The BBC has reported that only one in twenty claimants who are eligible for social tariff broadband have actually signed up, with 4.3 million potentially eligible people apparently missing out. We’d like to hear about your experience if you’ve signed up for social tariff broadband or what made you decide against it.

Claimants on a range of benefits are eligible for social tariff broadband deals.

All the major suppliers offer a cheaper deal if you are on Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support.

Some also extend their offer to PIP claimants.

Prices range from £10 to £20 a month with speeds from 15 to 100 Mbits, depending on the supplier.

The Ofcom website has a full list of suppliers and prices, with links to their individual terms and conditions.

Citizens Advice estimates that one million people have cancelled their broadband in the last year because of the cost of living, with UC claimants 12 times more likely to have done so than non-claimants.

Yet social tariff deals are not proving popular and Citizens Advice wants Ofcom to "hold firms' feet to the fire" to improve their take-up.

But is it just lack of awareness of these schemes that is holding people back? Or is it that mobile phones are a necessity while home broadband is an unaffordable luxury for many claimants, no matter how cheap the deal?

Please let us know your opinion of the scheme in the comments section.

You can read the full story on the BBC website.

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  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Iain · 1 years ago
    We looked into the so
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    Moira · 1 years ago
    I'd never heard of this social tariff until I read about it in your newsletter. Unfortunately, of the admittedly small number of firms I had time to contact, none operated the scheme in my area of central Scotland. I receive the highest award of PIP, am disabled, we are living on small pensions and my husband's health has taken a nosedive in recent months with him adding heart failure to his list of ailments but I cannot persuade him to apply for PIP or the Scottish equivalent (which I only heard about via your newsletter). With the cost of living rocketing and both of us becoming more housebound in recent months, I am seriously considering leaving our current supplier, Virgin, and looking for a cheaper alternative but finding the wherewithal to keep looking is the problem. However, I must make the attempt especially as our Virgin contact is approaching the renewal date. Thank you for supplying the information regarding social tariffs.  I will re-read the information and look again when I have the chance and am well enough to search through all the different companies for help.  Thank you for all your very helpful information.
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    Jo · 1 years ago
    My problem with this is that I would lose the discount I get for having multiple services from the same provider, and it would be difficult to work out which is the better option.  
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      m wright · 1 years ago
      @Jo i have same issue with sky. i am currently paying £28.50 per month for my BB, (which includes £4 for boost and other things that are free)? however it is part of a discounted bundle with sky tv etc. i am concerned about my rating with them will reduce discounts in other areas, such as i have my mobile with 6 sims, for family. will that be impacted as well?
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    IanP · 1 years ago
    Hi, we was with BT paying £29.99 which rose to 34.50 I believe it was so we phoned them to cancel the contract, which when they said we maybe eligible for their Social Tariff.  We knew there be a cancellation charge but that ended up getting waived due to your misleading and incorrect advice / information given to us.  Anyway we used to have they Full Fibre (not really fibre) broadband with no phone, now we have the same broadband and 250 inclusive phone minutes with 2 of their HD phones for £15 per month and no contract so can cancel anytime we want.  On another service we also have Yorkshire Waters Social Tariff which is approx. 50% off.
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    Jim · 1 years ago
    I changed to Vodafone broadband social tarriff early March 2023. £22 a month minus the £10 social tarriff so costs £12 a month. Speeds said to be a garenteed 29 Mbps I get between 20 - 28 Mbps and so far have never been charged a penny. I'm doubtful this is due to the guarantee and more likely due to lost paperwork on the system which was something mentioned by a Vodafone operative when I phoned to complain about not meeting the minimum speed. The speed I do get is quite adequate for my needs and I save the £12 per month in case I eventually do need to pay - I would argue against this as they haven't achieved guaranteed speeds in the contract. I have this exclusively for broadband and choose not to use a landline although I could if I wanted to. I heard about social tarriff broadband from Martin Lewis from the money saving expert dit com I had to wait for my last broadband contract to end before moving to this. Most people I speak to haven't heard of social tarriff, and then of course they may already be tied to a contract for X number of months both of these factors would affect take up rates. I'm happy I chose a social tarriff.
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    Mark F · 1 years ago
    I switched to mobile broadband (via my smartphone hotspot) in 2011 and I have never looked back. This was due to living in Hull where KC Communications held the monopoly and were consequently pretty expensive with no competition to get better deals 🤬

    Even when moving to a new location I never bothered with a fixed line. I just didn't see the point in paying for a mobile AND fixed line. It's probably saved me £5000 in 12 years (including the electricity costs of leaving the Wi-Fi box switched on). Now with the advances in mobile technology to 5G etc a fixed line is even less necessary. It also saves having extra wires and equipment (aka clutter!) in the home, not to mention reducing previously mentioned electricity costs. A major consideration now prices are sky high! 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Jacqueline · 1 years ago
    I'm paying £23.50 a month for superfast Bb with sky. 

    With that I get a good tv package for a discounted £20 a month.  

    If I moved Bb providers i would loose the other discount which would cost me more in total.

    However if I ditched sky and opted for a social tariff of course it would be cheaper. 


