Broadband, or Being Online, is a key part of getting Universal Credit. If you don’t have access at home, you may need to go to your Jobcentre Plus, council offices or library to complete your UC application
It’s getting to the point where broadband is seen as a must-have. Leading online skills charity Go On calculates that having broadband has a value to a new user of over £1,000 per year.
Having broadband increases our earning power, reduces our chance of dying and makes us feel part of a modern society. Not only that, but with the introduction of Universal Credit everyone of working age will have to be online if we need to claim any benefits. So here’s Quids in!’s quick guide to broadband, to help us get online, or save us money if we already are.
Getting online isn’t difficult, but it can seem expensive. Like other major utilities today such as gas and electric, you’ll need to shop around to get the best deal. If you don’t you can easily find yourself paying over the odds, with some standard broadband deals coming to over £400/year by the time you’ve counted line rental. We say that’s too much. With a bit of effort and some time you can easily halve that.
And once you’ve signed up to a deal you’ll need to keep a careful eye on when it runs out, and remember to switch before the price goes up. Boring and unfair, but it’s the way the world works at the moment. At least until the government passes laws with teeth to stop companies tempting us with great deals then sneakily putting the price up when they run out. So put it in your diary, and make a switch when you need to.
Quids in! says…
If you have Sky, BT or Virgin TV services, try a package with fewer channels. Instead, there is free content online, like CBeebies for kids or YouTube for music and old films. For a one-off cost, an Amazon Firestick offers tons of films and series. Monthly subscriptions to Netflix or Amazon Prime are cheaper than most satellite/ cable packages.
Getting the best deal
It’s almost impossible for us to say what the best deal will be by the time you read this, our crystal ball isn’t quite that powerful! But if you head over to Martin Lewis’ moneysavingexpert website you’ll find all the latest cheap deals
Packages
Check which companies offer the best deals for combining line rental, broadband and TV. Offers change all the time and some offer deals for claimants, so try googling ‘broadband for benefit claimants’. Make sure they are a bargain before signing up to a long contract.
See other ways of trawling for savings here.
