A girl I know came up to me the other day asking if she should contact Sprint about dropping a $220 fee she incurred for cancelling one of the two lines on her account. She’s been a Sprint customer for nearly 5 years, and is planning to stay with them, she just doesn’t need the second line anymore.

Now negotiation, I will admit, is not one of my strong suits, but I was a little puzzled. My response was, “Of course you should contact them, what do you have to lose?”

Good negotiator or not, you should always request fees to be dropped, interest rates lowered, etc., especially if you have been a customer of that company for a while. If you are the customer, you have the power. Chances are, there are lots of companies that can provide the service/product you are looking for. It is easier for you to switch providers, than it is for them to pick up another good customer.

Just remember when it comes to negotiating you can always ask for less, but if you don’t ask at all, you won’t get anything. What do you have to lose?