According to reports, about 6 million households are unable to pay their basic telecom bills despite decreasing spending on other critical services.
The Ofcom analysis revealed that an estimated 3.5 million households have already reduced spending on clothing and food to pay for their internet or mobile phone costs.
Which? is urging the government to reduce the value-added tax on mobile, broadband, and telephone services to alleviate the cost of living crisis for struggling Britons.
According to a study of Ofcom data conducted by Which? over 5.7 million families have suffered at least one affordability issue in the past few months, resulting in the cancellation or modification of essential services or missed payments.
From 16% in February 2022 to 20% in April 2022, the percentage of households that had experienced affordability concerns in the previous month grew by a fifth.
Which? discovered that those with lower and moderate incomes, less than £52,000 annually, were more likely to have reduced critical spending to afford the cost of telecommunications.
In April 2022, one in five lower-income households lowered expenditure elsewhere to afford connectivity services, while one in eight middle-income households did the same.
Which? has urged the next Prime Minister to lower the VAT paid on telecommunications from 20% to 5%, bringing it in line with other necessities such as gas and electricity.
It was projected that doing so would reduce costs by £120 per year on average.
During an unremitting cost of living crisis, customers should be made aware of and have easy access to the greatest value option, including social or discounted tariffs, according to Which?
This is Money has compiled the cheapest mobile and broadband agreements with voucher incentives of up to £155 for those who are not eligible.
Receive a £95 Amazon Gift Card with Virgin Media.
This week, Virgin Media is providing a £95 voucher to switchers, along with 100mbps broadband speeds for as little as £24 per month*.
The 18-month contract provides clients with cheap access to high-speed Internet without requiring a significant commitment.
The offer is only valid until August 7, so switchers will need to act quickly to obtain the appealing welcome packages.
Using the new TV streaming plug-in gadget, Stream, Virgin customers might save an additional £120 annually on their subscription services.
New users who sign up for the streaming platform can receive a 10% rebate on each online subscription provider it offers, including Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Disney+, for a potential monthly savings of £10.
Up to £155 in coupons are available with Vodafone Broadband.
This month, Vodafone is providing a variety of vouchers to new customers who switch to its broadband service, with some broadband bundles offering up to £155 in welcome bonuses.
Vodafone’s Superfast 1 plan, which is available for £22 per month* and includes a £125 voucher, offers download speeds of up to 38Mbps with a 24-month commitment and costs £22 per month*.
If you are looking for a plan with a little more power, you may choose Superfast 2, which offers speeds of up to 67Mbps for just £25 per month, or Superfast 100, which provides 100Mbps for the same price.
If you want download speeds of up to 500 Mbps, you may choose Pro Ultrafast 500 broadband for £48 per month* and receive a coupon worth £155.
Unlike the £95 Amazon coupon available with select Virgin Broadband packages, the £155 Vodafone voucher can be redeemed at a wider variety of retailers, including M&S, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s.
The promotion is valid through August 25.
TalkMobile offers rolling contracts for less than £3.
This summer, TalkMobile is offering 50% off rolling contracts to new clients seeking a sim-only plan.
The virtual mobile network, powered by Vodafone, offers up to 15 GB of 5G data and unlimited voice calls and text messages for only £3.98 per month* for the first three months.
The price will then treble to £7.96, which is still a superb deal.
You don’t have to worry about being trapped into long-term plans that could end up costing you more in the long run, and you can switch to a more cost-effective plan after three months.
If you mostly use WIFI, you might choose the even cheaper package*, which includes 5GB of data, unlimited texts, and minutes, and costs just £1.99 for the first three months and £2.50 thereafter.
However, if you are an avid social media user, TalkMobile offers plans with up to 40GB of data for as little as £5 a month for three months.
TalkMobile also offers EU roaming, so consumers may travel this summer without worrying about their mobile phone bills.
