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This tool negotiates with your cable and internet provider to lower your bill

By Mike Timmermann
By Mike Timmermann

All year long, Clark.com’s Michael Timmermann is sharing quick and easy ways to save money as part of our Michael Saves series. Check in every Monday as he puts new and familiar savings strategies to the test. Sign up for our newsletter to have these stories delivered to your inbox!

If you’re tired of overpaying for cable and internet service, there’s a new way to score a one-time or perhaps even a monthly credit on your bill without having to do the negotiating yourself.

I recently tested Trim, the personal assistant that saves you money, to see exactly how it works!

Read more: How to improve the Wi-Fi signal throughout your home

Ask Trim to lower your cable and internet bill

Less than two hours after signing up on Trim’s website, I got a notification through Facebook Messenger (you can choose text message notifications instead) that I received a $30 credit for my Xfinity by Comcast internet service.

How is that possible? Once your account is linked, Trim has a chatbot that will negotiate your bill for you. In many cases, Trim is able to get credits that your provider owes you due to cable and internet service interruptions.

Trim's chatbot told me via Facebook Messenger that it keeps 25% (now 33%) of what it saves customers through its bill negotiation feature.

Trim said it can also lower your cable/internet bill with Time Warner, Charter and other providers.

My $30 Comcast credit

Trim vs. Comcast Xfinity

Have Trim cancel recurring charges for you!

Trim started back in 2015 by helping people cancel old subscriptions for free — things like The New York Times, Netflix and Spotify.

The automated system scanned my linked credit card account and identified a subscription that I really didn’t need anymore. I texted “Cancel _____” to Trim and it took care of the cancellation at no cost to me.

Trim said it regularly reviews transactions and will alert users when a new subscription is charged to the account.

Security and signing up

Before I started with Trim, I wanted reassurance that it was secure. The San Francisco-based company's website states that it safeguards users' data using bank-level security and doesn't share that data with third parties.

This is an excerpt from Trim's security page about keeping your data safe and secure:

We use Plaid to securely connect to more than 15,000 financial institutions across the U.S. During the registration process, you will be asked to enter your online banking credentials. These credentials never touch our servers, nor are they stored by us in any way. Your credentials are sent through Plaid to your bank or credit card provider. Plaid then sends back an encrypted token to us.

This token provides read-only access to your transaction data. We cannot move money or make any changes to your account. You can revoke our read-only access token at any time.

Some banks and credit card providers have additional security measures, such as multi-factor authentication using security codes, challenge questions, or phone confirmation. These measures vary from bank to bank. We are glad that most financial institutions make it both simple and secure for you to access your data.

We use 256-bit SSL encryption for our website and all server-side databases. If you sign up to get notifications via SMS, we will require you to set up two-factor authentication when you register for Trim. We will require you to confirm your identity using 2FA for any sign-in using a new device, or if your security token has expired. For users who sign up using Facebook Messenger, we rely on Facebook's implementation of the OAuth protocol to ensure secure sign-in.

To be clear, Trim isn't a smartphone app. You communicate with Trim via text message or Facebook Messenger only. Go to AskTrim.com to learn more and find out how to sign up.

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