Why it never pays to stay loyal to broadband, TV and phone companies

Media companies are failing to reward loyal customers; the only way to benefit from deals and discounts is by switching.

 Switching is something we as a nation are not keen on, be it energy suppliers, savings providers, bank accounts or media companies.

But big businesses are well aware of this and typically leave customers on rock bottom deals, keeping back new offers for those joining a company.

This is especially true of the communications industry and when looking at bundles of broadband, TV and phone, existing customer deals seem to be non-existent.

No reward for loyalty

Choosing a media bundle is confusing as each company has a range of different offers available, making it difficult to compare like-for-like prices.

It puts many people off changing companies. That's perhaps why more than one in five broadband customers haven’t switched in the past four years, according to broadbandchoices.co.uk.

My parents recently reviewed their BT contract and unsurprisingly (after several hours on the phone) they were offered no incentives for staying with the company.

This isn’t unusual, as companies have historically given few benefits to long-standing customers, but I think it’s incredibly short-sighted and an area where other sectors have begun to change.

In the banking industry, for example, several major banks such as HSBC have started reserving higher interest rates for existing customers as a reward for their loyalty. This seems a better way for a company to secure a customer for the long run.

Read Best buys that are only for banks and building societies' existing customers

After hearing about my parents' experience, I decided to look across the board to see if this practice was standard with other media companies.

Compare broadband deals in your area with broadbandchoices.co.uk

Existing customer incentives

Virgin Media and Sky are the two main competitors of BT.  Ashley Scott, spokesperson for Virgin Media, said customers are encouraged to call the company to discuss the package they pay for to make sure it’s the most appropriate for them.

This again puts the onus on the customer, but she did say customers are often proactively called if their package doesn’t seem suitable, for example if they’re making lots of international calls and these costs aren’t included in their bundle.

At Sky the official line is slightly more optimistic. A spokesperson told us there are a wide range of incentives including special upgrade deals and exclusive access to the Sky Rewards program which gives customers free cinema and sports tickets, as well as access to the recordings of some shows.

When I asked BT I was told it will upgrade customers without charging an extra fee, contact them if they're going over their usage and was “always happy to discuss a new deal with existing customers when they come to the end of their contract”.

But although my parents were eventually offered a cheaper deal this was only after I contacted the press office, which is not an option for most customers. They also had to proactively get in touch with BT and if they hadn't done this it's likely they'd still be stuck on an uncompetitive deal.

Therefore to benefit from the best offers blasted across these websites, you really need to switch providers regularly.

Compare broadband deals in your area with broadbandchoices.co.uk

The best new customer deals

There are plenty of offers available as a new customer. BT, for example, is giving away a Sainsbury’s gift cards for new customers. Certain packages also include a six-month period when you won’t need to pay for the package, such as Unlimited Broadband Extra which is an 18-month contract.

Sky is giving away £100 M&S vouchers to new customers. And with certain deals, such as The Movies bundle, the price of Sky Movies is half price for the first six months.

If you choose a Virgin Media package it offers similar deals. The Starter Collection, for example is £10 for six months before increasing to £18 per month for the remainder of the 18-month contract. There are similar six-month discounts on each of its bundles.

In the table below I’ve picked the three cheapest packages from the main providers and the offers included.

Information correct on 13/11/13, terms and conditions apply, source: broadbandchoices.co.uk

How many times have your switched media companies? Is it worth the extra benefits? Let me know in the comments box below.

More on bundle packages:

BT and TalkTalk's YouView bundles compared

Switching broadband: Is it worth the effort?

Sky to raise TV costs by up to 10%

Sainsbury's launches new PAYG mobile service

Tesco offers free broadband for one year

The UK's best and worst broadband providers