Ask Stacy: Should I Hire BillCutterz to Lower My Cable and Other Bills?

A few months ago, I did a TV news story about BillCutterz, a service that negotiates pretty much any bill you have. (You can check out the video at the end of this story.)

I also wrote this story about it, which explains how BillCutterz works and how I tried it myself. I gave them my cable bill, and they attempted to get me a better deal. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful, but that’s OK, because it didn’t cost me a dime for them to try.

But that was back in April. As I was sitting here working last week, I got an email from my BillCutterz rep, Tony. Here it is:

Hi Stacy,

The time has come for BillCutterz to renegotiate Comcast and I’m excited to start saving you more money.

If you’d like me to renegotiate for you, please respond to this email with your consent and I’ll get right on it! To make it easier, please send a copy of your latest statement (I don’t need it, but it helps) and let me know if you’ve made any changes to your accounts since we last negotiated for you.

If you have any questions, I’m always happy to help. You can reply to this email or give me a call.

As soon as I hear from you, I’ll get to work saving you money!

Nothing to lose, hundreds to gain

It took me about three minutes to download a recent Comcast statement and send it to Tony. In fact, it was so quick, I literally forgot doing it.

Until three days later, when I got this email from Tony:

I have some great news for you today! I was able to save you $20.00 per month for the next 12 months on your Comcast bill, without changing any features on your account. The representative advised me that your pre-tax rate was $249.84 at the time I called. Your new pre-tax rate will be $229.84. When your discount is about to expire, I will be contacting you again to extend the savings. I was advised that you’re paying extra for unlimited data, your average doesn’t even get to a terabyte and you don’t even come close to that. They recently changed up their data caps and a terabyte is FREE so that can save you $30.00 more a month.

So, simply by hitting “reply” to an email and sending Tony a recent bill, he saved me $240 over the next year, as well as advised me of where I can find another $360. That’s $600, and I didn’t have to lift a finger.

Of course, there’s no free lunch. Here’s the email I got from BillCutterz the next day:

As you know BillCutterz splits the savings with you 50/50, so please let me know if you would like to pay our fee in full and take advantage of our additional 10% off, or if you prefer monthly recurring payments. We’re a paperless company so you will receive your invoices via email.

This is how BillCutterz works. If they can’t save you anything, no charge. If they can, they split the savings with you 50/50.

In my case, they gave me two choices: pay them $108 now ($120 annual savings, less a 10 percent discount), or $10 a month over the next year. But they didn’t charge me for the knowledge that if I’m willing to call Comcast, I can save another quick $360. Nice!

(Btw, if you’re wondering why my cable bill is so freakin’ high, it’s because I have the fastest possible internet — necessary for my home-based business.)

What else can BillCutterz do?

Here are the types of bills BillCutterz works with, according to their website:

• Cellphone
• Internet
• Electricity (Texas only)
• Cable and satellite TV
• Landline telephone
• Bundles (cable / phone / internet)
• Alarm and security
• Satellite radio
• Plus many more

What they can’t do is negotiate past due bills, regulated utilities, credit card or medical bills.

Just do it

While BillCutterz is in the business of negotiating, and thus might be better at it than you, technically, there’s nothing they can do that you can’t. So my advice: If you have the time, call your various service providers and give it your best shot. Then, when you’re done, sign up with BillCutterz and see if they can save you even more. Since the service is totally free if they can’t save you money, you have nothing to lose.

Ready? Here’s the BillCutterz sign-up page.

When you come up that extra cash, put it to good use. Pay down a high interest bill or start an investment program. (Here’s “4 Ways to Invest Without Much Money.”)

Use the comments below or our Facebook page to let me know how much you saved. Then share this article with your friends and family. … They can probably use a little extra cash too!

Got more money questions? Browse lots more Ask Stacy answers here.