How to haggle with Sky the right way

If you’re looking to save money on your TV subscriptions, rather than cancelling your Sky subscription, you should try haggling with them.

At some point or another as an existing customer, you will have to haggle with Sky to get your bill reduced or consider whether you really need to continue your subscription.

It appears that no matter how long you are with Sky, they will always find a reason to increase your bill, preferring to offer their best deals to new customers.

I’ve been a customer since 2012 and that makes me a Platinum VIP member, though I always have to contact them to either threaten to leave or try and get a reduction in the amount that they want to charge.

They currently have over 12 million customers and in 2020 Sky generated revenue of £13.4bn.

Why would you want to haggle with Sky?

The fact that they are able to generate so much money, you would think that you would be just another number to them and while this might be true to some extent, you are still able to get some great Sky deals if you are prepared to do some research beforehand and are conscious of what you need from your package based on what you actually watch and when you watch it.

Why don’t Sky offer me a better deal as an existing customer?

Unfortunately, like many businesses loyalty isn’t rewarded but is in fact sometimes punished and as such if you don’t pick up the phone, which some don’t, you will continue to pay their charges and that includes their increases, which means one thing, more money for them and less in your pocket.

How to reduce your Sky bill

So now you have got to the point where you know that you want to stay with Sky, but know that the amount you pay is too much, how do you reduce your Sky bill?

Before doing anything, you need to make sure that you are armed with some information in order that you aren’t taken off guard by the sales spiel which you will more than likely be directed at you, so below are the 5 things that you need to know before contacting them.

1. Consider whether you need the package you’re on?

While it might be nice to have all the bells and whistles, if you’re not watching TV on a regular basis, then you need to consider whether the package you’re on is the right one for you.

Also, review your recordings, are they on the channels that you are paying for or are they shows that you could find on terrestrial TV, if you aren’t recording many shows from Sky, you could get away with downgrading your package to a more basic one.

Check your contract though as you do not want to be subject to exit fees if you decide that you no longer need a package.

2. Research what deal you could get from one of their competitors?

With so many subscription services nowadays, there is competition for eyeballs and knowing what you can get with any of these competitors will give you an idea of how much you should be paying for your package.

The agent will try and sell you on the benefits of staying with Sky over moving over to one of their competitors and this should be expected, if they weren’t doing this they wouldn’t be doing their job.

It might be that you find that cancelling altogether would be a better option and opt for Now, which is the streaming service offered by Sky.

3. Know your value

Being a loyal customer should hold some value, so knowing how long you have been with them should count for something, use this as your way of showing that they could potentially lose someone that has been committed to them for x amount of years.

The sales agent again might try and highlight the benefits of your current Sky VIP offering, but if you’re not using the rewards, they are of little to no value to you.

4. Be prepared to stand firm

You shouldn’t take it as given that because you’ve made contact wanting a new deal you are going to get one.

If they don’t or can’t reduce your bill make it clear that you want to do a deal with them today and reiterate your loyalty if necessary.

Be under no illusion that this will work all of the time, but know that if you play the game, there’s a chance that you might win it, but also lose too.

5. Be prepared to walk

You might not get what you want and that’s fine, but if that is the case, you need to be clear that you will be cancelling your subscription with them.

Be mindful of your contract term though as you don’t want to incur cancellation charges for breaking from it early. It might be worth doing some maths if you are in contract to see whether the cancellation charges are worth paying to break and save yourself some money overall.

When it comes down to it Sky is a luxury, not a necessity and it might be time to cancel your subscription with them.

If you really want to keep Sky but don’t like the price, then you could consider using your existing dish and buying a Freesat box and subscribing to NOW TV.

How do you go about contacting Sky?

Like many companies nowadays, Sky would rather that you didn’t pick up the phone and dealt with their online chat service instead so make finding their telephone number fairly difficult.

Pick up the telephone

This is going to be the best way to get Sky to reduce your bill.

Human interaction will always be better than doing it online, especially if you are armed with the information above.

Remember that you’re dealing with someone that is doing their job, so don’t get angry if you aren’t getting your own way and be mindful that they are being judged on their interaction with you.

While Sky don’t make it that easy to find a number for their customer service team, it is 0333 7591 018.

