How to avoid Sky price rises – and you could save HUNDREDS of pounds

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.

1. Check you're not double paying for the same services

First up, you need to check you're not effectively 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.

Can I cancel my Sky contract penalty free?

  • If you're outside of your contract minimum term and on a rolling deal you can cancel penalty free at any point by giving 31 days' notice. You just need to contact Sky's customer services team.
  • Sky broadband and Talk customers within their minimum contract term can also cancel penalty free as a result of the price hikes by giving 31 days' notice. You just need to contact Sky's customer services team.
  • But Sky TV customers within their minimum contract term cannot cancel penalty free. This is because Sky's TV terms and conditions allow price hikes.

See our Sky price hikes story for more information on what's changing and how your bills will be affected.

So if you only ever watch programmes on Netflix, you may want to consider cancelling your Sky TV contract.

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 TV on demand.

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."

2. Haggle if you want to stay with Sky

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.

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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.

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 4 advisors, 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 of items. He wrote: "I pay £28 for both sports and cinema, both come in hd, and entertainment too. You gotta haggle them honestly."


3. Ditch your package completely

Consider whether you really need your pricey Sky television subscription.

Could you make do with the 70-plus free channels offered by Freeview that come included with modern TVs?

4. Switch for a cheaper price

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 will be hit with a 2.7 per cent mobile bill rise from March 31 – adding up to £11.30 a year.

While 02 and Three Mobile are hiking bills by up to £10.50 a year from April and May respectively.



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