While there are many different aspects of personal finance to consider when you’re managing your finances, one of the keys to effective money management is keeping your regular, recurring bills under control. We all have some necessary expenses that are just a part of life, but how much you spend in those budget categories can have a big impact on your overall financial health.
When we talk about frugality or cutting back on spending, one-time expenses will often come to mind (things like a fancy new TV, the latest gadget, or even a new car). While it’s obviously important to have discipline and avoid, or at least control, these types of purchases, our monthly recurring bills can be just as significant in the big picture.
That $150 monthly bill for cable TV and internet service costs may seem unavoidable, but does it really have to be that high? Finding a way to reduce that bill to $100 per month would put an extra $600 in your pocket each year! If you do the same thing with a couple of other recurring bills, it can have a huge impact on your budget.
While it may not seem like a lot of money, even an extra $100 per month can make a significant difference for most households. Think about what you could do with an extra $100 per month. There are a lot of possibilities!
Billshark exists to help customers reduce monthly bills and improve their financial situation. And best of all, Billshark does the work for you.
Sound good? Maybe too good? Don’t worry, we looked at Billshark with a critical eye. Read on to learn more about what Billshark has to offer, how it can reduce your spending and put more money back into your wallet. This Billshark review will help you to decide if it’s a good option for you.
What is Billshark?
Billshark offers a few different services that we’ll cover in this article, including bill negotiation, cancellation of unwanted monthly subscriptions, and help finding lower insurance rates. All of Billshark’s services revolve around helping consumers save money each month.
Billshark claims to have an impressive 90% success rate at saving money for customers, with millions of dollars in savings already accumulated.
One interesting fact about Billshark is that it is backed by billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and one of the stars of Shark Tank.
How Does Billshark Work?
Billshark’s homepage says, “Save 25% on monthly bills in 2 minutes with Billshark.” That’s a pretty powerful statement that will definitely excite anyone who is interested in saving money (which should be all of us).
It’s free to create a Billshark account and try their service. There are some fees that you’ll run into along the way, and we’ll cover all of the details related to those fees later in the article. It’s important to understand how those fees work, as that’s a big part of deciding if Billshark is right for you.
Bill Negotiation Services
While Billshark can help you to save money in a few different ways, its bill negotiation service is the star of the show.
Are you aware that many of the regular bills that you pay each month are negotiable?
That’s right. You don’t have to pay the inflated prices companies are charging. Most people simply pay these bills without attempting to lower the rates, which means that most of us are overpaying for basic services.
Billshark’s professionals will negotiate bills on your behalf and work to reduce the amount that you’re charged each month. They can negotiate the following types of bills:
- Cable and satellite TV
- Cell phone services
- Landline phone
- Internet access
- Satellite radio
- Home security
- TV, internet, and phone bundle packages
Billshark regularly works with customers of companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Dish, DirecTV, ADT, SiriusXM, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and many others.
While you might be able to successfully negotiate your own bills, it’s possible that a professional negotiator who does this every dang day will be able to get a better rate for you.
Billshark has an impressive track record and some compelling reasons why consumers might want to try their negotiation services:
- 90% success rate at reducing bills for customers
- Risk-free guarantee: you don’t pay anything unless they are able to save you money
- More than 50,000 negotiations completed
There is no cost to try Billshark’s negotiation services, but you will be charged if they are successfully able to reduce any of your bills. Billshark will keep 40% of the savings, for example, if they’re able to lower your bills by $100 per month, they take $40 of that savings, leaving you with $60 in savings per month. There are more details related to the fees that we will cover, so hold on tight for a full picture of what using Billshark costs.
If you decide that you want to try Billshark and give their negotiators a chance to hack away at your monthly bills, here is the process that you’ll need to follow.
1. Create Your Account
To get started, you’ll need to create your account for free. You’ll need to enter basic information like your name, email address, phone number, and a password. Alternatively, you can use your existing Google account instead of creating an account.
2. Select a Service
Next, you’ll need to tell Billshark which bills/services you would like them to negotiate. They won’t negotiate anything without your permission, so you can pick and choose which ones you would like to lower. The more services you allow them to negotiate, the better your chances will be to see significant savings.
3. Upload Your Bill
The last step is to provide Billshark access to a recent bill so they’ll have the information that they need in order to negotiate on your behalf. You can use the Android app, iOS app, or the website to upload your bill. You can provide them with a photo of the bill or a digital copy of the bill, whichever is more convenient for you.
The signup process is very simple. As Billshark indicates on its homepage, it could be done in as little as two minutes. There are not too many things you could do in just two minutes that would give you a chance to save money each month.
