Underused loophole could give thousands of households up to £456 off broadband bills – check if you’re eligible

AN underused loophole could help thousands of households cut their broadband bills by up to £456.

Customers at big broadband firms, including BT, Sky, Virgin Media and Vodafone, could make a simple switch to slash their costs.

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The savings come thanks to a little-known Universal Credit loophole.

Those claiming the benefit can cut their broadband costs by signing up to their telecom firm's social broadband tariff.

Social tariffs are available to households on certain benefits, including Universal Credit, and usually cost substantially less than a firm's standard broadband packages.

For example, BT offers customers on selected benefits a low-cost 12-month contract costing £15 a month for a 36Mbit/s connection or £20 for a faster connection.

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So, if a customer is currently paying £33.99 for a standard 24-month BT broadband-only package, they can expect to pay £815.76 over the whole period.

But if the same customer switched to the £15 a month social tariff for the same two-year period, they'd pay £360 in total - £456 less.

You could be eligible to get the cheaper broadband deal if you get one of the following benefits:

• Income support
• Income-based jobseeker's allowance
• Pensions credit (guaranteed credit)
• Employment and support allowance (income-related)
• Universal Credit

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BT also offers a £20 a month social tariff which comes with speeds of up to 67Mbit/s.

To switch to a BT social tariff, call 0800 800 150.

Meanwhile, Sky offers a social broadband tariff with speeds of 36Mbit/s for £20 a month.

Virgin Media offers 15Mbit/s for £12.50 a month or 54Mbit/s for £20 a month. 

Vodafone's Fibre 2 Essentials package costs £20 a month a delivers speeds of up to 73Mbit/s.

FINDING THE RIGHT TARIFF FOR YOU

Providers offer packages with different speeds and prices, and not all are available across the UK.

Prices range from £12 to £25 a month.

How you apply for a social tariff varies depending on which supplier you sign up with.

It's important to shop around when you're looking for a new broadband deal, as other internet packages could be more suited to your needs.

The regulator, Ofcom, has a list on its website of all the social tariffs currently on offer.

Visit www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/social-tariffs#full-list-of-available-tariffs to view the full list.

It is also worth comparing deals on sites such as MoneySupermarket and GoCompare to find the best deal for your budget.

And be aware that if you're already mid-way through a contract, you might have to pay an exit fee to leave your contract early.

You must be on benefits to qualify for a social tariff, although each provider is free to set its own eligibility criteria.

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Social tariffs are not just offered by broadband providers - you can also get them for your mobile phone too.

Again, you can check out a list of providers offering mobile phone tariffs via Ofcom's website.