High monthly bills can make it challenging to save money for other important financial goals. However, what if you could significantly reduce these expenses through professional bill negotiation? That’s exactly what Billshark promises to deliver—lowering your monthly costs by negotiating directly with service providers on your behalf.
Does Billshark actually deliver on these promises? We’ll answer that question in this comprehensive Billshark review, examining everything from their services to pricing structure.
What is Billshark?
Established in 2015 and headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Billshark operates as a bill negotiation service backed by Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. The company specializes in helping both individuals and businesses reduce their recurring monthly expenses.
Under CEO Steven McKean’s leadership, the company has set an ambitious target: saving small businesses and consumers over $2.7 billion by 2025.
The Better Business Bureau has maintained Billshark’s accreditation since August 15, 2016.
What Does Billshark Do?
Billshark provides professional bill negotiation services in exchange for a success-based fee. Their no-savings, no-fee guarantee means you only pay when they successfully reduce your bills.
Monthly Bill Reduction
While it’s certainly possible to negotiate bills yourself, many people avoid the time-consuming process or feel uncomfortable with confrontational conversations.
Billshark eliminates this hassle by handling all negotiations directly with service providers. They work to reduce costs across various services, including those listed below.
Service Provider Negotiations
They negotiate with providers for internet, home security, satellite radio, wireless phone services, and television to secure lower monthly rates. The company has established relationships with major providers including Verizon, ADT, Cox, Time Warner, and numerous others.
Subscription Cancellation Services
Billshark also identifies and cancels unwanted subscription services. Without careful expense tracking or budgeting, many people unknowingly pay for services they never use.
The service can cancel hundreds of different subscription types. Billshark reports that 81% of Americans underestimate their total subscription spending.
Billshark charges $9 for each successfully canceled subscription. However, you’ll likely save more money by handling these cancellations yourself, unless time constraints make this impractical.
Insurance Rate Comparison
Auto and homeowner’s insurance represent major monthly expenses for most households. Billshark’s final service involves searching for lower insurance rates.
Using this service requires entering your current payment amounts and provider details. Billshark then searches for potentially money-saving quotes.
When you choose one of their recommended offers, you’ll go directly to the insurance company’s website to complete the process. Billshark doesn’t participate beyond the initial quote comparison.
How Does Billshark Work?
Creating an account requires visiting the Billshark website and completing their signup process. You’ll provide basic personal information including your name, phone number, email address, and password.
After account creation, you can submit bills for negotiation by selecting the bill type and choosing your service provider.
For instance, if you want to reduce your satellite radio costs and use Sirius as your provider, you’d select both options from their interface.
Billshark can either retrieve your bill directly or accept uploaded copies. Direct retrieval requires providing your service provider username and password.
The company assigns a “shark”—essentially a Billshark representative—to handle your specific bill negotiation. This representative contacts your service provider and negotiates on your behalf.
You’ll receive both email and phone notifications regarding the negotiation outcome.
Successful negotiations include details about your savings amount, the new payment plan start date (usually the next billing cycle), and a breakdown of negotiated terms.
Billshark invoices their service fee within several days of successful negotiations. Unsuccessful attempts result in no charges.
Billshark Pricing and Fees
For bill reduction services, Billshark charges a one-time fee equal to 40% of your total savings. No savings means no fees.
Each subscription cancellation costs $9.
Their insurance comparison tool is completely free to use for finding lower monthly payments.
Savings Calculator
Billshark’s website features a useful savings calculator that estimates your potential savings. This tool helps you understand what Billshark might accomplish with your bills, subscriptions, and insurance before committing to their service.
Referral Program
The company operates a referral rewards program for new customer invitations. Referred friends receive a 10% discount on their first submitted bill.
New users also receive a $25 signup bonus reward. You can earn up to $50 in Amazon gift cards through successful referrals.
Billshark Rewards Program
Billshark operates an additional incentive program called Billshark Rewards to encourage customer participation.
Submitting bills to Billshark earns you $25 in Reward Dollars. These rewards can be used in over 500,000 ways, including:
- Local deals with retailers like Office Depot, Gap, and Michaels
- Restaurant discounts at McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, and Chili’s
- Daily Amazon gift card giveaways
- Online shopping discounts for popular brands like Fitbit and Nike
- Grocery coupons for stores like Walmart and ShopRite
- Hotel discounts at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott properties
Is Billshark Safe?
