Millions of Sky broadband customers, as well as Sky TV customers, will see their bills rise from April – but if you're affected, you may be able to leave penalty-free or haggle down your bill.
A Sky spokesperson has confirmed that Sky customers who subscribe to their TV products and broadband packages will be subjected to an average price increase price changes of around 6.7% from April 1st 2024. It's not unusual to receive an annual price rise, of course; most entertainment services announce annual price rises, often due to rises in inflation, increasing external costs and the cost of maintaining their infrastructure, but it is, of course, a monthly increase is not good news during a cost of living crisis!
If you're out of your entertainment or broadband contract, the price increase will be the same in terms of a percentage; however, as I learned from experience, the cost of Sky services, outside of being in a contract, is much higher, so this price increase will make the customer's bill even higher, many out of contract customers will be paying 30 to 40% more than those currently in a contract!
Therefore, it's always worth looking to see if you can find a much better deal by taking out a new contract with Sky or the other major providers supplying the same services. You could save hundreds of pounds by switching; you need to consider that moving to a new contract will normally tie you into a supplier for a minimum term of at least one year, most likely 18 months or more.
Can I cancel my Sky TV contract if they increase the price?
If you're not happy with the price hike, you may be able to exit your contract with Sky without early exit fees, and although it may seem like a good time to jump ship, there's no point just leaving if your current deal is still the cheapest out there – so it's a good idea to check rival providers, such as BT, EE, O2, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone for cheaper prices to see how they compare,
However, many of these companies, in fact most of the entire industry, has announced a yearly price rise as well, up to 8.8%, so they aren't any necessarily any better or cheaper, potentially you'd pay a higher price for changing your TV or broadband services to another supplier, plus other providers may not offer the same facilities/services as Sky, so a move away from Sky, might not well result in a better deal!
Some Sky packages offer discounted Netflix packages and free access to channels such as Paramount+ and Discovery, which can add up in price if you're paying for these separately. Also, benefits such as two free cinema tickets a month via SkyVIP if you subscribe to Sky Movies is a nice little add-on benefit to subscribers.
Broadband and home phone customers can leave fee-free within 30 days of being notified of a price increase – even if they're mid-contract. However, this doesn't apply to Sky TV customers, including users with Sky Stream or Sky Glass. If you've got a package that includes both broadband and TV, you can only cancel the broadband part of your supplied services penalty-free.
At the very least, make sure you use the price rise as extra haggling ammunition when you come to the end of your contract. Remember, if you're out of contract, you can always leave penalty-free, or at the very least, call them and tell them you intend to leave. They don't like to lose subscribers, and having been in this situation at the end of last year, I managed to haggle several hundred pounds worth of discounts by combining my threat to leave with taking up one of the Black Friday deals being offered!
Research broadband prices and TV package deals with Sky's competitors, grab your latest Sky bill, preferably one from the last month, and then call Sky and tell them you are leaving, as you've found these better deals elsewhere. The customer service agent will likely try and match the deal or at least bring down your bill. It's likely that this won't be the best deal you can get.
Ask to speak to the disconnection department. This will put you through to the Sky retentions department, and this is normally the last line of defence for Sky to try and offer you a better deal. This department will normally have the ability to offer the biggest discount to keep loyal customers.
Often, they can decrease your monthly costs or at least reduce the impact that the annual price hike will make on your bill. This will result in you needing to take out a new contract, tying you into a minimum 18-month contract, but you should have a better monthly price than you would have done, often mirroring the sort of deals normally only available to new customers.
Sky Social Tariffs;
If you are claiming any of the following benefits, you may be able to get your Sky broadband services at a reduced price:
Universal Credit (UC)
Pension Credit (PC)
Income-based Employment Support Allowance (I-ESA)
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (I-JSA)
Income Support (IS)
The Sky Broadband Basics offer is only available if you already have Sky Broadband. If you do, you can get the basic package added to your account, which costs £20 a month, for 18 months, and this includes Sky Broadband Superfast 35, which has an average download speed of 36Mb/s, or if fibre isn’t available where you live, Sky Broadband Essential Plus has average download speeds of 11Mb/s.
This special package's cost will remain unchanged when Sky raises prices in April, so it won't affect your broadband bill if you are already on this tariff.
Are you not already with Sky? If you're looking to join Sky, use our referral link to earn up to £125 for switching. The price may be going up, but Sky still offers great value for money for your entertainment and broadband needs.
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