Dear LPG,

I have a bit of advice that often does not occur to people when the situation arises.

The other day I answered my phone to one of those people who imply that they ‘are not trying to sell you anything’ but then they started telling me that they may be able to offer a really good deal on my next year’s home and contents insurance.   Way back in 2017 I read an article that was posted on this site (►►►) and remembered to say ‘NO, not today thank you.’, but as I put the phone down I got thinking about if I really am paying more than I need to. 

I got my daughter to do one of those online comparison trials for me and there were a few suggestions that looked promising, and it could be that I have given the information away in the past, but somehow insurance companies, some I have heard of and some I have not, always seem to get in touch by letter or phone at just the right time to discuss how they will be able to help me get the best deal.  

I was called by one company and phoned another as a result of a letter I received and, after it was established that I was looking for a quotation, each telephone advisor asked me two questions that my daughter told me never to answer when put in this position; regardless of if you phone for information or someone calls to offer you a cheaper deal….

1,

Which company are you with at the moment?

And

2,

How much did you pay for your last bill?

My little one was with me on the first occasion, which was a good thing, because she gave me some really good advice and that was to answer these two questions by telling the advisor that, when they offer their quote, you will be able to tell them if you are impressed.…

Her theory is that while they will need to know if the house is terraced or otherwise, how many bedrooms there are and if I have window locks,   I really should not be offering them details about what I paid and who I paid it to last year because companies, no matter what they are trying to sell you,  are likely to undercut any amount you tell them by just enough to get you to buy their product even though they could give an even better price if they think that they need to.

Most companies get business in this way, (utility companies, mobile phone companies, insurance companies etc.), and while there has been a clamp down on  cold calling recently we still will get calls about house insurance from the people we buy our car insurance from or the company who we were insured with last year, before we changed to another company.  To them, making the sale is important, but they are also looking to get us to pay as much as we will let them get away with when they are negotiating with us.

So I think that my daughter is offering some really good advice here and I hope that by getting LPG to share her thoughts other readers may benefit.  

BK, Crofton Park