Once they have your information, Billshark’s negotiators, or “sharks” as they call them, will get to work. If they’re able to reduce your bills, you’ll receive a notification of the good news.
Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions
In addition to bill negotiation, Billshark will also help you to find and cancel unwanted subscriptions. If you’re the type of person that watches your expenses closely, you might not have any monthly subscription bills that you’re not aware of (hopefully that’s the case). But according to Billshark, 81% of Americans underestimate how much they’re paying for subscriptions. If that’s you, this service could prove to be very handy.
Billshark claims that there are hundreds of different subscription services that they can cancel for you. It’s important to note that there is a $9 fee for each subscription that they cancel. With that in mind, you’re better off canceling the subscriptions on your own and saving the money, unless you’re extremely strapped for time.
Find Lower Insurance Rates
The last service offered by Billshark aims to help you reduce your homeowner’s insurance and/or car insurance bill. You can enter the details of your current plan and how much you’re paying now and Billshark will provide you with some quotes to see if you could save money with another provider.
There is no cost for this service regardless of whether you can save money or not. Billshark doesn’t get involved in the process aside from showing you the rates of several companies. If you decide to move forward with a quote, you’ll go directly to the insurance company rather than going through Billshark.
Does Billshark Charge a Fee?
Billshark charges a fee in certain cases, so it’s important to understand those details before you create an account. There is no fee to create your account and there is no fee for the insurance savings calculator. There is also no fee for the bill negotiation service if they aren’t able to save you any money.
The fee to have Billshark cancel subscriptions is $9 per canceled subscription.
The fee for successful bill negotiation is 40% of the savings, and there are some important details to understand. You’ll be charged the fee for whatever length of time they negotiate for your contract. For example, if they reduce your cable bill by $50 per month and it involves a one-year contract, they’ll collect $240 from you (40% of $50 is $20, and $20 times 12 months equals $240 total).
The fee for bill negotiation will be charged to you upfront, not month-by-month. This means that even though Billshark could be saving you hundreds of dollars over a period of time, you may have a big bill to pay before you actually save a lot of that money.
Billshark also says that they’ll pay attention to the end date of your contract and automatically negotiate on your behalf to keep your payment as low as possible.
Is Billshark Safe?
Since you’ll be giving Billshark personal data, it’s understandable to question the safety of the service. Billshark uses standard 256-bit encryption to protect customer data. This is the same level of security as banks and other financial websites.
Although Billshark appears to take all of the necessary safety precautions, it’s important to note that some degree of risk will always be present when you’re entering personal information online. That being said, since Billshark is as safe as a bank or financial institution, it can generally be considered safe.
Billshark has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and currently has a 4.5-star rating from more than 170 customer reviews on their BBB business profile.
Is Billshark Worth It?
There is a lot to like about Billshark. Who wouldn’t want to save money each month with basically no effort?
But there are also some significant drawbacks like the hefty 40% fee of any savings that they negotiate for you.
This might leave you wondering if Billshark is worth it. That’s a question that you’ll have to answer for yourself, but the key to answering the question lies in what you will do without Billshark’s services. If you’ll take the time to call your service providers and attempt to negotiate your own bills, maybe you’ll be better off on your own since you won’t face any fees. But if the alternative is to do nothing and continue overpaying for essential services, why not give Billshark a chance? It’s better to save money, even if you have to split the savings 60/40 with Billshark.
Final Thoughts
Bill negotiation services like Billshark have become a lot more common in recent years, and that’s a good thing for consumers. Billshark or one of its competitors may be able to save you money each month with only a few minutes of your time to create the account.
Billshark has a great track record and you won’t be charged a dime unless they’re able to save money. Even if you decide that you’d rather try to negotiate bills on your own and skip the fee, hopefully this information on Billshark helps to remind you to take action in order to lower your bills.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is Billshark?
Billshark is a service that helps consumers save money on monthly bills through bill negotiation, cancellation of unwanted subscriptions, and assistance in finding lower insurance rates.
How does Billshark work?
Billshark's bill negotiation service works by having professionals negotiate bills on behalf of customers, aiming to reduce monthly expenses. Users can also use the service to cancel unwanted subscriptions and explore lower insurance rates.
What bills can Billshark negotiate?
Billshark can negotiate bills for services such as cable and satellite TV, cell phone services, landline phone, internet access, satellite radio, home security, and TV, internet, and phone bundle packages.
What is Billshark's success rate?
Billshark claims to have a 90% success rate at saving money for customers through bill negotiation, with over 50,000 negotiations completed.
How much does Billshark charge for its services?
Billshark charges a fee for successful bill negotiation, which is 40% of the savings. There is also a $9 fee for each canceled subscription. The insurance savings calculator service is free.
