Hiatus: Bill and Money Manager

UPDATE: The company contacted me within a reasonable period of time and investigated the issue. They discovered my cell phone provider did not adjust the bill (as they agreed to do so in its internal notes), and stated the discount should be reflected, which it then was. Thanks! I downloaded this app thinking that I wouldn’t receive any savings; however, the app evaluated my reoccurring expenses and noted it could potentially provide savings to my cable/internet and cell phone bill. The cell phone negotiation took a few days and the Hiatus rep stated I should notice the discount on my next bill. Hiatus then debited my account for half the discount. The bill for my cell phone dropped and there was no discount. I followed-up with the Hiatus rep and stated I would like a refund because the discount wasn’t reflected on my bill as promised. The Hiatus rep looked at my message, but did not respond. It has been over a day and I haven’t received a response. I was also told that my cable/internet bill would receive a discount, but the bill has not dropped, so I cannot yet say if I will get what I was promised. Be very skeptical about this app and their promises.

My job requires that I have an unlimited internet data package, and my AT&T bill had gotten up to $175 a month. I have been searching for a way to lower it, as it was getting quite unmanageable. I learned about Hiatus through an ad on Instagram and, even though I didn’t believe it would really help, I gave it a try. In addition to pointing out a few iTunes Store subscriptions I forgot I was paying for, the app informed me that my phone bill was much higher than it probably should be. It asked if I would like the Hiatus team to negotiate with AT&T (on the condition that if they were able to save me money, they would receive half of the savings for the first year only) to try and lower my bill. I consented. A day or two later, I was notified that they had found $50 worth of internet data belonging to my iPad that I was never using and they asked if they could change the plan for the iPad from unlimited to 1GB, which is about how much I have been using each month (my phone package would stay the same), and I accepted. They saved me $600 a year. I still didn’t really believe it was true until I called to pay my past due AT&T bill and instead of the balance being $180 ($175 plus a late fee), it was $122. WHAT?! They really did negotiate with AT&T and it happened so fast that the bill, which was already past due, reflected the savings! I’m amazed and I am so thankful I found Hiatus! Thank you!!

response required

After downloading Hiatus I didn’t hear anything for a while. Then I got a message that they saved me $30 a month on my AT&T bill - $360 a year. And they were taking half of it now ($180). That was cool - but I didn’t realize they took it immediately. I went to look at my phone bill when it updated and it was $20 more than it had been. After messaging them they said that sometimes the companies aren’t honest and they end up charging more. After waiting several days I was informed that they made my Apple Watch a separate line which is what caused the rate increase. One of the people from Hiatus told me this was being taken care of. I asked, and there is no $30 a month savings now and I’m not eligible for any other savings at this time. Oh, and my $180 would take 7-10 days to be refunded. So, I’m down $180 for 7-10 more days, my cell phone bill won’t be fixed until April, so I’m down $20 for another month, and, the icing on the cake was that when I contacted AT&T to verify that they’d corrected my account they actually hadn’t and I had to wait on hold for several minutes to correct their mistake. I immediately deleted my account. I wouldn’t trust this app, but if you do, make sure to keep an eye on everything. My accounts will eventually even put but to have something like this happen, and only be fixed because I was watching like a hawk is unforgivable. They get a free $180 loan from me for about a month. Can I charge interest?

First, yes, negotiating your various bills and subscription rates down is something really anyone can/could do for oneself & all the personal financial advice people will tell you to do so. But it is somewhat easier said than done and I really hate trying to navigate customer service phone bank hell. I also work long hours, at night, and am unable to make personal calls at work so finding time to do this for myself is also a pain. So anyhow, I downloaded the app right before I went to sleep and within a few hours I woke up to 3 notifications that they’d found savings of just under $1000 for me over the course of a year. So, yeah, super!! Ummm, yes, they make money by charging you 50% of the amount saved - it’s disclosed right there in black & white, plain English, so I don’t know how people are surprised or somehow don’t understand how it works. Of course I do wish it were a smaller percentage cut but I’m still saving a decent amount over time. Also, I’ve verified savings with all 3 accounts (AT&T UVerse, Verizon, SiriusXM). Thanks y’all!

response required

While they successfully managed to “save” me a little bit on my Verizon bill, what they failed to do was be honest about their services. To call themselves a FREE service is dishonest. When dealing with people’s money, the need to be completely open about the way things work is necessary. Instead of letting me know what they would be taking from me, they informed of what they would be saving me over the course of a year. That may be all well and good, but not letting your customers know what will be automatically drawn out of your account as a result of those “savings” is wrong and displays a lack of honesty. In trying to talk with someone, I was told that all communications are done by email and that I couldn’t talk to an actual person. Once again, you’re dealing with people’s finances. If they’d like to have a conversation with you about what is happening with THEIR money, the option to speak with a customer representative at least during regular business hours should absolutely be available. The woman I did communicate with via email did nothing for me other than copy and paste some information from their website and then cease to respond to my concerns. This feels way more like a scam than something that helps people.