It has never been easier to change your home phone and broadband provider (BT, TalkTalk, Sky etc) and save yourself hundreds of pounds on your bills per year. Having worked in Broadband at Money SuperMarket.com (a comparison site) in the past, here are some insider tips for those that don’t know the tricks of the trade:
Check if you’re under contract and negotiate your bill down or get a better package (higher speed) with your current Broadband provider
You will generally sign up to a 12 – 24-month contract with your Provider. Did you know that it costs companies five times as much to attract a new customer, then to keep an existing one? With that in mind, if you are near the end of your contract, use this to your advantage! If you have less than 6 months left, check current deals on comparison dates and phone up your provider and threaten to leave. Chances are you will get a significantly better deal.
Is Fibre-optic a must have or a nice to have?
ADSL (Standard broadband) is the cheapest form of broadband that is widely available with a dedicated line. SuperFast fibre is run through a cable and is a much faster option than ADSL, boasting internet speeds range from 3 to 10 Mbps. Superfast broadband allows a much faster browsing speed with greater consistency. This is great if you stream videos, play computer games or if you have the whole family using the internet at the same time, however, expect to pay at least £7 extra/ month, so £84 more a year. If you are a casual browser, avoid this extra cost.
If you do want SuperFast fibre, check if you can access it on Broadbandchoices and select the fibre broadband tab (if there’s no tab, it means it is not available for your postcode).
Review comparison websites to find the best deals on the market.
Has your contract run out? Try to find new and improved deals online using comparison sites, as they often get better deals than the providers themselves. Comparison sites don’t all show the same deals or providers, so the more you check, the more likely you’re to find a cheaper deal. Tip: If a site has an “exclusive” sign, it is likely to be an offer worth considering, as it is market leading.
The sites I recommend using are:
My own comparison table
4. Review monthly and yearly costs in the breakdown before committing
Know what you’re buying to avoid any unwelcome surprises when your bill shows up. Always check set up fees, such as delivery charges, installation charges etc.
5. Faster advertised speed doesn’t mean faster broadband
Interestingly, a provider only needs 10% of customers to get a certain speed before they can promote it. So always check the speed of the provider first on speed checker sites – try https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/tools/speed-test
To check our the latest Broadband prices, check out our table here
Any tips you know, please share below. Hope this was useful.
