Britons too lazy to switch to other broadband providers
Internet users in the UK are not taking advantage of potentially big savings by not taking the effort to switch to other broadband service providers or get all their services into a single package, a moneysupermarket.com research revealed.
10% of customers aren’t bothered enough to switch to other service providers while 69% aren’t getting the best value for money as they are satisfied with their present supplier or don’t prefer a bundled package.
The communications director at moneysupermarket.com, Ian Williams, said that their research had revealed that customers who had changed broadband service providers have saved nearly 200 pounds during that time, which makes a big difference to their household spending. The biggest stumbling block to this is apathy.
The research also revealed that more than half of UK’s surfers still pay a separate amount for TV and broadband packages despite the savings that can be taken advantage of.
Williams said to PC Pro that they are not generally fans of bundled packages as they aren’t very transparent with regard to price but that, now, the deals seem to be quite good.
The savings of 320 pounds every year for consumers who are moving from Sky TV, Post Office broadband as well as BT line rental to the triple deal package from Sky is also worth mentioning.
However, the website also warned that once people had got on board with a bundled package, they could find it difficult to move onto some other services if there were better deals offered in the future.
Williams said that people are scared of switching providers and being left stranded without any broadband and this is the biggest problem once you’ve committed to a bundle. If you want to change all 3 items at the same time, it might not be easy and people would rather not change them.
Source - PC Pro
Consumers and companies both benefit from “bundles”
The economic meltdown does not have to defeat communications and entertainment. Now, saving consumers some big bucks and sparing them different paying hassles, they can now avail of fixed three-in-one service bundle.
Indeed, there is lowered cost when consumers opt for purchase of a fixed-line telephone, internet and cable TV services from a single provider. This system is called the bundle and both the provider and users are largely benefiting from the idea.
Consumers are now put to greater convenience as they receive just one billing for all three services, and pay for just that. For service providers, it also saves them of administrative operations costs.
The bundle came about from BT which offers discounted bundle services. Prior to their provision of three-in-one bundles, regulations against such scheme were imposed. But due to the healthy competition in the fixed-line services, Ofcom has lifted such restricting guidelines and finally BT was able to provide the low-cost services in just one bundle.
Research pertaining to the increase of bundle schemes also reported that it has become popular with UK consumers as well. Over 46% of consumers in the United Kingdom purchased two or more services in bundles in 2008, where in the past three years the number was only 29%.
Service providers are continuing to develop these bundles to keep attracting growth and profits. In this line, consumers are warned ahead that they should choose the bundle that suits their needs before closing a deal, or get separate services instead.
For example, only get broadband in a bundle if it matches your speed requirements and if its download limit is large enough. Or in terms of television, make sure you get all the desired channels and programs, and so on. Don’t get tied also with a contract longer than desired.
For more related information regarding this post, visit: ofcom.org.uk