Do it online

For those that aren’t that comfortable with picking up the phone, trying to reduce your bill online might be the answer.

Head over to your account and use the online chat facility, choosing, again make sure you’re armed with the information above.

Whether you try to reduce your Sky bill by picking up the phone or online, if you don’t think that you are getting anywhere, don’t be afraid to ask if there is someone else that you might be able to speak to that might be able to get you what you are after.

Will I get a deal if I cancel with Sky?

There is a suggestion that if you go ahead with cancelling your subscription they will contact you to offer you a better deal to entice you to stay.

I’ve never tried this myself, so would be interested to hear from anyone that has.

The question, I’d ask myself though is, if they couldn’t give you a deal when you wanted it, why all of a sudden can they offer you a deal?

It’s like a game of chicken, who is going to duck out first and come out victorious?

Do you have to return the Sky box if you go through with the cancellation?

Depending on whether you have a Sky+ box or a Sky Q box will determine whether you actually need to return the box.

The Sky Q box is only loaned to you so if you have to or want to continue through with cancellation then you will have to return it.

If you have a Sky+ box this is your property and you can do with it what you will.

Something to consider though if you do own the Sky+ box is that while you will still get the free-to-air channels, you won’t be able to record them.

What channels can you still get if you cancel

Though you might have cancelled your subscription to Sky you will still be able to watch the free to air channels using the box (depending on which box you have).

So this will include the channels you would expect to be able to receive with Freeview.

Alternative TV subscription services

The way that we consume TV has changed over the years and there are many free and paid alternatives to Sky that you should consider before entering into any new minimum term contract with Sky.

NowTV

This is actually Sky’s own subscription service and seems to be a cannibalisation of their own service in that you can mix and match different packages for less than what you would pay if you had a subscription.

The benefit of this is that you are not tied into any contract and you can cancel anytime but you also have the option to download the shows and watch them at your own convenience.

The memberships types include:

Entertainment

With this package, you get a range of channels including Atlantic, Witness and Sky One and are able to stream live a range of Sky channels.

This currently only costs 9.99 per month.

Cinema

Watch exactly what subscribers of Sky cinema are watching for £11.99 per month.

Sports

If sports are your thing NowTV lets you stream all 11 Sky sports channels.

There are two payment options here Sports Month + Boost for £33.99 per month and Sports Day + Mobile month membership for £9.98

Kids

This is a great deal and only costs £3.99 a month.

For that, you get six channels. Boomerang, Cartoonito, Cartoon Network, nickelodeon, nick jr and Nicktoons.

Hayu

If reality TV is your thing, for £4.99 you can get access to a range of shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians

Netflix

If all you want are films and some great original shows then Netflix is worth considering.

They also feature some older tv shows for a monthly subscription of between £5.99 and £13.99.

Amazon Prime Video

For £7.99 you get a range of original shows and films together with some live sporting events and as it’s Amazon and part of their Prime membership you also get one day delivery.

Apple TV+

A new service, from you, guessed it Apple.

Like the three other subscription services above, there is an abundance of original TV that you will only be able to see on Apple TV+

Whether it’s a film or TV show you’re after, if you’re an Apple fan, this is definitely a service worth considering.

If you buy an Apple device they will give you 1yr of the service, or you can pay £4.99pm or subscribe to Apple One and you can get it bundled with some of Apple’s other subscription services for either £14.95pm for an individual, £19.95 for a family and £29.95 for a premier package.

Britbox

A service from the BBC and ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 6, if you’re into your British TV then this is the one to go for.

View a range of original shows and a ton of box sets for £5.99 or £59.99 for the year.

Disney+

Don’t be fooled by the name, Disney+ brings a range of shows that will appeal to all.

As well as Disney, you’ll be able to watch Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star Wars.

They also offer a range of original shows that you’ll only be able to get on the platform.

You can get Disney+ for £7.99pm or £79.90 for the year.

Conclusion

So there you have it, I’ve given you two ways that you can reduce your bill with Sky.

Over the telephone and online.

Sky might not be your best option when it comes to paid-for TV and with the new wave of subscription services, you could actually mix and match and it still works out cheaper, best of all you’re not tied into any minimum term contract.

Have you cancelled Sky and regretted the decision or left and not looked back, let me know in the comments below.