| Martin's Money Tips email (can't see this properly? Read it online) | | | | When it comes to haggling, don't think it need be in backstreet bazaars. Big savings are available here on phones, mobiles, TV, broadband, car insurance and more. Here are our top 10, based on a poll of nearly 3,000 MoneySavers. | The top 10 UK service companies to haggle with | | Provider | No of responses | Success | Fail | Provider | No of responses | Success | Fail | | 1. Sky | 871 | 78% | 22% | 6. Orange | 437 | 66% | 34% | | 2. AA breakdown | 362 | 73% | 27% | 7. O2 | 276 | 66% | 34% | | 3. Virgin Media | 711 | 72% | 28% | 8. Admiral | 254 | 61% | 39% | | 4. Vodafone | 374 | 69% | 31% | 9. BT | 604 | 57% | 43% | | 5. T-Mobile | 279 | 68% | 32% | 10. TalkTalk | 325 | 54% | 46% | | See full results | In mature industries companies grow by tempting customers from other firms, not by grabbing customers new to that market (eg, almost everyone has a mobile). So retaining custom is key, thus if your firm won't offer a hot deal:
Tell it you'll leave and switch unless it gives you a better deal. Do this, and you're usually put through to the disconnections department internally often known as customer retentions, as its job is to keep you, and it has far more deal-making discretion. If you're worried it'll call your bluff and cut you off, an easy get-out clause is to say: "I'll call back after confirming with the wife/boyfriend/son/dog/parrot." Though if you don't get the deal you want, consider ditching and switching. Some MoneySavers' successes I got 50% off Sky in five mins. "Rang up, said I was going to leave and the nice lady gave me six months half price on everything, ESPN free for three months, reduced my broadband by a fiver and gave me a free fitted Sky HD+ box." Unlimited texts, web & 500 mins - £5/month. "I called Virgin to cancel my contract as 3 Mobile offered a better deal. It offered to increase to 500 mins, unlimited texts and browsing for £10/mth. I refused, so it said if I moved to a rolling contract it'd reduce the tariff to £5/mth, at an annual cost of £60."
Quick tips
- Mobile contracts: The market changes quickly, so first use comparison sites such as billmonitor* or Moneysupermarket*, so you know what to aim for when haggling. Full info: Mobile Phone Haggling & Cheapest Mobiles.
- Digital TV: Decide which channels you want to keep or could lose, and remember Freeview boxes only cost £20ish. Full info: Digital TV Haggling
- Car & Home Insurance: Haggling is good, but is often beaten by comparisons & cashback. Our record car insurance result is just 96p for a year's cover. With home insurance, it's getting PAID £67.50 to buy the policy. Full info: Cheap Car Insurance & Home Insurance
- Breakdown cover: Haggling is good, cashback can be better; some get deals for £7 a year. See Full info: Cheap Breakdown Cover
Report your haggling successes | Please help us spread the word Please forward this email to friends and suggest they
get it themselves via moneysavingexpert.com/tips | |  | | Student Loan 2012 Calc. What'll it REALLY cost you?
Brand new tool | Zippy sliders reveal true cost of £9,000 tuition fees | Please spread the word Student finance is radically changing for 2012 starters - who will be applying soon. Headlines scream of £50,000+ debts for many leavers due to £9,000 tuition fees. Yet some will repay far less than this, others far more. Our power-packed new www.studentfinancecalc.com reveals what you'll really pay.  What you repay depends on what you earn. New 2012 starters repay 9% of everything earned above £21,000 (from 2017, this rises with avg earnings) after graduation for 30 years or until the debt's cleared. Therefore, low earners will repay far less than they borrow, but above-inflation interest means high earners repay much more. For full help understanding the new system, see the 2012 Student Finance Key Facts guide. - Play to see what you'll repay. The Student Finance Calculator 2012 uses sliders to let you vary fees, maintenance loans and likely starting salary, so you usually see the change in cost. Advanced options let you alter inflation rates, pay rise rates and general wage inflation, to hone the results.
- It shows £9,000 fees may cost no more than £6,000. The calc shows up a quirk that, for lower salaries, increasing fees from £6k to £9k doesn't change the cost, as you'll never repay in full at even the lower fee.
