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Cash strapped Britons wasting £900 million by sticking to legacy deals on their digital TV, broadband and home phone services

- Over half (59%) feel under pressure to save money on digital services due to credit crunch
- 1 in 3 have not changed their home phone provider for over 5 years
- 1 in 4 still buying all three services separately instead of saving £360 pa by bundling them together

Legacy deals on home telephone, digital TV and broadband are wasting Britons’ households £ 900 million per year according to Simplifydigital (http://www.simplifydigital.co.uk/blog), the free and impartial digital sales advisory service.  New research shows that this is despite new deals being offered daily and even greater savings to be made by bundling two or more services together.

Indeed over 45% of consumers have not switched their broadband provider in the last 2 years and a third (33%) have not changed their home phone supplier for over five years. 

The research on 1,992 adults aged 18 plus, shows that on average, people who buy a bundle of all three services from one provider pay £360 per year less than people who buy each one separately.  This is equivalent to a return flight to New York, or £30 a month put back into the family budget. 

Charlie Ponsonby, CEO of Simplifydigital (http://www.simplifydigital.co.uk/blog) commenting on the findings says:
“It’s incredible that there’s £900 million out there to be saved, if households would take just a little time to review their options and choose the right TV, broadband and home phone deals”
  
The research also revealed the impact of the credit crunch on consumer psychology with nearly two out of three people (59%) feeling under pressure to save money on digital services as a result of the credit crunch, and 63% having taken the trouble to research the market within the last 12 months, but only one in five (21%) have actually switched in the last year due to total confusion. 

So why are people so confused and seemingly unable to switch and save?  Well just under 50% of people say that the reason that they have not switched is as a result of a combination of :
• confusion as a result of too many conflicting deals available (19%).  
• fear of the sheer time and effort required to switch (14%); and
• a lack of impartial advice as to where the best deals are to be found (13%).

Charlie Ponsonby, CEO of Simplifydigital adds:
“Despite everyone’s desperate desire to save cash, many people have not jumped on the great deals available as a result of inertia, confusion about the number of offers, and the lack of available impartial advice.

“This is where Simplifydigital can really help, it is the only company in the UK to be accredited by the regulator Ofcom to provide a completely free and impartial advisory service to help people save money on their digital TV, broadband and home phone services.” 

ENDS

Contact details
Jonathan Hopkins
M: 07787156656
E: jonathanhopkins@bondyconsulting.com

Notes to Editors

Simplifydigital research
Simplifydigital figures refer to research conducted by TPoll in November 2008 on a sample of 1,992 GB adults (aged 18+)

About Simplifydigital
Simplifydigital (http://www.simplifydigital.co.uk/blog) offers a unique service in the UK, providing a free and impartial consultation for anyone looking to save money on their broadband, digital TV, or home phone bills.
 
Simplifydigital cuts through the confusion; offers the widest range of digital service providers available (including Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, AOL, Tiscali, Orange, 02, TopupTV etc); and manages the customer through the install of the services. 
It is the only retailer of digital TV, broadband and home phone services in the UK to have been accredited by Ofcom as impartial and transparent and on average saves customers over £300 pa by finding them better deals.
 
Customers call their London-based experts free on 0800 531 6351 or use their online service at www.simplifydigital.co.uk.

The company is led by Charles Ponsonby, former Marketing Director of BSkyB and his co-founder Lawrence Bleach, the former Retail Marketing and Distribution Director at Sky.  The team also includes Vince Warsap, who is a highly experienced contact centre executive who spent 10 years running Virgin Atlantic’s call centre operations, as well as product and marketing specialists from uSwitch and Tesco.