Powerful Tips, save on Cell phone plans, Internet and Cable bills in Canada

Many of us got an increased cell phone bill from Rogers or Fido over the last month or two, not fun!

However, there are some tips and tricks that really help almost all the time!

Let's jump straight into it.

Tips to keep in mind

Loyalty is not real

I've dealt with several cable companies and helped family and friends with their internet bills for many years. As you will see in this article as we go along, loyalty is never rewarding in this scenario.

I have repeatedly observed that customers who stay with one organization end up always paying more.

Rather than discuss the reasons, let me show you the actual solution. I just wanted to put this out there as it will make things clearer as we go through the fix.

Shopping around is a powerful tool

Most consumers don't have the interest to change their internet or cell phone services. This is a powerful reality that companies rely on to take advantage of you. Existing customers never automatically get a "Hey, you've been with us for 10 years, so here's 10% off your bill", this won't happen.

So, it's in your best interest to look at the competitors in the market. What you'll soon find is that almost everyone has a deal for new customers, and it's almost certainly going to be lower.

Go on Google and search for your ISPs (internet service providers), similarly Cell Phone plans in your province.

Don't focus on Bundling

The only benefit of bundling your services is just the convenience of having one less bill, honestly not worth it.

If separate services offer lower prices, and say they save you $20/month, then that's $240 you save every year! That's a lot.

Remember, many companies have auto-pay, pre-authorized payments to your credit card so it's not something to be concerned about.

Action Plan!

Ok, now what do we do?

Once you've found the plan that you prefer, then we can begin the process.

Example

I am going to use an example to better explain the process. Let's assume you're shopping around for an internet plan and you've found a cheaper plan from a competitor.

Here's what you'd do with varying degrees of difficulty:

Easy

1. Call your existing company to give them notice to cancel the service.
2. I'd recommend choosing a month away from today.
3. The customer service rep you are speaking to will probably forward you to the cancellation/retention department (ironically called the loyalty department in some companies) to discuss this further.
4. This department might make you an offer to 'retain you' as a customer.

It's up to you, if you find the offer good enough, take it.

An example of a good offer is one that beats (or at least meets) the price you found from the competitor for an equal or better service.

Otherwise, keep reading on for more ideas that might save you more, but will take more effort.

Medium

1. So do the steps in the Easy section above
2. However, decline their offer (after making a note of it)
3. Provide a cancellation date about 30 days from today.

What happens next?

a) You might get a call back from this department offering an even better deal for you.

Why? Because you've reached the next step and already cancelled the service.

In the Easy step above, you're only discussing the cancellation, nothing's done at that moment. In this medium step, you've already given notice and have a firm end date in the system. Now they have to work to get back your business.

b) They don't call you back and it's been over 2 weeks.

You can call back to discuss options and ask them if they have an offer to keep your business.

Now it's up to you to accept the offer or to let the cancellation go through.

If you're letting the service cancel, don't forget to sign up with the new provider so that you have enough time for the internet install.

Advanced

If you want to play hard at this game, go ahead and always cancel, rejecting all offers till you actually switch!

Reason: Many companies have what's called the win-back department. This team can get you the best deal of all. The logic behind it is, they've already lost you and now have to make an even better offer to get you back from another company.

Not all companies have this but it's catching on. You can expect this call a few days into your new service, or maybe up to 2 weeks from what I've heard.

Even if it does not happen, you're in a new, better and cheaper Internet service so it's still a win!

Important Note - Cell Phone switches

I will write more articles when I get time for specifics and more details to help, but I wanted to make sure I covered this.

If you're switching a cell phone number to another provider, never cancel!

When following the above example, tell them you're going to sign up with someone else and port over the number. i.e. move your existing cell phone number to the new guy.

If you submit a cancellation, the new cell phone provider can't receive your new number.

Hope that was helpful everyone! 🙂