Account creation requires sharing personal information and account passwords, which might raise security concerns about using Billshark’s services.
The platform employs Trust-Guard 128-Bit Encryption on password-sensitive pages and maintains active SSL certificates throughout their system.
The service maintains strong security standards. You can enhance protection by updating your account credentials once the negotiation process concludes.
Who Should Use Billshark?
Billshark’s bill negotiation services work best for people who:
- Want to reduce service provider bills (internet, TV, home security, etc.) but prefer having someone else handle negotiations
- Feel comfortable trusting Billshark with account credentials and understand that savings might involve service downgrades
- Experience anxiety about bill negotiations or lack the time and patience for provider conversations
Who Shouldn’t Use Billshark?
Billshark isn’t ideal for everyone seeking lower bills. Consider avoiding their service if you:
- Have the time and patience to negotiate directly with providers and prefer maintaining complete control over the process
- Plan to change providers or service plans within the next year, as Billshark’s upfront fees may prevent you from realizing actual savings
- Feel uncomfortable allowing others access to your personal accounts
Billshark Competitors and Alternatives
Several other bill negotiation services compete with Billshark. Truebill offers similar services through their platform.
Their mobile app helps identify and cancel subscriptions, negotiates bills for savings, and monitors cable usage while providing credits for service outages.
While the app downloads for free, premium features cost between $3 and $12 monthly.
Additional competitors include BillCutterz, Billfixers, and BillAdvisors.
Billshark Pros
Professional Negotiation Service
You won’t need to spend time contacting service providers—Billshark handles all negotiations directly.
No-Success, No-Fee Structure
You can test their service risk-free since charges only apply when they successfully reduce your bills.
Potential Savings Estimation
Their savings calculator provides valuable estimates for potential monthly savings, helping you make informed signup decisions.
Results Guarantee
If your provider fails to honor negotiated rates, Billshark adjusts their service fee accordingly.
Billshark Cons
High Service Fees
Billshark charges 40% of your total savings, which represents a significant portion that delays when you’ll see actual benefits.
Upfront Payment Requirements
The 40% service fee requires immediate payment, consuming a substantial portion of annual savings and extending the time needed to realize actual financial benefits.
Potential Service Downgrades
Achieving savings might require accepting reduced service levels that could eliminate features you actually want to keep.
For example, internet speed reductions could impact your streaming experience.
Limited Utility Bill Support
Utility bills often represent major monthly expenses that can create serious problems when payments fall behind. Unfortunately, Billshark’s negotiation services don’t address these critical bill types.
Final Thoughts: Billshark Analysis
Here are key considerations for making your final Billshark decision.
Customer Service Options
Billshark offers multiple contact methods:
- Phone – Toll-free number 800-957-1710, available weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET
- Email – Direct messages via help@billshark.com
- Live chat – Real-time support through their website
Multiple communication channels make reaching Billshark straightforward and convenient for customer support needs.
Reported Success Rate
Billshark claims a 90% success rate for customer savings—an impressive performance metric.
However, this data comes directly from the company rather than independent third-party verification, so we must rely on their self-reported statistics.
While specific average savings data isn’t available, Billshark advertises that customers can “Save 25% on monthly bills in 2 minutes,” and their highest single-customer savings reached $9,500.
User Experience
The website offers intuitive navigation and straightforward account creation. The dashboard design accommodates most users comfortably.
Their mobile app allows convenient bill photo uploads and is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Reputation and Customer Feedback
The Better Business Bureau rates Billshark A+, though 41 complaints exist, primarily concerning billing and collections practices.
Some customer dissatisfaction is normal for any service. Negative reviews frequently mention that Billshark achieved savings by downgrading service levels.
Customer reviews average 3.83 out of 5 stars.
Bottom Line: Should You Use Billshark?
Should you sign up for Billshark? The company maintains a solid reputation and demonstrates expertise in reducing customer bills.
Their no-savings, no-fee guarantee means zero risk if they can’t help. However, successful negotiations come with substantial service fees.
If you’re comfortable negotiating directly with providers, hiring Billshark makes little financial sense.
Moreover, anyone pursuing important financial goals should take a more hands-on approach to their overall financial health. This means analyzing your expenses, eliminating debt, and creating a comprehensive budget.
However, if provider negotiations cause significant anxiety or your schedule prevents you from making these calls, Billshark could be the right solution.
