A woman who haggles down the price of everything from her internet to her car has explained how she used her gift of the gab to save £850.
Ola, a money blogger from London, says her yearly savings include £230 off her car insurance, £204 knocked off her Virgin broadband and £120 off her Sky TV bill.
The 23-year-old says she always tries to haggle down the prices of services when the time comes to renewing them.
Instead of accepting the renewal price she is being offered, Ola says she first shops around for the cheapest deal elsewhere.
She then goes back to her current provider and asks if they can match it - if they can’t, she’ll “lightly threaten” to leave them and this “usually does the trick” and gets her a lower price.
While haggling is by no means guaranteed to always work, it doesn’t cost a penny to ask and you could end up saving hundreds of pounds in the process.
Speaking to The Mirror, Ola - who runs her website All Things Money - said: “I live at home so we’re quite loyal with our providers. When it comes to renewal time we look at comparison websites and see if there is anything cheaper out there.
“We take that cheap price back to the provider to see what they can do.
“I’ve been haggling for ages. I learned it from my mum - she is the best haggler.
“I think some of my friends think I have no shame but I think it’s always important to ask because you never know what they could possibly offer.”
As well as haggling her bills, Ola was also able to save £300 when purchasing her second-hand Citroen C1 by asking the seller if he could lower its cost.
She also recommends comparing prices for package holidays so you can ask for a better deal, as well as haggling if you’re visiting a market.
She said: “I very rarely pay full price on an item at Camden Market or Borough Market.
“I also found out from my friend that you can haggle on holiday prices.
“You find out one price online then go to a holiday provider and ask if they can reduce it a bit.
“Then you take it to another holiday provider and ask if they can do any better.
“My friend managed to save thousands on her honeymoon because she went round to all the providers.”
Ola says her top tips for haggling include knowing the price you want to pay and being prepared to barter.
She added: “Always ask for a better price - if you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
What prices did Ola haggle down?
- Car insurance - saved £230
- Broadband - saved £204
- TV - saved £120
- New car - saved £300
Total yearly save: £854
How to haggle
The first step to haggling is to check what price you can get elsewhere.
You can do this by using a comparison website such as CompareTheMarket.com, Confused.com, MoneySupermarket.co.uk or Uswitch.com.
It is worthwhile checking multiple comparison sites, as some will bring up different prices and not all providers are covered by each site.
Finally, check the price being offered by your current provider directly on its own website as again, it may not be covered by a comparison site.
Once you have found a cheaper price, call your current provider up and ask if they can match it - or give you a cheaper deal.
If they say they can't and you're out of contract, and you're considering switching, make sure - as a last resort - you tell them you're planning on leaving.
If they still can't lower their price, and you're happy to move companies, then switch to the better deal.
Before you switch, always check if you're still in contract with your current provider and ask about any exit fees that could incur if you leave.
For more tips, see Martin Lewis's top haggling tricks, here.
