As the cost of living crisis continues, many people will be looking for ways to save in their day to day lives. Britons are urged to check they are receiving all the benefits they may be entitled to help them cope with rising costs.
The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has been calling for more companies to offer social tariffs, which can save the average household almost £200 a year.
However, it has been argued these offerings are under promoted, with only about 120,000 of the more than four million people eligible taking advantage of them.
Many Britons could be claiming cheaper social tariffs however people do not know about them.
Vodafone is offering a low-cost deal aimed at those claiming specific benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). It is on the market at £12 a month.
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The Government has asked all broadband companies to offer and promote social tariffs but they are under no obligation to do so.
Britons who may not qualify for these low cost deals could instead be saving hundreds by switching to faster broadband.
A comparison of broadband and phone packages from national ISPs highlights that consumers choosing entry-level, low-cost products could save as much as £235 in 12 months, while those requiring faster ‘gigabit’ speeds could save up to £468 in 12 months by upgrading to a full fibre broadband network.
Research from CityFibre found customers could be saving hundreds by switching to fast broadband – despite 22 percent of customers believing that fast broadband will be more expensive.
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High speed users could save as much as £468 in 12 months by upgrading to full fibre.
Further market research of broadband services shows that across almost every price point or speed tier, there is a faster and/or cheaper broadband service available over full fibre than over the legacy copper network (operated by BT Openreach), or cable network (operated by Virgin Media).
Despite the growing availability of full fibre, research has shown that 64 percent of consumers don’t know the difference between full and part fibre networks.
Additionally that 22 percent believe incorrectly that switching to the new technology will mean higher costs.
The lack of consumer education is hampering take-up over the new networks and leaving significant household savings unrealised in a cost-of-living crisis.
Mr Ramsay said: “Full fibre broadband is proof that a new technology, offering faster and more reliable services, doesn’t have to be more expensive.
“Given the huge pressure on people’s finances in this cost of living crunch, now’s the time to upgrade to full fibre, improving the quality of your broadband experience and saving money in the process.”
For more information, Britons can check their website.
