Today's heartsink task

Yes me too,keep putting it off as id rather keep sky for tv but it keeps going up- and i need a faster broadband as my 'boys' (21&17) are disgruntled that bt can't keep up with their gaming,streaming& surfing! But its getting around to it that's the trouble.and the waits on phone will be horrendous if i ring to barter sky down first,that's if any where is even taking calls now?.....

MerylStreep, my husband is just like yours! I thought I was the only person who felt like that.

I’ve made a conscious decision in recent years not to consent to house and car insurance auto renewing.

As soon as I receive renewal reminder I phone the company and say I’m about to start shopping around for a better price but before I do are you able to reduce yours?

I find most companies are open to negotiation if we can find the time to do it.

They are banking on us not doing it and fleecing us.

Mobile phone companies hope we’ll not notice or bother to act when our contract ends.

But by phoning them at that point and asking them for a sim only deal can usually half your monthly bill.

My car insurance, mobile phone and tv/broadband were all due for renewal in past 4 weeks.

It didn’t take much effort and I’m feeling satisfied that I’m now paying less for all of them. Not the increased premiums they hoped I would just accept without questioning.

If you stay with the same network everything continues as it was. I must say I was pleasantly pleased with the deal I got with EE for a SIM only. Phone and see what they come up with?

TwiceAsNice I hope this helps; my DS looked at our Sky package and was surprised how expensive it was; he contacted them and rearranged it so that we ended up with slightly more for much less. The main point here though was that we had changed to 'Sky Q', which we were quite happy with, but once the first year was up, although the service continued uninterrupted, it seems we were being debited an extra £10 a month as a 'penalty' for not having renewed our contract - and we were not informed that this would happen. All in the very tiny print no doubt. My DD then rang Sky as she thought her debit had increased, and by sticking to her guns she reduced her direct debit a fair amount for the same package. They would rather hang on to your custom even for less money. Brace yourself for the confrontation - and think about what you might save!

Query about Sim only:
My mobile phone contract ends in a couple of weeks. I want to get Sim only but what happens to (eg) all the photos I have at the moment?

Phone companies should be regulated: they are cheating users as the utility providers do. Roll on a Labour government which will nationalise the utility companies and stop their exploitation of the public.

4 hours 40 minutes??!! OMG you are very patient (or desperate unfortunately). Have you tried naming and shaming them on Twitter or Facebook?

I know Jane10 it’s so much easier for them to fob you off on the phone than it is in person . 4hrs 40 minutes on hold was my daily record on Monday (or was it a Tuesday ?) the days are always the same anyway.

Sorry Rowyn I’m not sure how it goes with contacts etc if you change networks. I haven’t changed networks in many years.

But I have an iPhone and recently it died and I took my daughter’s old one. All my contacts, photos etc automatically appeared into it when it asked me to sign into iTunes.

Hopefully someone with tech knowledge will confirm for you what happens if you change networks.

If your current provider offers you a good deal you won’t have that concern.

I’ve not heard of Words with Friends. I must have a look

My sympathies Gillybob. Remember the old days when you could just go in to a bank and actually speak to a real person. No more press 1 for this or 2 for that etc.
I hope you get things sorted soon.

Today’s heartsink task is the same heartsink task I have had for the last 11 days. Hanging on the phone for hours and hours to Barclays the “we are here to help” bank .

Ellenvannin that happened to me last time I renewed with BT. I had no idea how to set it all up. Luckily DD knew someone who installs that sort of thing and he and a lad came and set it all up for me. I could never have done it myself even though I'd set up the original system.
Good luck with yours. It was worth it in the end for me but it was very stressful. My headache from this morning's efforts has only just gone.

WOW. I'm with EE too and the price was supposed to be a good deal as I have my broadband contract with them too. Thanks for explaining the MB/GB thing in words that I can understand. I have wi fi here. Will have to get in touch with EE and talk the talk.
Incidentally, my daughter has just introduced me to Words with Friends, and I've played one game over 24 hours. My phone had to be recharged twice in that time whereas it usually lasts several days. Has anyone else experienced this?
Gosh.. I could go on and on with techno related questions... lockdown seems to be bringing them up!!
Thanks all, for your help - but still don't know if changing network with Sim only plan causes loss of contact list etc.

Yikes EllanVannin that was bad!

Jane10 I understand what you mean, nothing is as straightforward as it appears or should be. I've been with a company for years and not long ago I switched to their offer of a deal with a lower price than what I was paying. Phoned up and that was that or so I thought. I'd received notification of the new charge, fine, then a parcel arrived from the same company.

I hadn't ordered anything so opened it to see some sort of a new set-up that involved the fibre broadband hub. When I looked at the letter properly it stated I would be billed £60 !
The lockdown came, post office closed so I've been stuck with this for the past 4 months or so and there's nothing I can do with it. Talk about stung.

rowyn I'm with EE. The new deal is for unlimited calls and texts and 2 GB of data. That's £8 a month.

Rowyn I’m no tech expert. But that sounds very poor value. 250mb is very little. It’s for using the internet on your mobile if you’re not on WiFi.

You should be able to have your current allowance for nearly half that price.

Your current provider will probably offer you a much better deal if you phone and ask them. Tell them it’s far too expensive for you.

Have a look online first at competitors deals and let them know during call you are aware of much cheaper deals.

If you are sticking with your current provider they should be able to make the changes at their end and your contacts, number, phone details will be unchanged. You won’t need to do anything.

I currently pay £9 on a monthly sim only. I know there are much cheaper deals but only o2 works in my house so I stick with them. I have 2GB data in that and I don’t use half it as I’m mostly on WiFi.

But the extra data is handy to have for outdoor internet use eg to receive an unexpected video call.

I did the same as Nannyjan53.

I'm with EE and so is DH. I need lots of data when outside our wifi range, so said I was going to swap to BT as they were offering me a discount as our broadband is with them.

EE did my deal for £10.40 and got DH is now paying £8. All calls included for both of us. We both got about 30% off what we were paying.

Well done with your deals Jane10.

On line chat rooms are really good. Use them whenever they pop up in the corner!

I've also got this looming. I have a SIM card only contract which expires in a couple of weeks. I'm paying approx £13 for unlimited calls and texts and 250 Mb. Don't know if this is good or bad value - just don't understand the Mb bit! And I don't know what happens if I move elsewhere - do I have to have a new card and does that mean that my contact list and any photos and whatever else is 'on' my card are lost? And do I have to change phone number??

Delighted for you Jane ??

BT new contract costing £10 a month less and giving me more channels. My ear is bright red from so long on the phone but thats it done and £180 saved in the process. Phew. Off to lie down.

Jane10 you’re on a roll! Go for the big boys now and get that BT contract reduced.

A quick look online before calling them will show you competitors rates and have them ready to back you up.

Good luck

Well the mobile contract phone call went well. I got a nice young man and played the 'poor old soul' card. SIM only deal for £8 pcm which is a big reduction and includes much more data. Not really bothered about the data as I use the home WiFi mostly but its potentially useful when/if away from home.
Now for BT. Groan

You don't HAVE to change your contracts right now but it's likely to be in your best financial interests to do so.

If your phone is in good nick and can be unlocked then go for a SIM only. I use Giff Gaff - no tie-ins at all, I can cancel it at any time. I pay £10 per month for 6GB data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts.

Re Virgin/Sky then a quick phone call to the option for 'wanting to leave' will guarantee some one offers you a better deal.

I quite enjoy getting a bargain and a little haggling.