Sky will be raising the price of some of its broadband and TV packages from tomorrow (April 1).
The price rise follows Spring price increases by other providers, including Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk and Vodafone. Sky customers who will be impacted by the changes have been contacted with details of their new tariff, with Sky reporting the increase to be less than 5%.
Sky will also be reintroducing UK roaming charges for its Sky Mobile customers, who will be charged a daily cost cap of £2 when using their phone abroad.
Sky landline customers will see their bills rise from the beginning of May.
Which packages will be impacted?
Sky will be increasing the prices of some of its TV and broadband packages and says that the average price increase will be around £3.60 a month, which works out at £43 a year.
The impact of the changes will vary depending on what package you pay for and how many Sky services you use.
Broadband
- Sky Broadband Essential will increase from £25 to £27.50
- Sky Broadband Superfast will increase from £28 to £30.50
TV
- BT Sport will increase from £27 to £28
- Sky Signature will increase from £26 to £27
- Sky HD will increase from £7 to £8
- Sky Cinema will increase from £11 to £12
- Sky Glass with Superfast Broadband will increase from £56 to £58.50
Phone
- Talk rates for UK landlines and mobiles will increase from 20p per minute to 22p per minute from May 1.
What can Sky customers do?
Sky is one of the few broadband providers that doesn't have an annual inflation-based price increase included in the terms and conditions of its contracts. This means that if your monthly rate is increasing, you could be able to leave your contract early and switch to a new deal without having to pay an early cancellation charge.
The UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, states that you are able to leave your contact free of charge if your provider increases your prices to higher than what was agreed when you signed the contract.
The price comparison site Uswitch recommends contacting Sky within 30 days of receiving notification of any price increases, as this should mean you don't get charged any additional fees.
How to keep your Sky bills down
The problem Sky customers have is that any yearly price rises in April - and they happen every year - are that these price rises are included in the terms and conditions of the contract you signed when you took out your package.
Most Sky packages last between 18 and 24 months, meaning unless you are coming to the end of your contract there is not much you can do to beat the price rise.
However, if you are nearing the end of your contract, or you want to renegotiate your current contract then there are some things you can do.
I was coming to the end of my Sky TV and broadband contract at the beginning of 2021. The contract includes Sky's standard TV package, SkyQ multiscreen with a second box to watch Sky in a second room, and the full Sky Sports package.
Sky had offering a discounted rate for the first 18 months of the contract but the price had risen from around £50 per month to £88 once that initial promotion period expired.,
Logging in to the Sky website was pretty useless - you can only add packages to your deal and there are not any options to remove them. It's not a very customer friendly experience when you want to save some money.
Call them
The first step was to call Sky's customer service representatives on 0333 7591 018. You will need your account details and passwords. The rules here are simple - be nice and friendly. Customer service representatives will be a lot more open to helping you if you are being nice to them.
However, here is where you need to hold your nerve. Sky tend to offer new customers better deals than existing customers so go in armed with information on their latest offers. You can compare your deal with these and ask for a similar deal.
The next bit of advice is important: do not be afraid to ask for the deal you want. The most important thing they can do is say no.
It may be that the customer representative can't give you the deal or discount you want. Do not be afraid to end the conversation if it's not going how you want. Phone representatives deal with a large amount of calls each day and may not be fully focused on getting you the best deal possible.
Plan B
If you have called Sky and still haven't got a discount there is one more option. I had to do this and it worked a treat.
Head back to the online help centre and use the chat. Choose the options for 'I want to cancel my contract' and once connected tell them you are thinking of cancelling your contract.
Be patient - it took me an hour of chat because the replies are so slow. I politely explained the difference in price offered by BT and Virgin for the same package and eventually Sky offered me a contract at a lower price than I am currently paying with BT Sport thrown in too.
It's a long, drawn-out process but never be afraid to walk away if Sky is not offering a reasonable option. If you are coming to the end of your contract then remember you hold the cards and Sky wants to retain you - loyal customers are the bread and butter for the company and they will offer you discounts to keep you on as long as you talk to the correct person.
