Want a better deal? Call and ask!
By Aviya Kushner • Bankrate.com

Few things are more annoying than discovering you've overpaid your phone, cable or wireless provider for the past 10 months because the rates went down -- and nobody told you.

"They'll call you -- if the rates go up," says Joe Ridout, a spokesman for Consumer Action, a national consumer education and advocacy nonprofit based in San Francisco.

Generally, they don't call you if the rates go down. They also don't call if you could restructure your service to make it cheaper.

"To my knowledge, these companies are not obligated to call and say, 'We noticed you used call forwarding six times last month,'" says Sonny Popowsky, a consumer advocate for Pennsylvania.

But you can -- and probably should -- call them.

Ask, and you may receive
Kenny Chan, a marketing professor at California State University, Chico's, College of Business, had a personal experience he now shares with his classes.

"My DSL company had a deal -- $26 a month -- for new customers," Chan says. "I was a little upset, and because they have a monopoly in this area, I was frustrated."

He called to see if he could pay $26 a month, too, and got nowhere.

"Then I said, what if I sign up for a year?" Chan says. "And they said, 'You get it.' I found out I have to ask for it in order to get a deal. I'd be paying 23 extra dollars per month if I didn't ask. They won't tell you that because it's a big difference."

The question is: How often do you call? There's a fine line between being proactive and being annoying.

"It certainly wouldn't hurt to do it every few months, and ask, 'What can you offer?'" says Popowsky.

"It's something consumers should feel comfortable with," says Marian Friestad, a professor of marketing at the University of Oregon. "They should feel free to ask."

Consider the competition in your area. You have more bargaining power if there are more players.

"Cable and satellite, in communities where there is competition, every six months or so you might want to call," says Ridout. "If there's a more favorable offer, read the terms off that advertisement to the provider.

"You can play Dish off Direct TV, or satellite over cable, and they might throw in a discount package of, say, $20 off a month," Ridout says. "Your chances of success increase if you have specific information that shows that your business with that company is at risk. Demonstrate that you're aware of other options."

Just don't overdo it, he says, because there is a risk to being too aggressive.

Some credit-card companies have closed the accounts of customers who constantly call to negotiate. Ridout suggests limiting those calls to every three to six months.

Also keep in mind, Popowsky says, whether what you're calling about is regulated by the government.