Mum on Universal Credit slashes broadband bills by £220 a year

A single mum on Universal Credit has managed to hugely reduce her broadband bills thanks to switching to a social tariff.

Chantelle Doyle, from Ashtead, reduced her Sky broadband bill from £39 a month down to £20 a month after switching to the discount tariff.

Social tariffs are discounted mobile and broadband tariffs available to people on certain benefits, including Universal Credit.

Many major providers offer social tariffs, including Sky, Virgin Media, BT, EE and VOXI.

Thanks to the reduced tariff, Ms Doyle has managed to slash her bills by £228 a year, reports The Sun.

She said it was easy to arrange with just one phone call. She explained: “I was put straight through to the right department, and the whole thing was really straightforward.”

Her new tariff does not have all the extras she previously had but she said the saving is a “big help” for her finances.

People looking at switching to a social tariff may want to check if they will be moved to a slower speed or if any of the elements of the contract are different from what they have now.

Ms Doyle has two daughters, aged 10 and 13, who regularly use iPads to download music and videos.

Here are some of the social tariffs currently available to Britons, as listed on the Ofcom website, with the monthly rates:

• 4th Utility Social Tariff – £13.99 – 30Mbit/s
• BT Home Essentials – £15 – Around 36 Mbit/s
• BT Home Essentials 2 – £20 – Around 67 Mbit/s
• Community Fibre Essential – £12.50 – 20 Mbit/s
• Country Connect Social Tariff – £15 – 50 Mbit/s
• EE Basics – £12 – Up to 25 Mbit/s
• G. Network Essential Fibre Broadband – £15 – 50 Mbit/s
• Grayshott Gigabit Connect – £19 – 100 Mbit/s
• Hyperoptic Fair Fibre 50 – £15 – 50 Mbit/s
• Hyperoptic Fair Fibre 150 – £20 – 150 Mbit/s
• KCOM Full Fibre Flex £14.99 – 30 Mbit/s
• Lightning Fibre Social Tariff – £15 – 50 Mbit/s
• Lothian Broadband Social Tariff – £19.99 – 100 Mbit/s
• NOW Broadband Basics – £20 – 36 Mbit/s
• Sky Broadband Basics – £20 – 36 Mbit/s
• SMARTY Social Tariff – £12 – 5G where available
• Virgin Media Essential Broadband – £12.50 – 15 Mbit/s
• Virgin Media Essential Broadband Plus – £20 – 54 Mbit/s
• Vodafone Essentials Broadband – £12 – 38 Mbit/s
• VOXI For Now – £10 – 5G where available
• Wildanet Helping Hand Social Tariff – £20 – 30 to 100 Mbit/s
• WightFibre Essential Broadband – £16.50 – 100 Mbit/s.

Recent Ofcom figures showed just five percent of the 4.3 million households eligible for social tariffs are taking advantage of the scheme.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “People are being priced out of internet access at a worrying rate.

“Social tariffs should be the industry’s safety net, but firms’ current approach to providing and promoting them clearly isn’t working.”

For the latest personal finance news, follow us on Twitter at @ExpressMoney_.