Martin Lewis fan shares how they saved £312 by following his 'haggling' advice

05 May 2024 , 06:00

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A Martin Lewis fan named Penny shared how they managed to save £300 on her mobile phone bill (Image: ITV)

One Martin Lewis fan shared how they saved £312 on their mobile phone bill by following his advice.

The Martin Lewis fan named Penny shared how they followed the MoneySavingExpert.com founder's advice and haggled with their provider when their mobile phone bill went up to £40 a month. In the message that was published in the latest MSE newsletter, Penny explained how she managed to cut her phone bill to just £14 a month, which would save her £312 over the year.

Penny's message read: "I'm a big fan of yours. I have ADHD, you've probably heard of the 'ADHD tax' where we can waste money by not sorting our finances. My mobile bill had risen to £40/mth and I barely phone anyone. I kept getting images of you looking at me disapprovingly, and finally now it's down to £14/mth. A huge saving for me thanks to your mobile haggling tips & all the amazing people at MSE."

When it comes to haggling a bill, Martin's MSE website does say that some prices are sadly pretty much set in stone, but some household bills such as broadband, mobile, insurance and breakdown cover, allow you to nudge the price. Although, when you are haggling you need to remember that you can only do this if you are nearing the end of your contract or you are out of contact.

Secondly, MSE says you need to provide a reason why you want a lower price such as: "It's my budget and this has gone up too much," or "My partner says I shouldn't be paying for this anymore". You will then be put through the customer disconnection, which MSE says is actually customer retention as they have "the power to keep you" and offer you cheaper deals. When doing this, MSE says you should be more "charming" with the customer service worker rather than aggressive.

Martin Lewis’ MSE website shares tip to get free £175 and 7% interest on savings

If the company "call your bluff" and take you to cancel your contract with them, MSE says you do not need to panic. Instead, tell them that you will need to check with someone such as a partner before cancelling and you will call again. Finally, if you don't succeed, MSE says you should not give up hope and should try again.

This is because many people in these call centres have quotas on the number of discounts they can give a day. If you didn't get a discount, you may have got someone who had run out of them. By calling back another day, you might find someone who hasn't used up their quotas yet and you could get your discount.

Ruby Flanagan