Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has explained how to beat four major price rises coming next month on mobile bills, council tax, broadband and water – including discounts ‘many’ are missing out on
Martin Lewis has revealed four ways to ‘beat’ the wave of price rises hitting British households next month.
In his last show before a four-week break, the Money Saving Expert founder shared a number of important things to know about water, mobile, broadband and council tax bills, which are all set to rise from April 1.
He told the audience on ITV1’s Martin Lewis Money Show Live: “You know they say ‘April showers’? Well, when it comes to finances, April pees down on the nation with a whole raft of different price hikes. And the time generally to beat it is now.”
Here’s everything he shared last night:
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Water bills
Water bills in England and Wales are rising from April 1, with the average bill increasing by approximately 5.4% – or £33 per year.
But getting yourself on a water meter can make sure you’re not paying over the odds for what you get out of the tap – and you can still save money if you’re not able to have one installed.
Mr Lewis explained: “Water meters are free in England and Wales. Use the Consumer Council for Water’s website, ccw.org.uk, to get a calculator and see whether you’re likely to save.
“If they say you can’t have a meter – common in flats with shared pipes – ask for an ‘assessed charge’. That’s where they say how much you would likely pay if you were on a meter.
“And if that’s lower than your water bills, well, it’s easy because you’re basically just getting the cheaper bill for effectively the same thing.”
Four million homes are meanwhile missing out on potential discounts, he added, including social tariffs for lower income households and the Watersure scheme, and you can get both, which can “cap your bill” if you have a medical condition that means you need to use more water and you are on a meter.
Council tax
While this varies by area, council is set to rise by an average of around 5% in England, 4% in Wales, and “4 to 10%” in Scotland, Martin Lewis said.
But he explained that you can secure a discount if you you live alone or live with under-18s, if you’re a student, if you’re a carer, or if you have a severe mental impairment. There are also discounts available if you’re on a very low income, which “many people are missing out” on.
An estimated 400,000 households in England and Scotland are meanwhile estimated to be in the wrong council tax band – and the Money Saving Expert once again touted his ‘Check and Challenge’ system to make sure you’re not one of them.
Mobile contracts
Martin Lewis warned that mobile contract increases of around £2.50 a month are coming next week. But t fight back, he suggests a simple three-step process to see if you can join the 14 million people who are currently out of contract and “free to switch” to a better deal.
The first step is to check your status by texting the word INFO for free to 85075. Your provider will text you back to confirm if you have any early termination or cancellation charges – and “if it says you have no early termination or cancellation charge, you are free to switch”.
While this usually won’t work for multiple-line family accounts, most individual users will get an immediate answer, though providers like Three or iD Mobile might need you to send your date of birth.
If you are free to switch, Mr Lewis advises using a comparison site rather than going to a provider directly, as “most of the cheap deals aren’t available direct”.
While some people are worried about losing coverage if they go onto a smaller provider, Martin explained there are only four actual networks in the UK—EE, O2, Vodafone, and Three – every other company simply “piggybacks off them”, using their signal with different branding . You can use an online comparison tool to find the cheapest provider using your preferred signal.
Finally, to keep your current number while switching, you should text PAC to 65075 to get a switching code. Martin refers to this as a “cheat code”, because it can often result in your network offering discounts of up to 50% to get you to stay
“You never know, it might just work a treat!”, he said.
Broadband
On the raft of mid-contract broadband prices rises coming next month, he said: “Very similar to mobile. Get yourself onto a comparison site; the cheap deals are all primarily on the comparison sites there.”
