An impartial look at what's selling and why
August 2008
We are the only retailer of digital TV, broadband and home phone services in the UK to be accredited as impartial by Ofcom. As such we have a unique view of the market with thousands of customers per month, calling our experts for impartial advice.
So we thought it might be useful to give a quick summary of how we see the market – what's hot and what to watch out for.
Our take on what's hot this month
As ever there are lots of tasty deals to choose from, but this month we can see two sets of outstanding offers that definitely deserve a mention. These deals are from two very big players in the market - Sky and Virgin Media.
Virgin Media's basic TV and phone service is great value at only £11 per month with line rental thrown in. However they are currently running a couple of terrific exclusive deals with us here at Simplifydigital. These are:
• FREE installation when you take any Virgin Media service through Simplifydigital – a saving of £30. This deal ends on 31st August.
• A £30 saving off the cost of installation when you take a V+ box (installation was £75 and is now only £45). This offer has been extended and will end on 31st August 2008.
Sky have also dipped deep into their pockets to offer a cracking deal:
• Sky HD boxes are HALF PRICE (£75 versus £150) for all new customers taking Sky Sports or Movies. Plus you get installation for £30 which is half price, saving you a further £30, for a total saving of £105. This offer ends on 25th September.
Of the broadband specialists, Tiscali and TalkTalk are both offering super cheap broadband and home phone bundle deals. The basic Tiscali package is £9.99/month for the first three months (£14.99 thereafter), with a £30 setup cost. Whilst Talk Talk's package is £13.75 per month for the first three months (£16.99 thereafter) plus £29.99 set up cost. The Tiscali package gives you a wireless router for free and unlimited downloads, but on the home phone side, Talk Talk has the appeal of more free international call destinations to choose from and free weekday evening calls.
Our 10 things to watch out for when buying digital TV, broadband and home phone
1. The blinding variety of deals screaming for your attention – many have small print and pricing expressed in different ways, making comparing like with like very hard. That's why we recommend that you speak to one of our impartial experts!
2. Companies advertising deals that are not available in your area – very common on both broadband and digital TV
3. Being seduced by cheap looking deals that don't deliver on your requirements – remember you are often locking yourself into 12 or 18 month contracts giving you plenty of time to regret your decision!
4. Cost of line rental not being included in the headline price – this is very common among all providers and is key to determining an accurate price comparison
5. Disappointing broadband speed received versus the speed advertised – as you probably well know, all broadband speed quoted are “up to” speeds and it is highly unlikely that you will achieve the “up to” speed advertised
6. Sneaky price hikes after the end of the introductory deal period – lots of offers come with 3 month introductory deals, but some may come with 12 month intro deals which can come as a shock when the price rises sharply on your first anniversary
7. Assuming that you have high definition TV, just because you have an HD Ready TV set – a common misconception. Remember that you actually have to have an HD set top box (as well as the right TV screen) in order to see genuine HD pictures
8. Check whether the advertised pricing applies for existing customers – sometime you will be pleasantly surprised that you get a better deal as an existing customer, but sometimes hard ware costs are actually more expensive for existing customers
9. Excess charges for exceeding your internet usage allowance – a very common thing
10. Premium rate charges for making technical help calls –some can be horrendous especially if you are kept waiting before actually speaking to anybody