Challenge, Negotiate, Compromise, Document

I don't know about your wireless telephone service, but the one we recently fired could not get our bill straight for more than 1 billing cycle at a time and of course it was always in their favor. I was on the phone with them every month to correct errors - several times in excess of $200.00. This is especially true if you have teenagers or young adults who use different features that the company likes to overcharge for. And whenever I have to do this, I feel I should be compensated for my time so I also want either a credit, additional minutes - something! My time is worth it - isn't yours? Document all conversations - date, time, name of the person(s) you spoke with and if possible get a confirmation number for the credit. If you don't get the answer you want, don't be afraid to ask for the next person up the ladder until you're satisfied. Some years back when my daughter was having problems with her computer, after talking with a number of foreign customer service reps from Dell, I finally contacted Michael Dell directly. She got a new computer! Recently when we decided to end our wireless contract before they said it was up, they said we would have to pay a penalty. I challenged! Guess who won? However, I was really nice and promised that if the new carrier didn't work out we'd consider coming back.

I pay bills on line but only after I've checked the complete statement for accuracy. No automatic payments unless you know that the amount will be the same each month - like your mortgage. It's tough to get your money back once they have it. But that's not the only place you can negotiate. I love my mechanic but not long ago, he was not able to fix a window on my vehicle but wanted to charge me for looking at it. I didn't have a problem with paying him for trying, but he agreed to a reduced amount since he didn't fix it. The dealership recently wanted to charge me a ridiculous amount to program my new remote, I challenged them and ended up paying nothing.

Rebates! Why don't they just reduce the price up front?! But if you find you have to send in for one, be sure you document it and keep copies until you get your $$. Put a tickler on your calendar when the 6 weeks comes up, then another one at 8 weeks, periodically check the status online and after 9 weeks, call them! Also, always open all your mail before you discard it. The rebate companies like to send the checks in a non descript envelope that look like junk mail. If it goes into the trash - it's uncashed! They win. Don't let them.