Your £700 bill for being loyal to Sky

HOUSEHOLDERS who sign up to combined TV and broadband packages are being hit with loyalty penalties of up to almost £700 a year, a consumer watchdog has warned.

In worst-case scenarios, Which? found that BT customers can face a £240 loyalty penalty over a year, Virgin Media customers face paying an extra £580, and Sky customers are penalised almost £700 for remaining with the provider.

The consumer group found that 40 per cent of customers who signed up to dual or triple including a phone line - bundles have stayed with the same provider for more than 10 years, and could be overpaying by hundreds of pounds.

Sky customers who had not attempted to haggle told Which? they were paying £1,050 a year on average, while the cheapest combined new deal currently on the market was the Sky Broadband + Entertainment bundle, costing from £30 a month or just £360 a year.

Even those who chose a premium package including faster broadband and extra channels including Sky Sports would only pay £780 a year under a new deal.

A Sky spokeswoman said: “Just like Which? Magazine, we have a range of offers for both new and existing customers. We encourage all of our customers to join Sky VIP - a loyalty programme that says thank you to customers for their time with us, with exclusive offers and experiences.”