How to choose TV, broadband and phone packages

A year ago I received a great deal on my TV, broadband and phone through Sky. It worked out at £10 a month! Well that’s over now so I’ve been researching my different options.

I’ve gone for TalkTalk’s Plus TV deal. After cashback, bonus high street voucher, a 6 month discount and line rental discount, I’ll be paying an average of £22 a month, which is over £200 less than their full price. Plus I’ll have a YouView box to keep after 18 months if I decide to switch again.

If your contract is up soon, here are my tips to make sure you get the best deal.

1. Haggle

The first thing to do is call up your current provider and see what they can offer you. Don’t let them pressure you. Say you need to think about it and get them to call you back. Often there are deals to keep your business, though these are rarely as good as the ones to get new customers.

Sky offered me free internet and half price TV, saving £20 a month, but I decided I could do better elsewhere.

2. Research

Go to a comparison site such as Broadbandchoices.co.uk and enter your postcode. You’ll be able to chose whether you want to compare just phone lines, phone and broadband or both of them and TV. Remember to compare the total price for the year, not the price per month as deals can make that misleading.

3. Cheapest isn’t always best

There are so many cheap broadband and phone line deals out there that it’s worth checking customer service reviews. A few quid extra is probably worth it if you know you’ll get good service.

Watch out for any broadband that has ‘traffic shaping’. This means they’ll cut your speed at busy times of the day.

Likewise, if you don’t stream a lot of TV or download much, you probably don’t need unlimited data. Of course the opposite is true.

4. Do you need TV?

If you’re mainly watching box sets on Netflix or keeping to the standard channels, think about if you really need a TV package.

A year of Sky’s Now TV entertainment service costs £60, and it includes Sky Atlantic. The same basic channels with Sky itself costs over £250. So that’s a pretty good saving. Adding sports and movies will cost even more!

You can see my pick of what’s currently available on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV in our guide to the Best TV you can watch online.

5. Look for cashback and deals

Once you’ve got an idea of the front runners, check out TopCashback and Quidco to see what cashback deals they have. It’s not rare to see over £150 in money back for triple packages.

Many broadband and TV companies also offer high street or supermarket vouchers when you sign up. If you can combine cashback and vouchers, that’s even better!

Then try and time it with a deal that will give you a further discount. Normally these are for the first 6 months or so – don’t get caught about by adverts that make it look like that’s the normal price!

Check terms and conditions to make sure any of these deals are eligible for the package you want.

5. See if you can pay for the line upfront

A final great saving is to pay your line rental upfront for a year. Doing this could save you up to £50. BT and TalkTalk offer this but Sky and Virgin don’t.