Phone & internet: Crosslight’s money-saving tips

• Consider switching mobile / broadband contracts – never just renew!

  • At the very least, haggle with your provider and ask them what the best deal they can offer you would be. Use a price comparison website to find the best deal – e.g. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com or www.uswitch.com.  

  • Top tips when planning to haggle: 
    - prepare by researching competitors’ offers so you can quote them if necessary 
    - be clear about what you want out of the upgrade (reduced price? added extras?) and don’t be distracted from that 
    - try the ‘chat’ function that is often available on providers’ websites, if you don’t feel confident to be so assertive over the phone 

•  Avoid calling premium phone numbers: go to https://www.saynoto0870.com/ to find an alternative  

• Consider switching to paperless billing and / or direct debit: both changes may reduce the cost of monthly payments slightly, and paying direct debit also makes it easier to budget for similar monthly payments 

• Investigate packages that include broadband, TV and landline:

  • first decide on which features are important to you in a package

  • then work out if it could be cheaper to package two or more of those elements together - many providers offer discounts in this case.

  • Check exactly what the features are of the services you will get - does the landline package include free calls, and do you even need it if you have free minutes on your mobile phone contract? Which TV channels are included on the box you’ll get from your provider? 

 Mobile phone  

• If you are ‘out of contract’ on your mobile phone, and are happy with your current handset, it might well be cheaper to swap to a ‘SIM-only’ deal – Martin Lewis has helpful information on this  

• If you do want a new handset, check out ‘refurbished’ phones e.g. https://www.theioutlet.com/  

• If you’re claiming benefits, check out social tariffs such as Voxi’s ‘For Now’ £10 per month tariff: https://www.voxi.co.uk/for-now. Do compare these to standard SIM-only packages, though,
   

Internet

• There are a range of ‘social tariffs’ available for broadband – these are cheaper deals for broadband, aimed at those on low incomes / claiming certain benefits.   

• If you are ‘out of contract’ on your broadband, you can probably get a far cheaper deal by switching to another tariff – use the MSE postcode checker tool to see your options.