Sky Subscription – How to Haggle with Sky to Reduce your Bill

Want to know how to haggle with sky to reduce your bill? we have you covered!

Sky announced it will raise TV and broadband prices from April 1st 2021. As such, customers will be hit with price hikes of up to £72 a year. The average Sky customer will be paying an extra £3 a month, but less than 8% of customers will pay the maximum price capped at £6 a month.

The good news is that it’s very easy to haggle with Sky to get a cheaper TV subscription. Want to know how you can haggle and get a cheaper Sky TV subscription? In this post, we explain how you can haggle to get a cheaper Sky TV subscription.

Is Sky Worth Haggling?

Sky has over 12 million customers. In 2020, they generated a revenue of 13.4 billion. As of April 2021, Sky customers will see their bills jump.

For example, if you subscribe to Sky Broadband Essential, the cost will increase by £3 a month from £22 to £25 a month. Sky Talk Anytime Extra will increase by £2 a month from £10 to £12 a month. Haggling is a classic technique where costs can reduce significantly if you negotiate things successfully.

Why Do New Sky Customers Get Better Deals Than Existing Customers?

When existing contracts end, Sky will increase your TV and broadband bill quite significantly. When mine ended, the price increased by more than 70%, and I was continuing with the same package. The majority of existing Sky customers desire a better deal even with the announced price hikes.

Sadly, not many businesses reward customer loyalty with low prices or better deals. In fact, most customers get punished with price hikes, year on year. This means you will start paying the new fee once your current contract expires. Without realising, you may end up overpaying compared to new customers.

The good news is that Sky is well known for reducing its TV and broadband prices. All you need to do is pick up your phone and negotiate for a better deal in less than 5 minutes. If you’re not used to haggling, don’t worry. You’ve come to the right place.

How to Reduce Your Bill With Sky

Research shows that 57% of UK adults are more likely to try and negotiate a discount now than they were twelve months ago. Sadly, they rather negotiate abroad than in the UK.

This is because they felt haggling was part of the culture of certain countries. During holidays, they felt more relaxed negotiating for discounts at hotels, airlines and more.

Here are five things to consider before negotiating with Sky.

Research the Market for Best Deals…

Before picking up the phone and calling Sky, research the wider market and find out what competitors are offering. Giving Sky a comparison from other providers while haggling for the best deal will put you in a powerful position.

I have a friend who successfully negotiated a better deal with Sky. She researched other providers such as BT and Virgin Media. Before calling Sky, they were charging her £45/month for TV, phone and broadband. While talking to Sky, she mentioned that a friend, who signed up for all three, was paying £35/month. They immediately reduced her package by £10/month.

Be Honest…

While it’s nice to have all the services – broadband, TV and phone, if you’re not watching TV regularly, then consider dropping a package. When you call, be honest and inform the agent that you would like to cut costs by downgrading your package to a basic one. Say that you’re happy with their services but can no longer justify the extra expense.

Be Prepared to Walk Away…

Upon calling Sky, the agent will try and sell you on the company’s benefits over other providers. This is normal because if the agent was not doing so, he or she could lose the job. As the agent explains the benefits, be polite and listen. It’s critical to know that just because you called Sky does not mean that you’ll get a new deal.

Stick to your guns and be ready to walk away. Companies hate losing customers to their competition, especially if you’ve been loyal.

A family member once called Sky to negotiate for a better deal. The agent explained to her the benefits of Sky but was unwilling to offer her a better deal. She told the agent that she was leaving them for a competitor. The agent kept her on the same package and reduced the cost to £25/month.

Remember, if the company is unwilling to reduce your bill and offer you a better deal, stand firm and make it clear you can walk away.

Be Realistic and Know Your Value…

If you’ve a history of paying your bills late, Sky will less likely offer you a better deal. In fact, you won’t have any sway with the company. But if you’ve been paying your Sky bills for a long time, this will put you in a good stead.

Being a loyal customer holds a lot of value. So, knowing how long you’ve been with Sky will count for something. Use this when haggling for the best deal.

Avoid Getting Greedy…

Sky may not feel obliged to give you a better deal than your existing contract if they think it’s not worth keeping you as a customer. The one mistake many people make is to keep haggling and haggling. They do this until Sky allows them to leave.

To avoid this, do not push your haggling too far. You don’t want to get transferred to cancellations. If the agent gives you a deal that is £3 or £5 less, take it.

