haggle too. If a salesperson hasn't met their targets, they may do anything to get those extra sign-ups (including knocking a few quid off here and there).

And given that coming to the end of your contract is a powerhouse weapon when it comes to negotiating, it's crucial to note on your calendar or in your diary when your current deals have a month left to run.

Most frontline call centre staff are there to process standard administration requests, not to negotiate. So ask them for the deal you want, but if they can't deliver don't think the story's over.

The real powerhouse technique is to get put through to 'disconnections', a department which is usually internally called 'customer retentions', as it's their job to keep hold of you. This team generally has much stronger deal-making ability than customer services.

Therefore a simple 'sorry, but in that case I think I may need to leave', can pay dividends. We're not suggesting you lie, but if your deal isn't good enough, do genuinely consider going elsewhere. Once at disconnections, repeat your request and the haggling can start for real.

If you're nervous, remember all you're doing is asking for a better price because you think it's too expensive. Some standard phrases may help...

These will give you a bit of time to consider their offer. And remember – don't say yes to the first offer they give you, unless it's what you wanted.

• 'I've worked out my budget, and my absolute max is £[insert price here]/month.'

• '[Insert name of rival company here] can do it for less.'

• 'I need to think about it.'

• 'I think my husband/wife/guinea pig will go bonkers if I pay that.'

• 'It's still a lot of money.'

• 'What's the very best you can do?'

These will give you a bit of time to consider their offer. And remember – don't say yes to the first offer they give you, unless it's what you wanted.

Sometimes customer service representatives say they're not allowed to give discounts. If this is the case, ask whether you can have a chat with their supervisor. A supervisor should have more authority, and will be used to haggling with customers.

Never say 'yes' to the first offer a provider gives you, because the chances are it's not the best they can do.

If there was a promo on, but it's ended, you know they're willing to accept that price. For example, if a provider was offering customers 50% off a TV package last week, chances are that price could be available after the offer has ended too. It never hurts to ask.

They may say it's a '24-hour deal' or a 'limited-time offer'. Ignore this if you think your provider can do better.

If they want your business (which they will do), they'll call you back in a few days asking if you want to take up the offer. At this point, say no, it's still too expensive. They should then cut it further, hopefully much nearer to your target price. 

As negotiations come to a close, a classic salesperson technique is staying silent. They want you to accept the price just to fill the awkward silence. Make them fill it with a better offer.

We've been informed by former call centre operatives that they had daily discount quotas in customer retentions. This is only anecdotal, so we can't guarantee it's true, but it means you may find refusal one day turns into a good offer the next.

For more hidden tips and tricks from call centres and many other places, see our Call centre secrets and Insider MoneySaving tips.

If they can't or won't drop the price, see if they can throw in any extras (free calls, new router, extra six months warranty, etc). Take this breakdown cover success story:

Remember, do it with humour, do it with style, do it with grace and there's no price or other suggestion too outrageous. You can haggle virtually anywhere for anything.