Millions of Sky customers will be hit with price hikes of £42 a year on average from today - but there are ways to save
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MILLIONS of Sky customers will see their bills jump by up to £42 from today (April 1), and sadly this isn't an April Fool's Day joke.
Emails and letters to customers have now been sent out, after we first reported the bill hike in February.
But whether you want to stay with Sky or ditch and switch to another provider, there are ways you can cut costs and save hundreds. We show you how.
Before you take action, check whether you can cancel your contract penalty free, and if not, how much any exit fee will cost - see the box out below for more information.
First up, you need to check you're not paying for the same service twice.
Sky added Netflix to its Sky Q set-top box for the first time last November. This means if you've got a Netflix account, you can now play it through Sky.
HERE'S what you need to know before you cancel your Sky contract:
See our Sky price hikes story for more information on what's changing and how your bills will be affected.
So make sure you're not paying for Netflix directly through Netflix and through Sky as well.
Likewise, if you've got an Amazon Prime shopping account and a Sky TV package, consider whether you need both as Amazon Prime also gives you access to its own TV on demand service.
Mark Pocock, home comms expert at telecoms comparison website BroadbandChoices.co.uk said: "Sky now offers Netflix as part of its "Ultimate On Demand" package so start by checking you aren’t double paying.
"And for those that use Amazon Prime for shopping, there is also a lot of video content available as part of the monthly fee.
"I recommend making a list of what you actually watch, not what you think you might watch, and then choose a package to suit that."
If you want to stick with Sky - or any early exit penalties mean it's not worth switching away - try and haggle your bill down.
Call Sky and say you're unhappy with the price increase and as a loyal customer you want to know if you can get a better deal.
Consumer group Which? found that Sky customers who hadn't haggled were paying £1,050 a year on average.
But in comparison, the cheapest combined deal from Sky at the time was £30 a month or £360 a year – an annual difference of £690.
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Customers have reported huge success by haggling - one user says he saved a whopping £564 a year.
He wrote: "Called up Sky to "cancel" - after speaking to four advisers, I came off the phone with a £102 package for £55 inc all channels except sport, boxsets, Sky Go Plus, Sky Cinema and fibre broadband.
"Customer retention department: “Blimey, you like to haggle don’t you”..."
Another user has saved £384 a year compared to the full price cost. He tweeted: "I pay £28 for both sports and cinema, both come in hd, and entertainment too. You gotta haggle them honestly."
Consider whether you really need your pricey Sky television subscription.
Could you make do with the 70-plus free channels offered by Freeview that comes included with modern TVs?
If you're not bothered by staying with Sky but want to continue with a subscription TV service, use a comparison website, such as BroadbandChoices or uSwitch, to check if you can switch and save.
Dani Warner, broadband and TV expert at uSwitch.com, comments: “While falling out of contract should not mean that you have to pay over the odds, the best way to avoid it is to sort out a good deal on a new plan."
Mr Pocock added: "If you are a Sky customer unhappy with the changes then this is the opportunity to shop around to see what other deals there are available on the market.
"You don’t have to take broadband and TV from the same provider and there have never been more options in the paid-for TV market so the traditional one-size-fits-all mega packages might not be the best value for what you need."
Sky isn't the only provider to be upping prices.
Millions of EE customers were hit with a 2.7 per cent mobile bill rise from March 31 – adding up to £11.30 a year to bills.
While 02 and Three Mobile are hiking bills by up to £10.50 a year from April and May respectively.
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