How Much Discount Can I Get?

It all depends on your history with Sky. If you’ve been paying your bills promptly, you can haggle a £30 or more reduction in your monthly bills. But if you’ve been paying your monthly bills late, Sky may decline to offer a price reduction.

To reduce your monthly bill, the best way to do so is over the phone. Haggling over the phone gives you a better chance of the best deal than online. This is true, especially if armed with information from other providers.

If you’re not comfortable negotiating over the phone, you can do so online. Sign in to your Sky account and use the chat function to haggle for a better deal. Before doing so, make sure you’re armed with the information above. It would be best if you also armed yourself with negotiating phrases to use as your ammunition.

If calling, try to avoid peak periods like lunchtimes, weekends or after work. You want to get more time with the agent, so call Sky.

Whether you’re haggling over the phone or online and you’re not getting anywhere with the current agent, don’t be afraid to get through to the retention department. They have more power than the customer service team.

Will Sky Give Me a Better Deal if I Cancel?

You can switch to a better deal without penalty. If you choose to cancel, you must give Sky a minimum of 31 days notice to end your TV subscription. For your broadband and Sky Talk, provide a 14-day notice. To cancel your subscription, call Sky customer services.

Tell them you’d like to leave. They will put you through quickly. When you call, it starts as an automated service. This is to find out who and why you’re calling. After a couple of minutes, they should put you through to the right department.

You can also cancel online. Here is how.

Log in to your Sky account
Click ‘Help’
Search “Cancel” at the top of the page

If you type ‘Cancel’ in the search box, you should see the following options:

How to cancel Sky Mobile
How to cancel your Sky Talk
How to cancel your Sky TV subscription
How to cancel your Sky Broadband
Reschedule or cancel your Sky TV engineer appointment

Choose option three and follow the instructions. Remember, cancelling your subscription may not get you a better deal with Sky.

Do You Have to Return the Sky Box After Cancellation?

Yes, after cancelling your TV subscription, you must return the Sky box within 60 days of your contract ending. If you cancel your subscription because of debt, you must return the box within 30 days.

In some cases, Sky may ask you to return the equipment sooner. This depends on whether you’ve the Sky Q box or the Sky+ box. If you have the Sky+ box, this is your property, and while you own it, you will get free to air channels, but you won’t record them.

But the Sky Q box is usually loaned to you. If you cancel your subscription, you’ll have to return it.

What Channels Do I Get After Ditching Sky?

Below is a list of free channels you can watch on Sky (no card) in the UK.

HD Channels
UTV HD
BBC Two HD
Channel 4 HD
BBC Four HD
Channel 5 HD
Quest HD
S4C HD
BBC Scotland HD
Travelxp HD
SportStuff TV HD
FreeSports HD
Bloomberg TV HD
CNBC HD
BBC News HD
CNN International HD
RT HD
NHK World Japan HD
Aljazeera English HD
France 24 English HD
WION HD
Arirang World HD
CBeebies HD
CBBC HD

Standard definition channels you can watch for free on Sky include:

ITVBe
5Star
Channel 4 (Wales)
4Seven
5USA
Food Network
Really
Quest Red
CBS Justice
CBS Drama
CBS Reality
Drama
Pick
Yesterday
5SELECT
Paramount Network
Together TV
BBC Alba
Blaze
HGTV
Challenge
BET International
DMAX
Smithsonian Channel

Here is the complete list of the channels to watch for free on Sky.

Cheaper SKY Alternatives

The following are the cheaper Sky Alternatives.

NowTV – from less than £11.99
Amazon Prime Video -from £7.99
Netflix – between £5.99 and £13.99
BritBox – for £5.99 per month or £59.99 for the year
Apple TV+ – either £14.95 per month for an individual, £19.95 for a family and £29.95 for a premier package
Disney+ – for £7.99/month or £79.90 for the year

There is an abundance of original TV shows and movies to watch when you subscribe to one of the services above.

Final Thoughts

A deal may sound great on the phone. Before agreeing, double-check the deal and terms. While Sky may offer a lower monthly payment, they may move you to a slower speed of broadband or lower TV subscription. While the deal is not bad, it’s critical that you’re happy with what you’re getting.

If you don’t get the deal after haggling for several minutes, do not give up. Maybe you did not use your haggle charm or talked with an agent in a bad mood. Call back and negotiate for the best deal.