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    Monica · 1 years ago
    I am with plus net and don't want the hassle of changing, but despite being owned by BT they do not offer a social tariff  
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      Frank · 1 years ago
      @Monica Then move to a better provider when your contract runs out & to say they dont do social tariff i find that hard to believe.
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      Ellen · 1 years ago
      @Eddie Walton I am thinking of going with BT BB social tariff. Does anyone kwow if BT will supply me with a new more secure wireless router. I have had my present one 7 years it was from Post Office BB now Shell  BB,  and they want it back when I leave.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Eddie Walton · 1 years ago
      @Monica Yes they do but it is cheaper and hassle free to switch to BT, does not cost anything to end your contract early and they do everything. I pay £20 a month for fast broadband and free anytime calls plus they send you a new landline phone absolutely free 
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    Kat Cohen · 1 years ago
    I just checked again typed in bt social broadband and it was first in the list bt social broadband -universal credit?  Hope this helps 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Kat Cohen · 1 years ago
    Michelle I just typed in BT social tariff and it came up. This was back in January so I don't know if they stopped offering to new customers? 
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    Whiskers · 1 years ago
    Basically it is not advertised and I only found out about it by accident. The precursor to BT Home Essentials was BT Basic. Applied for my mother in law as she is on pension credit and just for the phone it was £5.16, she has been on this since 11/2020. Back then phone and broadband was £10.07
    She now wants broadband to watch Neighbours as it is coming back to Freeve on Amazon and they are no longer supplying new broadband on copper so it will have to be fiber at £15.00 per month. All rather a rigmarole as there is plenty of copper capacity at our exchange since FTTP was done in our village. 
    Also when there is a power cut you cannot use your phone so you are totally isolated. On copper you could use an old phone and get through to your power company and report you outage as the system was not dependent on your electricity. I have kept an old touch tone phone specifically for this purpose.   
    In my opinion this is a step backwards as there is no backup like the old copper system had  and no one can ring in or out in a power cut.

    Link to BT openreach that explains what's happening.


    An even better link  to AGE UK


    The explanations here are less technical and give more advice for various scenarios. 
    people aged 70 and over
    people with additional needs
    people who only have a landline (and not broadband)
    people with telecare alarms
    people with no mobile signal at home.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    James Jamieson · 1 years ago
    I applied for the social tariff and received it a £12 per month for 12 months however the change over is a lie.
    To obtain the system you lose access to all the phone points in your houses and your copper wire landline.
    You have to then purchase 2 phones and use a system called VOIP. ( voice over Internet protocol). The main phone is then plugged into your router behind the TV. (Yes, I said behind Steve) and the other into an electrical shocked. They are not easy to set up or obtain a Voip account. 
    I have also been informed that you cannot ring 999.
    All copper wires run by BT will end in 2025 leaving every BT phone useless.
    The Great British people are being conned and it needs brought to the attention of the press. James Jamieson. 
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    Dana · 1 years ago
    I’m on full pip but because I’ve not moved over to universal credit I don’t qualify. 

    I can’t see why people on pip would fail to qualify for this. 
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      frank · 1 years ago
      @Dana Im on the old system & i get it,they are lying about that for sure,go & get advise from your local benefit advisory office.
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    Helen · 1 years ago
    My son applied for and got social tariff with BT. He had previously been with a company that he didn’t have to have a contract with as he was on a trial 3 month lease in his flat. If he decided the place was not for him he did not want to be stuck with a 12 or 24 month contract. That obviously came in at a higher price but he/we felt that was the best option at the time. Unfortunately, that carried on for 18 months because he did not change it once he settled into a permanent lease for his flat. Good job I saw Martin Lewis talking about it and asked him who he was with now! It has saved him £30+ a month and he has a faster broadband service than he had before! 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    A. Reid · 1 years ago
    WHY was my comment of a few minutes ago removed?! 
    I have cataracts and it was difficult tto to write it.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Matthew · 1 years ago
    I've had no problem with the Virgin Media social tariff of £12.50 per month.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    A. Reid · 1 years ago
    I never paid attention to it simply because I cannot afford the £15 a month as a regular commitment. Nor can I afford a PC or laptop for cable now. Heck, with the vast indefensible rise in mortgage rates I am completely unable to pay for gas, electric or either of two water rates etc. I just about get my cheap mobile paid thanks to family but they can't do more, and I am ashamed I have to let them pay that. I need a mobile phone in case of emergency. No way at all I can afford Broadband even if relatively cheap, even if I had a laptop.

    I am on a full National Insurance pension and PIP. It isn't so much income as outgoings that is the crusher.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    SUE GREGORY · 1 years ago
    I also have the BT social tariff at £20 a month unlimited broadband and free calls any time. I was paying £40 + for exactly the same, without free calls. So in my opinion it is great. I found out about via Martin Lewis Show. No issues streaming etc, speeds are as before.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Andrea Mardon · 1 years ago
    1. I didn't know anyone other than BT offered this, information is poor.      2. BT said it's only for fibre customers and, despite the promises of Nicola Sturgeon, rural Scotland still doesn't have fibre even though we're only 4 miles from town.                                                         3. BT offered a limited service. Their unlimited service is not actually unlimited as you're cut off under the fair usage clause. 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Kat Cohen · 1 years ago
    Michelle, and anyone else interested; I'm on the BT social tariff, £15 a month and I get some free landline calls included too, no credit check required in my case, speeds fine, I stream stuff from u tube and have done online zoom and teams video interviews. I signed for one year and I think they check each year if your still on UC, I also live in a Welsh village and still never had any issues over speed or coverage 

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