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Ways to pay for broadband

Our Broadband Expert says...

Almost all broadband providers now charge extra if you don’t want to pay by direct debit, and in some cases, if you want paper bills too. However, there are other options for people, like you, who want to budget their broadband bills.

Cash broadband payments

The only broadband provider to accept cash payments for its broadband packages is Post Office Broadband (www.PostOffice.co.uk), where you can go into any of the UK’s thousands of branches to pay for your internet connection. You can also choose to pay by cheque at no extra charge - which is perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to - or can't pay by direct debit, for example if they have a basic bank account that doesn’t allow direct debit payments.

However, the Post Office’s broadband packages are not the most competitive on the market, and its Standard broadband package has a download allowance of just 5GB a month - putting you at risk of going over your limit and having to pay for your extra data.

This means that you could still save money by choosing a cheap broadband provider and paying extra to pay by cheque.

Cheque broadband payments

Some providers, such as Plusnet Broadband (www.Plus.net) and O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) no longer accept cheque payments, while others, such as TalkTalk Broadband (www.TalkTalk.co.uk) and BT Broadband (www.BT.com) add a surcharge for any customers choosing to pay by cheque.

However, if you choose the right provider, you can pay in the way you like and still cut your monthly bills - even while paying a surcharge on cheques.

For example, even if you pay the extra £3.50 a month that TalkTalk charges cheque-paying customers on top of its £17.74 broadband, home phone and line rental - you would still only have a monthly total of £21.24.

This is less than the Post Office’s comparable Home Phone and Broadband Extra package at £24.95 a month.

Credit card broadband payments

Another way to keep an eye on when your broadband payments leave your account is to pay by credit card. Some providers, such as Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com) charge as much as £5 a month to pay by credit card, but others, like Plusnet, let you pay in this way at no extra cost.

Late payment fines

If you do choose to pay for your broadband by cheque or credit card, you will have to be very careful about getting your payment in on time. Many different broadband providers fine customers if they pay late, and cheques, for examples, can take a number of days to clear into your account.

Paperless billing

There is a growing trend in broadband providers to add a surcharge onto customers’ bills unless they choose paperless billing. This applies to line rental as well as broadband bills. For example, Virgin Media charges customers an extra £1.25 a month unless they switch their bills to online only and BT’s advertised line rental of £11.25 a month is only achievable if customers pay by direct debit and take paperless billing.

Cheap broadband

In many cases it can be easier on your pocket to go for a cheap broadband provider and budget carefully, or even pay the surcharge to pay by cheque, than opt for a more expensive package that might better suit your payment needs.

As mentioned above, TalkTalk - which is one of the cheapest broadband bundle providers in the UK - costs just £17.74 a month for up to 8Mb broadband, with a 40GB download allowance, free evening and weekend UK landline calls, free anytime local calls and inclusive line rental. Even if you add the £3.50 a month that the ISP charges for paying by cheque or credit card, it still works out less than the Post Office’s “unlimited broadband” cash package.

If you want a cheap broadband package without home phone calls, Plusnet offers the cheapest standalone deal on the market, from just £5.99 a month. Although the provider doesn’t accept payments by cheque, you can pay by credit card at no extra cost. You can also take Plusnet’s cheaper-than-BT line rental at £10.95 a month, which will automatically give you free evening and weekend calls to UK landlines and selected international destinations.

NB Best buy tables are always current.

Examples in the text of the article are correct at time of publication.

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If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at OurExpert@broadbandchoices.co.uk

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