How a father-of-four saved £816 by switching phone, TV, and broadband providers

A father-of-four has told how he has saved £816 by switching his phone, TV and broadband providers. SuperSaveClub member Adam Berry, 45, from Bishop’s Stortford, in Hertfordshire, decided to shop around for better deals in June after noticing his monthly household spending had soared. And he is among scores of consumers who are now looking to switch providers this summer - after their bills continued to rise in spite of a fall in energy prices.

MoneySuperMarket’s Household Money Index (HMI) reveals bills have jumped by an average of £39.88 a month since April, while energy spending fell by 9%.

Civil servant Adam, who lives with fiancee Sarah, and daughters Abigail, 16, Hannah, 15, Poppy, five, and Daisy, three, said: “I’ve definitely noticed my household bills going up in the past few months.

“That’s why I’ve been so much more on it in terms of looking around for savings, and switching when I can find cheaper deals. MoneySuperMarket has been a really valuable tool, and I’ve earned cashback for switching through them too - on one switch I was given £33 back.

“Most of the time switching is so easy that I will swap for a few quid - in June, I swapped my mobile phone contract and saved £3 a month, or £36 in a year. But not long after, my TV contract was ending and they wanted to up our bill from £24 to £42 a month. So I swapped to a new provider for £24.99.

“Then I swapped my £62 internet for a deal that costs me £14 a month. So in total, I’ve saved £780 a year on my TV and broadband packages.”

The HMI found that the cost of TV streaming has jumped by 25% since April, from an average of £18.20 to £22.80 a month.

Household spending on broadband (+8%) and phone contracts (+15%) have also increased.

Adam went on: “I also switched my home insurance in January after I was quoted around £500 to renew with my provider.

“I used MoneySuperMarket and a few other comparison sites, and when I found the best deal I went to that supplier’s site directly to see if I could get cash off.

“In the end I paid £311 - £189 less than renewing with my provider.

“In the past I’ve switched my bank accounts to get a better deal that covered my phone insurance and international travel cover, and I also saved around £200 by switching my energy deal to a fixed rate.

“Lots of people think switching is time-consuming, but it rarely is, and I’ve found you can make some serious savings across your various suppliers.

“With bills going up all the time, why wouldn’t you make as many savings as you can?”