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These days, it may seem like monthly bills increase exponentially over night. In some major cities across the U.S., energy bills are expected to spike this summer due to environmental and economic factors. And even when you’ve been a loyal customer to your cell phone or utility company, it’s common for services to increase in price with time. One way to lower your monthly bill is to hop on the phone to negotiate with service providers. By calling them up directly, you might be able to cut fees and lower your subscription costs. But not everyone has the time to spend hours on the phone, especially when there’s no guarantee they will score a better deal. That’s where a bill negotiation service like BillCutterz, Trim and Billshark may be your saving grace. Increasingly, these apps and online services are sprouting up to pair you with an expert who will negotiate bills on your behalf. Bill negotiation services exist for the following types of bills: Phone
Internet
Cable
Medical
Home security
Trash and waste
Gym memberships
Various subscriptions These services usually charge a flat rate, or a percentage of your total savings for the year. Sometimes, there’s an additional monthly or yearly membership fee. No matter the price, bill negotiation services typically let customers link their credit or debit card accounts and/or upload bills. Then, a trained professional skilled in negotiating steps in to spot savings opportunities.
Are bill negotiation services worth it?
Anybody can get on the phone and ask for a deal, but not everybody is a shrewd negotiator. If you’re wondering whether paying someone to strike a deal for you is worth it, let’s take a look at the prices of popular bill negotiation services. Our best overall pick, BillCutterz, charges 50% of whatever savings they find. You can pay monthly or receive a 10% discount for paying in full for the annual amount. So if BillCutterz saved you $20 per month on a cell phone contract, you’d owe them $10 per month, or $120 per year. With the 10% annual discount, that’s a $108 service fee in order to get $240 savings. Trim, on the other hand, charges a membership fee of $99 per year, which includes text-message access to the service and the ability to inquire about your bills on an ongoing basis. The company offers a 14-day free trial before charging the membership fee. Then, there’s a one-time bill negotiation fee of 33% your total annual savings. Trim customers save, on average $600, in their first year, according to the company’s website. Trim also offers a FDIC-insured high-yield savings account called Trim Simple Savings with a 4% annualized bonus on users’ first $2,000 saved and .001% on any amount saved after that. To know if a bill negotiation service is worth it, look out for these fees and compare them to the benefits/savings: Service fees (monthly, one-time or annual)
(monthly, one-time or annual) Membership fees (usually annual or recurring/monthly)
(usually annual or recurring/monthly) Bill negotiation fee (percentage of your savings) The possible benefits include: Canceling old, forgotten-about subscriptions
old, forgotten-about subscriptions Lowering existing bills for services
existing bills for services Finding areas where you’re overpaying and/or opportunities to save more Make sure that any fees you end up paying don’t outweigh the amount of money the service saves you.
Free alternative: Here’s a sample bill negotiation script
Trying your own luck at negotiating your own bills for free, and it may be simpler than you think. Use these tips to get the customer service representatives on your side. Be polite You: Hello, [Customer service rep’s name]. How are you today? I’m doing well, thanks for asking. I’m having an issue, and I’d appreciate your help.
Hello, [Customer service rep’s name]. How are you today? I’m doing well, thanks for asking. I’m having an issue, and I’d appreciate your help. Them: Sure. How can I help you? Be succinct Customer service representatives often have several open requests to handle in a timely fashion. It’s helpful to be succinct and communicate your wishes clearly instead of giving them the entire spiel. You can simply say, “I’m reviewing my XYZ bill and noticing that it’s really expensive. I’d like to be (or remain) your loyal customer, but something has to give in my budget. What can we do to lower these costs?” Be informed Your rep might be prepared to offer you a new package or promo deal, but it’s better for you to do your research ahead of time. That way, if they reply by saying “Sorry, there’s nothing we can do,” you’re ready to say, “Well, I noticed you are running an XYZ promo that costs $15 per month less than my plan. Can I switch to that?” For medical bills, have your explanation of benefits (EOB) out while you call and be ready to look up the exact amounts your insurance company paid for each medical treatment. Be persistent It may be uncomfortable at first, but gentle persistence will usually yield some results. There’s no need to hassle the rep who answers (in fact, that will probably backfire). But you can ask for their partnership in helping you solve your problem. After all, their job is to retain customers, and there’s very often a way to meet in the middle.
Our picks for best bill negotiation services
Best overall
Billcutterz Learn More On Billcutterz’ secure site Cost Charges 50% on whatever savings you earn (can pay monthly or receive 10% discount for paying in full for the annual amount)
Standout features Also aggregates quotes for car loans, car insurance and renters/home insurance
Categorizes your expenses No
Links to accounts Not required; you create an account and send your bills to Billcutterz (as opposed to linking bank accounts)
Availability Sign up online for free (no app required)
Security features Encrypted website with bank-level security, the savings experts undergo background checks and are extensively trained to ensure customer security See our methodology, terms apply. Pros Types of bills negotiated: cell phone, cable and satellite TV, internet, landline phones, cable/phone/internet bundles, alarm and security systems, satellite radio and electricity (only in eligible states)
Customers only get charged when they save (for example, if you save $60 a month on your cell phone plan, you’ll pay BillCutterz $30 each month or save 10% by paying annually; but if BillCutterz doesn’t find any savings you won’t get charged at all)
Average savings turnaround time is two days (48 hours)
Has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (average 4.5 star BBB rating with 24 reviews)
Available to small businesses, nonprofits and individuals Cons Does not include medical bill negotiation
Electric bill negotiation only works if you live in a deregulated market Learn More View More
Best for texters
AskTrim.com Learn More On Trim’s secure site Cost Offers 14-day free trial, after it’s $99 per year; one-time bill negotiation fee is 33% of total annual savings
Standout features Communicates via SMS text: Scans users’ bills and texts them to get permission to cancel any subscriptions it finds. Users can easily ask questions
Categorizes your expenses No
Links to accounts Yes, bank and credit cards
Availability Offered online and via SMS text
Security features Trim uses major bank 256-bit SSL encryption and Plaid API so user credentials are never stored, hosts servers on secure Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is used by the Department of Defense, NASA and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), plus two-factor authentication or OAuth when signing in See our methodology, terms apply. Pros 14-day free trial available
Syncs to your bank accounts and credit cards
Makes it easy to cancel unwanted subscriptions
Website says customers save over $600 in their first year on average
Trim negotiates cable, internet, phone and medical bills, plus credit card interest rates, for a fee (Trim works with Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon and most other providers)
You can also ask Trim (via SMS or Facebook Messenger) questions like how much you spent with a certain merchant or for info on your credit card balance
Offers a FDIC-insured high-yield savings account called Trim Simple Savings with a 4% annualized bonus on users’ first $2,000 saved and .001% on any amount saved after that Cons $99 annual subscription
One-time bill negotiation fee is 33% of total annual savings
Does not negotiate satellite radio, electric or utility bills
Has less-than-average Better Business Bureau score (2.53-star BBB rating with 46 customer reviews with 79 customer complaints in the last three years) Learn More View More
Best for saving on utilities
Billshark Learn More On Billshark’s secure site Cost Charges 40% on whatever savings you earn and $9 per canceled subscription
Standout features Also provides free auto and home insurance quotes
Categorizes your expenses No
Links to accounts Not required; you create an account and upload your bills (as opposed to linking bank accounts)
Availability Sign up via app (iPhone or Android) or online
Security features Encrypted website with bank-level security (256-bit encryption), doesn’t store your credit card information or provide your information to outside companies See our methodology, terms apply. Pros Types of bills negotiated: internet, subscriptions, cable and phone
Provides a page to record outages with phone/internet/cable companies and request a statement credit as compensation
Only charges customers when Billshark finds savings
Accredited with an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau (a 4.45-star average BBB rating with 150 reviews) Cons Does not include medical bill negotiation
Charges $9 fee to cancel subscriptions Learn More View More
Best for finding unused subscriptions
Truebill Learn More On Truebill’s secure site Cost Free, with option to upgrade to Truebill Premium Service for fee of $3 to $12 per month; bill negotiation costs between 30% to 60% of the 12-month savings achieved as a result of the negotiation
Standout features Easily cancel unwanted subscriptions, track your spending and credit score, automate savings and get help lowering bills
Categorizes your expenses Yes, Truebill instantly identifies your top spending categories
Links to accounts Yes, bank and credit cards
Availability Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android), as well as online
Security features Truebill accesses users’ transaction data via an encrypted token, uses Plaid API so user credentials are never stored, provides bank-level 256-bit encryption and hosts servers on secure Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is used by the Department of Defense, NASA and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) See our methodology, terms apply. Pros Negotiates cell phone and cable bills, plus helps you get refunds for some bank fees
Free version available
Syncs to your bank accounts and credit cards
Instantly finds and tracks your subscriptions
Website says 80% of people save money by using Truebill to find and cancel unwanted subscriptions
Provides breakdown of user spending and notifies of upcoming charges and low balance alerts
Helps users create a budget
Users can see their Experian VantageScore 3.0 credit score and get access to their credit report
Provides an interest-free pay advance up to $100 directly to qualifying users’ checking accounts
Users can set goals, save money with autopilot Smart Savings feature
Concierge service available to identify bills to be lowered and, for a fee, Truebill will negotiate on users’ behalf for the best rates (non-refundable negotiation fee is anywhere from 30% to 60% of the 12-month savings achieved as a result of the negotiation)
Truebill Premium Service features include free access to Smart Savings feature, unlimited budgeting categories, custom spend categories, real-time account balance updates, premium chat, subscription cancellation concierge, “Truebill Offers” and educational material
Coming soon: Users can track their net worth
High Trustscore rating of 4.3/5 stars (from 392 reviews) Cons Costs between $3 and $12 per month to upgrade to Truebill Premium Service
Non-refundable negotiation fee anywhere from 30% to 60% of the 12-month savings achieved as a result of Truebill’s bill negotiation on users’ behalf
Less than 10 Better Business Bureau reviews
Does not negotiate internet, landline phones, cable/phone/internet bundles, alarm and security systems, satellite radio/TV or electric bills Learn More View More
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.