If you’re a broadband customer, do you know when your broadband contract expires? If not, according to research by the energy and broadband provider First Utility, you could be among £13 million UK households unknowingly paying an average of £113 a year more for your broadband service because of sneaky ‘out of contract’ price hikes.

What’s more, if you can’t remember when your broadband contract expires, don’t expect your supplier to send you a reminder. Broadband providers aren’t legally obliged to alert you when your introductory offer comes to an end.

First Utility’s research identified lack of communication as one of the main reasons £1.7bn is being wasted on broadband UK wide. Customers are needlessly paying higher ‘out of contract’ fees because they are unaware the price has gone up and that they can switch to another supplier for free.

This matrix table shows just how much households in each county are overspending on their broadband service each year:

Stopping the ‘sneaky’ out-of-contract broadband sting.

First Utility is the largest independent energy and broadband provider in the country, supplying 1 million UK homes. As well as winning awards for customer service, their customers have saved over £500m in cheaper energy bills since 2008.

Now, First Utility have entered the broadband market too. They’re determined to help cut customer overspending and that’s why there are NO out of contract price increases with any of their broadband deals.

First Utility offers some of the cheapest broadband deals in the country with NO out of contract price increase – First Utility Website.

First Utility have also written to OFCOM, the broadband regulator, urging them to force providers to be more transparent and communicate more with their customers. Their campaign has already had great support.

Ex-BBC dragon and consumer champion Sarah Willingham is one of the campaign’s supporters and has teamed up with First Utility to raise consumer awareness of out of contract price hikes and to encourage them to think about their broadband service:

It’s appalling that millions of families in the UK are being ripped off by their broadband supplier. We have already learnt that loyalty doesn’t pay in energy and it’s shocking to see the same thing happening in broadband.
The big providers have been let off easily for far too long. Reminding customers that their contract is coming to an end shouldn’t be too much effort for providers and can help many people save hundreds of pounds. – Sarah Willingham.

How to beat the broadband price hikes.

If you don’t want to get stung by out of contract broadband price hikes, make sure you put a note in your diary to remind you when your broadband contract is due to expire. Then, when you’re nearing the end of your contract, start shopping around for better deals. You could save hundreds of pounds by switching to another supplier and provided your contract has expired it won’t cost you a thing.

Switching is easy and you won’t normally need an engineer to come to your home. Plus, if your broadband provider increases its prices, you may even be able to leave mid-contract.

For more information about First Utility’s research findings, advice on how to get the best broadband deal and how to switch suppliers, click here:

https://www.first-utility.com/broadband/stopping-the-out-of-contract-sting

Over to you.

Do you keep a record of when your TV, phone, broadband and energy contracts are due to expire? Do you use price comparison websites and switch suppliers to get the best deal or stick with the same supplier? If you’ve managed to negotiate a great deal on broadband or other utilities or if you have any tips or success stories, I’d love to hear them.