Haggle with broadband providers to save hundreds

MILLIONS of squeezed households could save more than £250 by haggling with their broadband, TV and mobile providers or by switching suppliers.

A report by Which? found TV and broadband customers saved £162 by switching providers. Those who moved away from Sky earned the biggest savings at an average of £261 a year. Customers of Virgin Media saved £210 by going to a rival. The Which? analysis was based on a survey of 5,000 people.

Natalie Hitchins, of Which?, said: “While our findings show that out-ofcontract customers can avoid mid-contract price rises by switching to a new provider or haggling with their current one, those still signed up to mobile or broadband contracts could be hit with price increases as high as 18 per cent.”

Under current rules, broadband providers are allowed to use the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation as a basis for price rises, plus an extra 3.9 percentage points. Some mobile providers, such as Virgin Mobile, use the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation, which is typically higher.

With RPI forecast to reach 14 per cent this month, it could mean that thousands of mobile customers will see their bills climb by almost a fifth this year.

The Which? report found that customers who haggled with their broadband and TV provider saved an average of £90 a year. BT customers who haggled reported an average saving of £123 a year, while Sky customers saved £102.

‘Out-of-contract customers can avoid price rises by haggling with their current provider’

Virgin Media was approached for comment. BT declined to comment.

A spokesman for Sky said: “Our TV packages enable customers to add the entertainment that best suits their needs and our customer service teams are on hand to find the right package for them.”

A spokesman for Vodafone said: “We encourage everyone to review their plan at the end of any contract so they can make sure they’re on the right deal for their needs – which often change over time.”