Consumers are being advised not to cancel direct debits for services such as gym membership and pay TV during the coronavirus lock down period.
Experts from personal finance website TheMoneyPig.com have urged the public to speak to their service providers and negotiate a discount rather than trying to cancel services.
Many customers are feeling the pinch financially and thousands are expected to give their finances an overhaul during the coming weeks and cancel any direct debits they feel they no longer need.
But experts from The Money Pig said that rather than just cancel direct debits with their banks customers should speak directly with their suppliers to see if they are prepared to offer discounts during this difficult period.
They said that speaking to providers was also essential to ensure they don’t fall foul of any penalties or early cancellation charges which may be incurred by cancelling the direct debit.
A spokesman for the Money Pig said services such as gyms and pay per view sports channels were particularly under pressure with so many sports events currently postponed.
But they said providers were often willing to give substantial discounts or even waive fees altogether for a lengthy period to ensure they retain customers.
They warned consumers to be patient though as the coming weeks are likely to see a very high volume of calls and waiting times are likely to be lengthy.
A spokesman for The Money Pig said: “Millions of us are currently taking a long hard look at our finances and many will be tempted to cancel direct debits for things like gyms and sports clubs we won’t be able to use over the next couple of months.
“What we are saying to people is just to reach out and speak to the companies who provide these services and see if they can negotiate a discount or even if they are prepared to waive their fees altogether for the next few months.
“This is a time when the whole country is pulling together and many people are finding that service providers are being very accommodating with short term incentives in order to keep their custom in the longer term.
“We have seen reports of gyms agreeing to freeze memberships at no charge and companies such as Sky TV and Virgin media offering customers free sports packages for the next three months.
“By speaking to the service provider and discussing the options rather than just cancelling, customers can make sure they pay less in the long term by avoiding any cancellation charges or having to fork out for re-joining fees at a later date.
“One word of warning though: holding times are currently very high so try emailing or lie chat options first to relieve as much pressure from call centres as possible. If you do need to call then first thing in the morning or later in the evening may work best.”
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