Martin Lewis has used his ITV money show to offer yet more essential advice when it comes to saving cash, with one viewer contacting him to show off a massive £600 saving when it comes to broadband.
The Money Saving Expert founder used his The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on Tuesday night (12 March) to focus on a vast array of topics, including the 2% National Insurance tax cut and what it means for you.
Another topic of discussion focused around a looming price hike when it comes to the cost of your broadband and mobile phone contracts.
Lewis and his MSE team have warned that prices are going up from the end of March and into the beginning of the new tax year on 1 April.
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It's something the cash guru is fuming about, with prices set to rise for millions of customers mid-contract. He has been campaigning to put an end to what he calls 'mid-contract, inflation-linked' hikes.
On his ITV show last night, he said: "All are massively above inflation... and shouldn't be allowed."
Explaining where everyone currently sits, Lewis stated that a massive seven million UK residents are out of contract with their broadband providers, with him saying it is so easy to take advantage of this and look elsewhere.
Over on the MSE website, his team of experts add to this saying that 'millions blindly overpay for broadband and line rent as costs rocket when promo deals end'.
So, what should you do?
Explaining how to lower your bills with a new deal, Lewis said: "The cheapest deals out there are normally short-lived promotional deals on comparison sites.
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"Not direct from the firms because the firms are allowed to put marketing spend in to attract in new customers from those routes."
Highlighting two deals, Lewis picked our a Virgin Media bundle currently available at £21 a month for line rental and 132MB fibre broadband.
Another was a Vodafone 500MB fibre broadband package and line for £28 a month. Both deals are factoring in bill credit promos and vouchers given to customers by the providers.
Not every deal is available for everyone, with one of the main deciding points being if the provider supplies lines in your local area or not, so it's worth shopping around for a little bit to see if you're covered.
What if you're on benefits?
You can benefit from discounts if you're on Universal Credit or similar benefits.
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Lewis said: "There are social tariffs for millions, you could be on those.
"That's from £12.50 a month for 30MB if you're on Universal Credit."
On this, Ofcom says: "Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits. Some providers call them ‘essential’ or ‘basic’ broadband.
"They’re delivered in the same way as normal packages, just at a lower price. Amid rising living costs, Ofcom is encouraging companies to offer social tariffs to help customers on low incomes."
What if you want to stay with your provider?
Some are comfortable with what they have and that is totally fine, but Lewis recommends doing a few simple things to make sure you are not paying over the odds.
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He says: "If you don't want to switch, go on a comparison site, benchmark the cheapest price and then haggle."
At this point in the show, an email from one of Lewis' viewers was brought up showing how he saved an eye-watering £624 a year by following this method.
The email said: "My broadband contract was up and they were increasing the price to £96 a month. I phoned up and tried haggling, quoted £88 a month. I took Martin's advice and kept ringing back.
"On my fourth haggling phone call they reduced it to £44 a month. A massive £624 a year saving. Thanks Martin."
Responding, Lewis quipped: "Don't stalk them... always be polite."
Topics: Martin Lewis, ITV, TV and Film, Money, Cost of Living, Technology
Tom Earnshaw