How to haggle for the best broadband and TV deal

Broadband isn't cheap. Despite the attractive headline prices plastered across ads, the monthly cost can be significantly higher once any introductory offers have expired. 

Sign up for a even a cheap broadband package and your bank account will be anywhere from £18 to £25 lighter each month – and that's on top of an initial activation fee. Many deals cost even more - and most of the big providers will increase the amount you pay every year, too. 

Read on for advice on how to negotiate a better deal.

Our research shows that switching provider can net you even bigger savings: 

• Read our guide on how to switch broadband provider to see how easy it is. 
• You can also check our guide to the best broadband providers to see how they fared in our regular survey.

Video: how to haggle for the best broadband deal

Watch the video below for a quick guide to the haggling process and how it can help you save money.

How broadband customers haggle for better deals

It's easy to end up paying over the odds for your broadband service. Introductory offers tend to last 12, 18 or 24 months, and prices often rise automatically once your contract has ended. In many cases, they will go up every year – even during your minimum contract period. Across the board, the risk of sticking on the same deal is that it becomes increasingly uncompetitive – and costly – year on year. 

Switching to a new provider is one way of saving money, but you may be reluctant to do this if you're happy with your service. Luckily, there's another option – contacting your provider to negotiate the best deal.

You may be nervous about trying this, but our latest survey of more than 5,000 people whose contract had ended in the past month found that around half had negotiated with providers to get a better deal for their broadband, TV and broadband or mobile phone network.

The telecoms providers you haggle with the most

Percentage of survey respondents who've haggled in the last 12 months:

• Broadband and pay TV bundles – 69%
• Standalone broadband – 63% 
• Mobile phone contracts – 56%

If you haven’t switched provider for a while and haven't haggled either, there’s a very strong chance you’re paying more than you need to. Don't feel daunted – nearly half of people who have haggled told us they actually found it easy.

Use our guide on how to contact your broadband provider to quickly find links to online chat and social media accounts for all the major providers.

Which broadband provider is easiest to haggle with?

Across, the board, just under half of broadband customers who've recently haggled with their provider tell us that they found it easy. However, we did find slight differences depending on which of the major providers you're negotiating with:

• BT - 47% of customers found haggling easy
• Sky - 54% of customers found haggling easy
• TalkTalk - 54% of customers found haggling easy
• Virgin Media - 42% of customers found haggling easy

But don't let these results put you off if you're a Virgin Media customer because its users reported some of the largest savings when they haggled. 

The rewards you can earn by haggling

The broadband customers we surveyed saved an average of £55 a year by haggling. The saving was even more impressive for people who have a combined broadband and TV package – £120 a year, on average.

But customers who haggled with the big providers often saved even more than the overall average. The average Virgin Media broadband customer saved £81 per year by haggling, for example, and the typical Sky TV and broadband customer saved a whopping £133 per year thanks to a little bargaining.

Haggling allows you to negotiate a lower price, but it's also an opportunity to check that you're on the right deal. It’s a chance to negotiate a faster speed or more data if you need. Our research found that the average customer who upgraded their deal still ended up paying less. 

A lower price isn't the only potential benefit – around a third of customers who haggled were offered some other incentive. These ranged from upgraded routers and free landline services to free equipment, such as wi-fi extenders.

Across the board, the majority of broadband and pay-TV customers who haggled were offered a discount, incentive or better deal.

How to haggle with your broadband provider

Here are our five tips to help you haggle:

1. Preparation is key

It's vital to do your research if you're looking to perfect the art of haggling. If you appear knowledgeable, you're more likely to get a better deal. Spend some time online comparing rival deals for similar packages – the broadband comparison service from Which? makes this easy to do. Make a note of the different prices, but also keep an eye on any additional extras included. For example, flagging up a deal that offers three months free BT Sports subscription for taking out a new contract with a rival (whether or not you're interested in BT Sports) might help to convince your current provider to go that bit further.

2. Build your case

Check how long you’ve been with your provider and note down any issues you’ve had during this time – it’s extra information that you can use as leverage. If you're signed up to multiple services from one provider, keep that in mind, because it means you’re a high-value customer. But be prepared to enter into a new contract for all your services to get the best deal. If this isn't something you want to do – for example, if you're not sure you'd like to keep Sky TV for 12 months, but definitely want the broadband – be clear about it in advance.

3. Call your provider and ask for a discount

Let them know you’ve seen some competitive offers for a similar service and ask whether these can be matched or beaten. If you have specific reasons for not being able to afford the price – your main income is a state pension, for example, or you simply don't use the service that often – mention that, too. Be polite and pleasant, but persistent.

4. Still not happy with their offer? 

What if your provider refuses to budge? If you're tied to a lengthy contract, this could be difficult – standard practice if you want to leave is to pay the remainder of the contract in order to cancel. If you are out of your main contract (and currently on a rolling contract), or your provider has announced an ad hoc price increase within the past 30 days, you're in a stronger position and can state that, regrettably, you'll have to consider leaving the service. Don't worry if you're not seriously considering switching, though – you'll be asked to confirm that this is final before anything is set in stone. If your provider doesn't offer to connect you to a cancellation department at this point, ask to speak to someone in cancellations or retention. 

5. See what the retention team can offer you 

The retention team can usually offer better deals than their colleagues in customer service. You'll have to explain again why you want to leave, and should restate your position – again, calmly and politely. It's the retention team's job to talk you out of leaving, so don't budge unless they can offer you a discount you're happy with. If you're still not getting anywhere and definitely don’t want to change providers anyway, tell the adviser you’d like to go away and think about things and end the call. The provider might come back to you, but you can also wait a while and have another go – you might have better luck with a different adviser.

Things to think about when you haggle

Watch out for what you’re trading off for a deal. Sometimes providers will give you a saving but lock you into longer terms – for example, saying they’ll give you six months free but then extend the length of your contract. If you’re fine with this, then take the deal. If you aren’t, ask them to refocus.

Keep in mind that your provider is expecting customers to haggle – they set up pricing so they can issue discounts to those who ask. If you're determined to get a discount, hold out for one and don't be blinded by incentives. The vast majority of people we spoke to were offered a discount in the end.

Carefully consider what's on the table. A provider won't always offer a discount and may instead suggest upgrading part of your current package free of charge – for example, offering free evening and weekend calls for no extra cost. Consider how much this is really worth to you, and turn it down if it's not appealing.

Most people haggle over the phone, but if that feels like a hassle or the fear of an awkward conversation is holding you back, you could use live online chat instead. Some Which? members have told us they prefer this because it also have a written record of what has been agreed. Those aren't the only options either - a smaller proportion of customers haggle either via email or social media. Use whichever channel best suits you.

Switching

We know from our survey that haggling is an effective strategy, but there can be times when the deals simply aren't forthcoming. If that happens, we suggest waiting a few days and trying again, but if you still can't get what you want, then it's time to switch.

We've picked out some great value options in our guide to the best broadband deals, including fast fibre connections for around £20 per month. Once you've found a better deal, our guide on how to switch broadband provider explains more about the switching process and how it works.