Martin Lewis has warned people they could mistakenly be giving away their personal details or other sensitive information. He said he was shocked and disturbed to learn about the system rule that potentially applies whenever you call up a service provider.
He spoke on his BBC podcast about how to get the best deal for a service such as your broadband or energy tariff, and the art of haggling with a provider. However, one insider tip came in from someone who has worked in a call centre, which Mr Lewis found “really shocking”.
The call handler told the show: “If you think you’re on hold, don’t assume because there is music that the call handler can’t hear what you’re saying whilst you’re on hold.”
‘I’m blown away by that one’
Martin Lewis said this worrying fact “has sent chills through me and I think it will send chills through everyone who hears it.” As he was talking about haggling, he warned that if you are within someone else, you’d be best not to say while you are on hold that you would settle for a particular price, as the handler may hear you.
But he warned you could be mistakenly sharing other sensitive information. The consumer expert said: “I’m a little bit blown away by that one. You could be having a private conversation, you could be talking, you could be brushing your teeth, you could be doing anything else at the time.”
There were some more positive tips for when you are calling up to negotiate a deal. One suggestion was that if you press ‘#’ when you call up, this will usually put you through to a human being.
More practical tips
One call handler shared the simple rule to be polite when you call up, as this way the person you talk to is more likely to be helpful and go the extra mile to assist you. Mr Lewis shared another insider tip here.
He said: “I’ve had call centre staff tell me in the past they have a certain number of discounts they can give in a day. So there is a discretion there of who they are going to give a discount to and who they won’t.”
Another suggestion came in for cases where you have a policy that is up for renewal and you want some money off. The person said to simply say you want to cancel the policy, as this will immediately make them come back with a better offer.