Nashville startup BillFixers will haggle for lower cable bill for you

Technically, all it takes is a phone call to negotiate a lower cable bill. But we all know that phone call is not going to be easy.

You could be left on hold for recording after recording only to be disconnected. Or you may have to explain your reasons for calling to at least three agents before making headway, while precious minutes waste away and your blood pressure ticks higher.

There is now another way.

Nashville brothers Julian and Ben Kurland are masterfully capitalizing on this consumer pain point. Their company, BillFixers, empowers consumers against the corporate mazes of call agents and recordings, allowing them to cut their cable and Internet bills and avoid the health hazards of a customer service line.

BillFixers is a three-man operation that also includes the Kurlands' cousin, Peter Zimbicki. Working from two local borrowed offices, they spend their time negotiating lower bills from AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner and other large corporations whose costs often creep up when promotions expire.

"People are willing to do anything not to have to talk to them," Julian Kurland said. "That's where we come in."

Here is how it works: A customer sends their bill and account info to the BillFixers team, who dial the cable company or use their tried-and-true methods online. They know all the numbers to press to cut through long-winded recordings, they know the times of the day that yield most efficient results and they have already researched what competitors are offering, a critical touchpoint for negotiating. Some calls take 30 minutes, some several hours.

"We kind of have it down pat," Julian Kurland said.

BillFixers takes half of the discount obtained, and if there is no discount, there is no charge.

Kurland describes talking to certain cable companies as a "uniquely terrible experience," but the strategizing and monetary reward has proved alluring. They have saved about 500 clients close to $125,000 since launching last year, and business is growing.

"They make it as difficult as possible," he said. "It's kind of like a game for us now because we know they are trying to dodge having to give us savings, and we are trying to outmaneuver them."

For the customer, more savings always feels good, but there is something especially satisfying about this trio monetizing from a cable company's promotional game. If these corporations are able to offer you a lower rate but require that you navigate their twisting, time-consuming hoops to obtain it, the idea of customer service is insincere. Ideally, we don't need to hire someone to wrestle our bills lower, but it is a welcomed addition to the market, given the status quo.

Getting started

The concept for the company grew out of a favor to a friend last year. Julian Kurland had reduced the Comcast bill for his college roommate when they attended the University of Connecticut. His roommate, having moved to Seattle, asked Julian if he would handle this task for him again for a portion of the savings, and Kurland reduced his bill by $20 a month.

"I talked to my brother about it and said, 'This is easier than I thought,' " Kurland said. "Why don't we see if we can do this for other people?"

On a family vacation in South Carolina, they set up a site and posted it on reddit. The post attracted immediate business and prompted them to abandon the beach to make their calls. Julian Kurland, then at Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, and Ben Kurland, a graphic designer, began spending nights and weekends making calls for BillFixers.

Now that business has picked up, they are making calls during the week, sometimes working eight-hour days on the phone or using online methods. Julian Kurland, who recently took the bar exam, studied between calls, and Ben balances BillFixers calls with design projects.

Serving time-strapped clients

They have gained most business through word of mouth or online, particularly among 30-something professionals who browse online forums. Their most lucrative savings are typically found for older clients, who have had a cable service for decades and have seen costs climb accordingly.

Evan Diamond works for iCracked, an on-demand iPhone repair company, in Redwood City, Calif., and discovered BillFixers on reddit. His company was paying nearly $1,500 a month for two dozen phone lines, and BillFixers cut the bill by half while increasing data packages and adding international messaging. They also reduced Diamond's personal AT&T bill by $30 a month.

"I don't have time to sit around on the phone and renegotiate with these companies," Diamond said. "They took a lot of the stress out of having to deal with negotiations and fighting back and forth to lower price."

For local Ruckus film producer Coke Sams ("Ernest Goes to Camp," "Ernest Scared Stupid"), BillFixers cut his Comcast bill by more than $65 a month, added HBO free for six months and increased his package of channels. Six months later they extended his HBO contract and added a year of free Showtime.

"I just never got to it," he said. "It's something I've been meaning to do for two years."

Sams said he has no bone to pick with Comcast, but he is enjoying a lower bill, as well as watching "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver."

"I wanted more sports, more movies, and they got that for me for less."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.