- Know someone worried about uni costs after 2012? There's been a lot of political spittle about this, that misses the practical impact on students' pockets. So for info on living costs, grants, part-time fees, the impact on mortgages & more, please send them this link to our full guide: www.moneysavingexpert.com/students2012. Related: Top Student Accounts 2011, Graduate Accounts 2011, Parents Guide to Student Finance
| | Urgent! New cheapest fixed energy deal
Over £250/yr cheaper for typical home than post-hike standard tariffs | Unlikely to be around long Energy fixes lock in a set rate, so you're not hit by price hikes. Most cheap deals are disappearing, so it's a surprise Scottish Power's new fix is new cheapest. It may be because, as it was the first provider to announce price hikes recently, it lost customers, so wants to claw some back. Yet it says there's limited availability.  New cheapest fix. Scottish Power's Online Fixed Saver Dec 2012 gives dual-fuel, monthly direct-debit customers a guaranteed rate until 30 Nov 2012. For a home with typical use it costs c. £1,020/yr (varies per region). Compare this to its own current standard tariff, which is £1,390/yr or British Gas standard at £1,290/yr. - How to get it & cashback. Plug your details into a comparison site first to check your cost, and if it'll save you cash (for fixes, click the 'show only fixed tariffs' tabs). You can also get cashback/freebies on top if they can switch you (not available direct). Top comparison: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch, whether to gas, electricity or both. Dual fuel: MoneySupermarket* pays £30 cash, Uswitch* a crate of wine.
- Fix NOW if you can't afford rises. A fix is like an insurance policy against price hikes. If you can't risk rises and are on a standard tariff, thus massively overpaying, a CHEAP fix (not just any fix) is a no-brainer. Beware, if you need to leave early, you'd need to pay an exit fee (Scot Power's £20-30/fuel). Some on already-cheap deals may be better avoiding it. See full Fixing FAQ for more.
For full info, how to cut energy, and more help, see the Updated Guide: Cheap Gas & Elec Related: Cheap Prepay Gas & Elec, Mis-sold Energy? Reclaim, Free Solar Panels, Energy Grants, plus Martin's Wholesale prices dropping? blog | | Check NOW if car insurance renewal's due in Sept
You're now law breaking if insurance lapses, yet don't auto-renew, find the cheapest & save £100s
September is a massive car insurance renewal month, as it's when new registration plates come out. New laws mean if you have a car, it must be insured - even if you don't drive it (unless it has a Sorn). Yet don't just auto-renew, with average car insurance rising by about 30% a year, you could overpay by £100s. We've updated our full Cheap Car Insurance & Young Persons' Car Insurance guides. Here's a summary:  Combine comparison sites. For the widest spread of quotes, use sites that get you dozens in seconds. We've re-analysed our order, based on ease and max quotes in min time. Use as many of Moneysup*, Gocompare*, Beatthatquote* and Confused* as you've time for. Together, they cover 170+ providers. Then check the policy's suitable. - Add the ones they miss. The two big insurers not on comparison sites are Aviva* and Direct Line*. They come top for some, so are worth checking too.
- Young persons' specialists: Under-25s or new drivers struggling to get reasonably-priced cover can also try insurers that put a tracker in your car. See Young Drivers' Insurance for full list and help.
- Check for cashback too. Comparison sites Beatthatquote* and Simplyswitch* automatically give £25 and £40 cashback, respectively, for getting policies via them. Even bigger payouts are often available via cashback sites, though always do comparisons first and aim for cashback on that - don't let the cashback tail wag the dog.
More motoring insurance guides: Cheap Van Insurance, Cheap Motorbike Insurance | | New 2for1s: Strada, ASK, Cafe Rouge, Brasserie Gerard. A host of new restaurant deals join Pizza Express 40% off, Pizza Hut any reg pizza £5 and Bella Italia 2 for £10. Full list in Deals Index: Restaurant Vouchers
Ends Mon. Free £125 with 0% overdraft and 5% in-credit. Successful switchers to Santander* via this link get a £100 bonus, and until Mon, a £25 Amazon voucher too (min salary £14,200 to qualify). It's a best-buy with a year's overdraft at 0% (then 50p/day, max £5/month), plus 5% in-credit interest on up to £2,500 for a year. However, it's worst for customer service. Full info in the Updated Guide: Best Bank Accounts | | |
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