Cable bills have been rising at three times the rate of inflation lately but that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to keep paying higher prices forever. Vox’s Timothy Lee talked with two anonymous Comcast customer service representatives who let him in on the secret tricks that cable customers can use to lower their bills.

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The most obvious tactic to employ is threatening to cancel your service, even if you don’t intend to go through with it because Comcast is your only option for Internet service. Even if your cable company knows you have no other options for high-speed Internet in the area, it could still cave and give you a discount on your monthly rate if it thinks you’re desperate enough to go back to dial-up.

Other tricks Lee lists include how to walk the fine line between being firm but polite with Comcast customer service reps, how to game out exactly what kinds of concessions you’re willing to make, and why you shouldn’t ask to talk to the representative’s manager.

The entire report is a must-read for anyone who’s ever had to deal with unexpectedly high cable bills and you should check it out at the source link below.