It’s a mantra you’ll hear from a lot of financial advisors and gurus: the first step towards HAVING more money is to KEEP more of the money you’re already making. Bill negotiation services are a super helpful tool for reducing those bills! Here are the top 5 bill negotiation services of 2021 (so far).
There are an astounding number of “slow bleed expenses” that subtly drain the bank accounts of most Americans. Paying too much on your car insurance, internet bill, bank fees, phone bill – the list goes on and on. In fact, there may be thousands of dollars going out of your household every year that you could put back in your pocket with a few simple money moves.
The problem is, most of us don’t have the time to get on the phone with every single service provider we’re losing money to. No one wants to sit on a customer support line for an hour, listening to horrendous music that sounds like it’s under water, just to haggle with a customer support rep for another hour. “Lower this bill or I’m switching carriers!” – we’ve all probably tried the line once or twice.
That’s where bill negotiation services come in. These 5 services will contact all of the companies sending you bills, and haggle the prices down for you (for a cut of the savings). Here are the 5 best!
1. TRIM
One of the best known bill negotiation services out there is Trim. They’re like hound dogs. All that you need to do is give them a list, and some of the info for the companies that bill you. Your internet carrier, phone carrier, insurance options, medical bills – none of them are safe from Trim.
Once you give Trim the info on your billing companies, the rest is pretty automated. They call up all your providers and they’ll send you a text once they’ve begun negotiations. Trim reports back to you when they successfully secure a discount, and they’re VERY thorough about finding the loopholes. The only other times they’ll reach out to you is if they need your permission to make a change to your account in order to get the savings.
Trim is especially helpful if you have a lot of providers who are always trying to sneak your rates higher. It will stop them dead in their tracks without being much hassle for you. There’s a screenshot below of my savings with Trim!
So what are the cons to be aware of?
– if you don’t have a premium plan Trim will take a 33% cut of the savings they find you
– you need a premium plan for some of Trim’s features, like bank fee and medical bill negotiations, which costs $99/year (but they won’t take a cut of your savings)
– Trim takes your credit card info before they’ll negotiate for you, so they will surely bill you if they get savings for you
2. BillShark
BillShark’s offerings are very similar to Trim’s, but they are at a slight disadvantage. They take 40% of your savings, instead of Trim’s 33%. Still, BillShark offers a remarkably hassle free way of taking a chomp out of your bills.
BillShark’s offerings also include hunting down any subscriptions you may have forgotten that you had and canceling them. Sneaky subscriptions that bill you after a free trial are one of the most insidious ways that your cash is bled, so it’s a very useful feature.
One of the big perks of BillShark is that they are alerted the minute your savings expire, and they’ll negotiate for you again. Often, the savings that you can get from a bill are temporary, because you get the savings by BillShark applying a coupon code, a loyalty bonus, or some other promotional rate. BillShark helps keep the discount permanent by re-negotiating whenever your period of savings ends.
The cons of BillShark:
– BillShark’s biggest weakness is that they take a larger cut of the savings than Trim. 40% is a steep price, even though they are still ultimately saving you money
BillShark also charges $9 for subscription that they find and cancel for you. If you have the patience to keep track of or find all of those subscriptions yourself, then it’s worth putting in the work yourself
3. billcutterz
The company billcutterz has been in the business a long time (since 2009, which is new for these kind of services), and has built a solid reputation.
Billcutterz will negotiate a wide variety of bills, even including utilities, and more niche services for security systems. They have a high rate of success, and save their customers thousands.
The downside to billcutterz is that even though they’ve been in the game longer than most of their competitors, their pricing is higher. They take a full 50% cut of the savings that they’ll get you. Still, they’re a reputable company, with a strong track record, and they will definitely save you money if you use them.
The cons of billcutterz:
– at a 50% cut, they’re one of the more expensive bill negotiators to use
4. TrueBill
TrueBill is among the largest and most user-friendly of the bill negotiating services. They offer many of the same offerings as others, like Trim or BillShark, and are experts at reducing bills of all kinds.
TrueBill is about average for cost – they take 40% of savings. They also offer a wide range of additional services with their paid subscriptions (which cost roughly $40/year on average, but vary a bit). The premium subscription includes budgeting, spending tracking, and chat support, but unfortunately does not remove the cut they take of your savings.
TrueBill is very easy to use, but still doesn’t quite have the edge over Trim.
Cons of TrueBill:
– the premium subscription still doesn’t remove the cut they take out of your savings
5. Harvest
Harvest is an AWESOME new platform that specializes in negotiating with banks, credit, and other financial negotiations. They are specifically experts at bringing down bank fees, getting refunds, and lowering interest rates.
The beauty of Harvest is that they only take a 25% cut of the bills that they negotiate, making them by far the most affordable option. They don’t handle as wide a range of bill types, but for finance specific costs they’re the best!
Harvest also offers a wide range of other services, like credit help, net-worth tracking, and managing other kinds of debts.
Does Harvest have any cons?
– their only con is that they have a more limited, niche offering for bill negotiation. They’re not the one to use on your utilities, internet, etc., but only on finances.
Summary
So what are the top 5 bill negotiation services of 2021? Any of the above options are great, but my #1 choice would be Trim for all of your main expenses, like phone bills, internet, insurance, etc., because they have the lowest fees. Harvest is the one to use for your bank negotiations.
Using the combination of those two options may save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars this year!
Like these ideas? I’ve got TONS of other methods I use to save thousands every year, from my grocery bills to my Christmas shopping. If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with me, and remember to share this post with any friends and family looking for help with those pesky bills!