I saved £72 a year on my broadband and TV bills just by asking: how you can do it too
MILLIONS of broadband and TV customers can save and reduce their bills by simply asking for a discount.
Most households are generally aware that switching to another provider can be the best way to reduce costs.
But this usually only has benefits when your current broadband and TV contract expires.
More than 4.2 million broadband customers are currently out of contract and Uswitch is advising these customers to take action before their bills increase in April.
Switching mid-contract often means paying a hefty exit fee, which could be worth as much as £100.
So it’s usually best to wait until your current deal expires before switching to a new one.
But if you can’t wait until your contract expires or you don’t want to leave your current company, haggling on price is also a great solution.
A Sky broadband and TV customer has told how a simple adjustment to her TV package helped her cut her annual bills by £72.
Posting on the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK, Melisa Bailey said: “I recently redid my sky package when our contract ended, downgraded my broadband when the deal ended, and my apps now connect faster.
“But I also took the £4 Netflix offer, including ads.
“This is a £6 difference from the previous package I had.
“The adverts appear very rarely, and I’m glad I can save the £72 a year as it’s a week’s worth of free groceries!”
By quitting and switching to a service that isn’t necessarily needed, Melisa has managed to lower her bill with a simple phone call.
Alex Tofts, broadband expert at Broadband Genie, says: “The starting point for saving money is to look at what you pay for and what you actually need.
“Most people shouldn’t pay for multiple streaming services at the same time, as it’s unlikely you’ll need them all at once.
“You can save big by subscribing one by one and binge-watching a series or the films on offer and then canceling once you’ve had enough.
“While ads aren’t for everyone, ad-supported subscriptions from the likes of Netflix and Disney+ can significantly reduce your monthly expenses.”
Disney+ customers can switch from the regular ‘Standard’ package of £7.99 per month to the ‘Standard with Ads’ package for £1.99 per month for the first three months, and then up to £4.99 per month month after the discount period.
The same goes for Netflix ‘standard’ customers, who can choose to pay £10.99 per month without add-ons or £4.99 per month for an add-supporter service.
Alex added: “On average, most platforms only show around four minutes of ads per hour, so you might not find them too disruptive.”
If you want to save on other parts of your bill and stick with your current telecom provider, we’ve provided some negotiating tips for you to follow below.
How do I negotiate with my provider?
If you want to stay with your current provider – or if early termination penalties mean it’s not worth switching – haggling down your bill is easy and shouldn’t affect your current contract.
Call the telecom company and tell them you are not happy with the price.
You can say that you found a better price elsewhere or that as a loyal customer you want to know if you can get a better deal.
The worst they can say is no, and you’re no worse off. You then know it’s time to shop around for a cheaper deal.
The first thing you need to do is find out what the cheapest deal is on the market.
You can use this rate as a negotiating tool to get a better offer from your provider.
To do this, visit comparison sites such as Uswitch or Comparethemarket and find the best deals on the market.
Contact your provider to see if they can offer better rates. If not, you might want to switch.
About 11 million broadband and 36 million mobile customers will face an inflation-related price increase in April.
The average telecoms customer will see their broadband prices increase by £27.19 per year and their mobile bills by £24.23 per year.
But the exact amount your bills will increase depends on your supplier and the current contracted bill amount.
We’ve got all the tips and tricks you need to follow to beat the price hike.