For his book, "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt," Scott Bilker recorded 52 phone calls to consumer-service representatives, spanning all kinds of situations from removing an annual fee to negotiating a settlement for a friend near bankruptcy.

Here are some of Bilker's tips for dealing with customer service:

1. Take notes on your conversation. Keep your own records so you can have ammunition when you call back.
   
   
2. Have your deal-breaker ready. Be prepared to say something like, "If you don't lower my rate, I'll transfer it to Blah Blah Bank at 4.99 percent."
   
   
3. Use junk-mail offers as bargaining chips. If you received a low-rate offer lately, use it to negotiate.
   
   

- advertisement -

4. Research your own account history. Bilker suggests adding up the interest you've paid over a year so you can say, "Do you know how much I've racked up in interest this year? I'm sure some other bank would like that $400."
   
   
5. Ask the rep for help. Bilker recommends phrasing questions like this: "Who do you suggest I talk to?" and "What do I need to do to lower my rate?"
   
   
6. Be ready to change products. If you can get a better rate by switching to the Platinum Flyer from the Platinum Swinger, do it. Ask to upgrade your card, Bilker says.
   
   
7. Ask for a lower rate whenever you call. Bilker suggests that if you call your card company for any reason, ask them to lower your rate. You never know.
   
   
8. Don't rush to close accounts. Bilker emphasizes that more accounts mean more bargaining power for consumers. He suggests making banks compete for you, and the only way to do that is to keep credit lines open.

See also:

• Surviving a call to customer service-- Plan ahead, stay calm and know just what it is you're after.
  
  
• Crawling through the customer-service maze -- Our intrepid reporter tries to get a straight answer and does ... finally.
  
  
• Calling tech support will cost you -- You don't spend so much time on hold, but you'll pay for the help you get.

Aviya Kushner is based in Iowa City, Iowa.
Illustrations by Brandy Kesl