this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2026
82 points (96.6% liked)

Ask Lemmy

39134 readers
1009 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone 40 points 1 week ago (28 children)

Every year, call your insurance/internet/phone/TV etc. provider and tell them one of their competitors gave you a lower quote and you want them to match it or come close.

They will often give you a better rate just for asking. It's easier if you do have an actual quote to compare it against but you don't need one. Everything is made up. Just ask to pay less and threaten to stop paying them and they'll often just give it to you.

Even if they refuse, just say, "Okay. I need some time to think about whether or not I want to continue our relationship or switch." Hang up and do nothing.

[–] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (26 children)

USA centric.

This is known as policy walking and has been banned in the UK by the FCA.

(edit - specifically for insurance)

——

@nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com

@Chippys_mittens@lemmy.world

Why the downvote with zero engagement?

[–] TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

Wait what??

The consumer is barred from swapping providers annually to get better rates? Or are they barred from lying about fake quotes to get a better rate from their current provider?

Edit: By chance did you mean "price walking"? I did some searching online and I couldn't find anything about the UK forbidding consumers from changing insurance companies to seek lower prices by searching for "policy walking" but I did find something about insurers slowly increasing prices on customers (thus creating the need for the behavior I suggested) called "price walking", though I didn't see anything about it's legality. Admittedly, I'm just skimming while working.

[–] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

A new customer and a renewing customer should get the same price.

If you go to an insurance company to get a quote, as a brand new customer or a renewal, the price should be the same.

Historically, its to prevent companies giving lower prices for the first year and then raising it for the second year.

Youre not allowed to increase the price just because its not a new customer.

Its nothing to do with regulating the customer - its regulating how insurance companies price their products for new vs existing customers.

I said policy walking, but price walking might be the more accurate term

Oooooooh that makes sense! Thanks for explaining. Yeah I wish we had legislation around it here, it's stupid that I have to play games to get lower prices on things.

[–] bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 week ago

Wish that were the case where I live. Still I've noticed that what they're now doing is offering the same price to everyone, but then giving the option of free Netflix for 1 year as a sign up bonus or the equivalent credit towards your service for that year, which effectively is the same practice.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (22 replies)
load more comments (23 replies)