Seen At 11: Companies Haggling To Get Consumers Discounts On Monthly Bills

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Gas, electric, student loans, cellphones – think there's no way to reduce those monthly costs? Think again.

As it happens, companies are offering their services to consumers to get significant discounts on their monthly utility bills.

"In America, we are not used to haggling," said financial author Jordan Goodman.

That is especially true when it comes to our utility bills.

But as CBS2's Kristine Johnson reported, companies such as Billcutterz.com and BillFixers.com are willing to haggle to get customers' bills slashed.

"Cellphones, Internet, cable, satellite TV, electricity, student loans, we've haggled all kinds of bills," said Barry Gross, president of the third-party negotiating firm Billcutterz.com.

Gross said his company can get up to $70 off per month on a bill for as much as two years.

The companies operate pretty simply, once a customer creates and account and uploads copies of their bills, they will call and negotiate with the contacts they've already made at service providers and cite current promotions and discounts.

"My mom and dad signed up for billcutterz and they saved $700," one client said on YouTube. "Look at all the new toys."

However, negotiating companies typically take half.

"It's our incentive to save the customer as much as possible," Gross said.

Financial author Jordan Goodman said customers should ask for discounts on their own behalf.

"If you do it on your own, you get to keep the entire amount," Goodman said. "The way you do it makes a difference, you want to be polite."

Goodman added customers want to be armed with a counter-offer from the competition and be ready to commit for at least two years to get the best deal.

"All this stuff is negotiable, it takes a little bit of time but it's a huge pay-off," Goodman said.

There are also companies that will negotiate medical bills as experts said they can save consumers up to 50 percent off the official bill.