Thousands more eligible for cheap broadband tariffs that could HALVE your bill – are you one of them?

THOUSANDS more people are now eligible for a cheap broadband and phone tariff that could slash your bills.

Social tariffs are broadband and mobile deals designed to help hard-up households on benefits reduce their costs.

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BT has announced that it will be extending the availability of its “Home Essentials” social tariff to some of the UK’s most financially vulnerable families. 

The tariff provides an average of 36Mbps download speeds and 700 minutes of calls for just £15 a month – around half the price of a standard fibre and calls package. 

Eligible customers can also opt for a speedier 67 Mbps broadband and unlimited calls package for £20 per month.

The deal is usually only available to people who receive certain benefits though.

These include those on Universal Credit and people who get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, and Employment and Support Allowance.

BT has now partnered with family support charity Home-Start UK to offer an additional 2,500 financially vulnerable households free devices and free connectivity to Home Essentials. 

BT is also partnering with charities, Buttle UK and Barnardos to trial a scheme called “Connected Families”, which will give more families access to the internet through the tariff. 

Home Essentials will only be available to people who are currently being supported by Home Start UK, Buttle UK and Barnardos. 

If you’re not eligible, however, there are still a number of other social tariffs you might qualify for.

Could I save money with social tariffs? 

Social tariffs are means-tested offers for broadband customers who get government benefits like Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support.

If you are eligible you could save hundreds of pounds against more expensive broadband offers.

A number of broadband operators offer social tariff discounts, but regulator Ofcom has previously noted that most people who are eligible for such deals had not signed up.

Here are some current social tariff deals: 

Sky

Sky Broadband Basics costs £20 a month for 18 months. It includes:

• Sky Broadband Superfast 35 with an average download speed of 36Mbps (or Sky Broadband Essential at 11Mbps if fibre isn’t available where you live)
• Sky Pay As You Talk (only pay for the calls that you make)

You need to be claiming Universal Credit or Pension Credit and be named on the monthly statement to qualify. 

Vodafone

The VOXI For Now tariff, on Vodafone’s VOXI brand, will give unlimited 5G data, calls and texts for just £10 a month to anyone receiving benefits.

Virgin Media

Virgin Media Essential is a social broadband tariff which is available to new and existing Virgin broadband customers. 

It offers average download speeds of 15Mb for £15 per month on a 30-day rolling contract basis. 

To be eligible for the tariff, you need to be in receipt of Universal Credit.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk