As many of us have been forced to investigate ways to save money every month, it’s more important than ever to keep on top of the services and subscriptions we’re paying for. Whilst making changes to household suppliers won’t solve the cost-of-living crisis, it’s surprising how much you can save with a simple phone call or a bit of forward planning. Every penny counts!
With that in mind, when was the last time you checked your broadband contract? You can pretty much guarantee if you aren’t switching or renewing your broadband regularly, you’re paying over the odds.
How can I find out if I’m paying too much for my broadband contract?
Look through your emails to see when you last reviewed your broadband contract. Most contracts tie you in for 12, 18 or 24 months, but after that, you’re free to look for a new deal.
The norm is for the price of a broadband package to go up for customers year on year. You may find the price hike even steeper if you’ve been making use of an incentive discount.
If you can’t find the details of when your contract finishes, get in touch with your provider and mark the date in your calendar. If you’ve been bumbling along on a contract that’s expired, it’s likely you can get a better deal if you do a bit of shopping around.
How can I find the best deal?
You don’t necessarily have to switch providers if you’ve been happy with your service. However, it’s still a good idea to call them up to see if you can get a better rate by renewing your contract. Don’t just let it roll over and stay silent. If they’ve raised their prices but you’re still interested in being a customer with them, a conversation may lead to some offers or discounts that aren’t advertised.
The broadband market is very much set up to attract new sign-ups rather than keeping their current ones sweet, though. With that in mind, providers tend to save their best deals for new customers. Shopping around and switching providers will give you the biggest savings, and you may find you can also make use of other bundled extras, such as gift vouchers.
How do you switch your broadband provider?
Switching broadband providers is not a complicated procedure, providing you’re out of contract. Most providers share the BT telephone line network, so moving between them is easy. For the majority of switches, the new broadband provider will do most of the work for you and will also inform your old ISP you’re leaving.
The exception to this is if you’re moving to or from different networks. If you do this, you will need to inform your current provider when you’re leaving.
What deal should I get?
Think carefully about the speed you need. You don’t want to be paying over the odds for ultrafast broadband for general home use, but it’s also best to opt for a little more than you might think you need. A fibre optic broadband speed of 30Mbps+ will be fast enough to suit common tasks such as streaming and browsing.
Although it’s often listed, don’t be put off by the set-up fees. These are generally low, or you may even find free setup deals available.
As with all contracts, it’s important you aren’t lured in by any incentives if you don’t really need them. Some good money-saving offers to look out for include bill credits, cashback, or prepaid credit cards. Shopping vouchers may also be a welcome bonus if it’s for a store you can make use of.
The final word…
You can make light work out of finding a better broadband deal by using a trusted comparison site such as Broadband.co.uk. By entering your postcode, you’ll be able to easily see all the providers and packages that are currently available to you.
When you switch broadband providers, you can have peace of mind that your new contract will come with a cooling-off period. This means if you’re unhappy with your service for any reason, you’ll be able to leave, free of charge, within 14 days of activation.
