Internet at Home - Affordability

Rob_Wills

It has been recognised for many years that electricity, gas, water and sewerage are ESSENTIAL services that everyone needs. 
In modern day UK the home telephone line and INTERNET access are also vital to tens of millions of people so I was pleased to read this -  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/03/bt-to-offer-under-half-price-fibre-broadband-to-people-on-benefits - however it doesn't go far enough.
Costs have risen sharply, by over 50% in many cases, during the past few years making many basic essential services unaffordable.  ALL households, and that would include millions of state pensioners, on low incomes ought to be able to access these "discounts" but few receive the help they need.

Browntoa

BT has provided BT basic for ages at loss 

https://www.choose.co.uk/guide/bt-basic-broadband-on-benefits.html

JJ_Egan

Ofcom just agreed wholesale price increases .

OP links please to the discounted for OAPs etc for electric and gas .

No way has my phone/internet risen by 50%.

matelodave

TBH there are now some many "discounts" for people on benefits that they are often a lot better off than people who cant claim benefits (ie those who are working). The whole situation is getting so skewed and frequently, not because people are poor but they dont spend their money wisely. TBH most people get more than the help they need but the more you give the more they need (or want)

My MIL was a lot better off than my mum as she was on pension credit he qualified for virtually everything that was available, rent paid and most other stuff was free, even her residential home fees were fully covered. She could happily afford to get through 40 fags a day and still had money left over

Whereas my mum had a small pension from my dad who died when he was 54 which took her above the threshold and she owned her own home (just about coverd from my Dads mortgage protection payout) so she got nothing, even had to pay her own dentists bills and spectacles. She had to pay for repairs on the house and then to add insult to injury had to pay for her residential care when she became infirm.

littleboo

If all households can get the discount, then its no longer a discount, its the standard price. 

Neil_Jones

Rob_Wills said:

Costs have risen sharply, by over 50% in many cases, during the past few years making many basic essential services unaffordable.

Have they?  My internet price has done nothing but fall in the last few years.

Anyway internet is not "essential" in the grand use of things, if you didn't have electricity you wouldn't have internet, which makes that more pressing.  Plenty of public  places provide internet access, wifi and whatever else so providing you dance to their tune/rules, you don't "need" it at home as such.  Yes it'll probably mean you can't bank online at 3 in the morning but...

onomatopoeia99

Rob_Wills said:

It has been recognised for many years that electricity, gas, water and sewerage are ESSENTIAL services that everyone needs. 

Plenty of houses don't have mains gas.  Some don't have mains sewerage.  What were you saying again about ESSENTIAL?

macman

And your evidence for these '50%+' rises?

james_smitha

macman said:

And your evidence for these '50%+' rises?

Sky in the Ts &Cs have a hidden 10% p.a price rise, would that tick the box?

Neil_Jones

james_smitha said:

macman said:

And your evidence for these '50%+' rises?

Sky in the Ts &Cs have a hidden 10% p.a price rise, would that tick the box?

Firstly that's for Sky TV, not broadband.

Secondly, the "hidden rise" is not hidden because its in the T&Cs, and it also says on the website, prices may go up.  If you don't read it when you join, that's your fault.

Thirdly, five rounds of 10% rises does not equal a 50% rise over the starting price, and digital TV is luxury, and Sky TV has always been expensive.

SaveMeDo

I foolishly signed up to a new contract for landline and ADSL, and I'm very sorry I did.

I should have cancelled my landline and broadband while I was out of contract.

Now I will have to pay through the nose to cancel the new contract.

For the poor, an internet landline service has become an unaffordable item.