does anyone know the best place to look for cheaper broadband?

BrianMcFaddenfan24

Hi everyone,

Myself, my fiancé and my mum are currently struggling with no WiFi as my mum cannot afford to pay for the bill

The company we're on with told my mum that if she pays a one off amount of £10 they'll be able to do a payment play with her to clear her bill, but she hasn't.

Myself and my fiancé have offered to help her with it, but she's refused our help too.

My mum works full time 4 nights on 4 nights off as she's a security officer for a chemical company that delivers chemicals all over the world.

Myself and my fiancé are claiming universal credit and we were wondering if there's a way we can get cheaper broadband with us being on universal credit.

My mum's currently signed up with Virgin media.

Myself and my fiancé did try searching online last night, but most of the companies we looked at had decent amount of speed for around £20 a month for 2 years, but they're not available in our area at the moment.

As for the others they were just too confusing.

Wibbles

@BrianMcFaddenfan24

Fibre or ADSL ?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/compare-broadband-deals/broadband-social-tariffs/

OverlyAnxious

Many companies now offer a social tariff for people claiming UC (or legacy benefits) though if the bill is in your Mum's name and she doesn't claim any benefits, that makes the situation more complex.

As you've seen, it also depends on which companies are available in your area, that's why they ask for a post code on any broadband websites.

Here is a link to the BT one but there are several others - BT Home Essentials Broadband | Universal Credit Broadband

onedayatatime

Hands up for also being someone totally confused with broadband tariffs ✋ @BrianMcFaddenfan24 I do think internet providers do offer some services for those on low incomes or certain benefits. I'm pretty sure Virgin Media themselves offer something called Essential Broadway, but again, I'm not certain how it works. I'd double check that at the moment they've stopped adding to your mum's current bill. Some companies 'suspend' or "restrict' your service but carry on charging you. Best to get that clarified with them 👍 the Money Saving Expert website may be helpful on finding your best deals. They have a section for comparing Broadband deals. Hope you get something sorted.

Jimm_Scope

Hey @BrianMcFaddenfan24, this sounds pretty stressful. There are certainly some cheap options and social tariffs. It is unfortunate that network coverage for every company isn't universal, restricting options here and there.

I'm a bit concerns about your mum refusing to deal with this though. Can I ask if you've told her how much it's causing you and your fiancé to struggle? Some people are not as willing to accept help sometimes, but would she still not accept help if she knew how much of an issue it was for you both?

BrianMcFaddenfan24

Ty everyone. I'm going to check the money saving expert website

Sandy_123

Hope you get broadband sorted out

Wibbles

@BrianMcFaddenfan24

I would say that a social tariff would probably be your best option - there's generally no tie in (no minimum sign up period) - so you can always cancel the contract with no "fine".

Plus they are much cheaper than normal 18 month/2 year contracts.

There should be no reason why it should not be done in your name - which will then give you control over it.

Cantilip

This might seem a little strange to some but I use mobile wifi and always have. Just a little black box not much bigger than a credit card. It is superbly free of any admin hassle. At the mo I have an unlimited data sim in it, for which I pay £25 a month, but I could easily have a pay-as-you-go sim and in fact do in a back-up, just top up when you need to - or don't if you have an unexpected cash flow problem. No strings whatever except remembering to charge the battery from time to time and you don't even have to do that with a dongle - a dongle is a USB stick with a sim in it you simply plug into the USB socket of your computer.

Needhelpandadvice

@BrianMcFaddenfan24 Are you living with your Mum? If you are not living at the property, then you would not be able to get social broadband for your Mum's property.

Social broadband is only for people that are claiming benefits, you would have limited speed and maybe a block on how much you can use it, such as download restrictions.

In the old days, you could not go to another provider, as if you tried to switch from Virgin to BT as an example, Virgin would say that there is a hold on the line due to an outstanding debt.

If say for example in the past, when you had someone with bad and existing credit and you moved into that property, then the phone company would be weary and you would have to provide more proof of who you are, before the line was unblocked.

Your Mum would still be liable for any contract that she still has left, even if you switched providers and potentially that might involve bailiffs at a later date.

You have said that you have offered to pay for her, and was refused. You could do one of two things

1. You could pay the bill with your Mum's knowledge and form a repay system, so that she feels better about herself.
2. [Content removed by moderator]

Any move or transfer, especially if you want to keep the phone number in the old days would be impossible, I am not sure what it would be like now, but I would imagine that they might have the same system, even though I think I read that things had changed now, because they class having the internet the same as having water.

Hopefully, one way or another you get the bill sorted.

Community_Scope

Hi @Needhelpandadvice. We've had to remove part of your comment as it contained advice that is illegal in the UK.

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/905124#Comment_905124

I thought about that but our phone signal is too poor.

I connect at less than 5 Mbps

Jimm_Scope

The phone signal in my town is quite poor. Quite a few people complain about it in the local groups too.

Many of the same people also send in opposition responses to any planned network upgrades in the area….

egister

Internet via radio is always worse than via wire.