Martin Lewis reveals broadband and mobile bill check that could save you £200 a year

7 April 2022, 14:54 | Updated: 8 April 2022, 11:12

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Martin Lewis has revealed some people could save almost £200 on their broadband bill.

With the cost of living soaring over the past few months, Martin Lewis has been busy providing families across the UK with tips to reduce their spending.

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And his latest hack could reduce your broadband and mobile bill by up to £200 a year.

The best thing to do is use a comparison site to help you check all the deals available in one place.

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Sites such as MSE, Uswitch, Broadbandchoices and ComparetheMarket are all good places to start.

It’s important to check that the deals you're looking at have the right speeds or data for your needs, as well as checking the signal in your area with Ofcom's coverage checker.

Martin also says you could try bringing the price down with your current provider to match a cheaper deal you’ve spotted.

He backs this up by revealing a Virgin Media customer recently got £264 a year knocked off their bill simply by asking for a discount.

If haggling doesn’t work with your tariff, it might be time to switch, with many companies offering introductory offers for new customers.

How can you try to keep energy bills down?

Another way to save money is by checking if you’re eligible for cheap, long-term social tariffs.

These are rates available for households who might be struggling to pay for their wifi or phone bills.

In a recent newsletter, the MSE team said: "If you're on a lower income, for example, claiming universal credit, we've a full list of social tariffs which are cheap long-term.

“Some looking for work are even eligible for six months' free broadband."

An email was also quoted from a customer who managed to save almost £100 after looking into the social tariff.

It read: "Martin, thank you for the advice about BT's social tariff – this isn't widely advertised, nor does it come up on comparison sites.

“Thanks to you and your website, I have switched a friend on to this and he stands to save £96 a year."

Martin has compiled a list of all the social tariffs which are available in the UK and what the criteria is for each. You can see the full list here.

Some of the companies involved include BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, with some applications going through the Job Centre.

The newsletter added: "The standard comparison will generally have cheaper headline prices due to newbies' sign-up incentives. So they usually win for regular switchers.

"Yet if you want to stick with a provider for more than a year or so, then social tariffs are likely to be the cheapest route."