How to avoid prices rises from firms like O2, Sky and Virgin Media
BRITS are feeling the squeeze as household bills are rising at a faster rate than they have in decades.
High inflation is pushing up the cost of everything from the supermarket shop to energy, internet and mobile phone bills.
O2 and Virgin Mobile are hiking bills by as much as £48 a year from April, while Sky is adding £43 a year to broadband and TV bills for millions.
BT, EE and Vodafone are planning to hit more customers with bill hikes of up to £74 a year come April too.
is even hiking prices by £56 a year for broadband and TV customers.
But many households can't afford the hikes as they grapple with a worsening cost of living crisis.
If your contract is coming close to its end, it might be worth a shake-up to avoid paying any more than you need to.
Last year, new rules came in that mean phone and broadband customers must be warned that their contract is ending - giving you time to shop around and find the best deal possible.
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Customers should also be told how much they could save with a new deal.
You'll usually get told up to 40 days before your contract is due to end.
So if any of your bills are set to go up - here's how you can avoid it.
Shop around
You shouldn't have to pay any more than you have to for your broadband, so it's worth trying to avoid price hikes where you can.
The first thing you should do is shop around.
There might be a better deal out there that's cheaper than your current one, or offers faster speeds.
As long as you're nearing the end of your contract, you can simply jump ship and move to the cheaper tariff.
If you are still in contract though, you might face an early exit penalty charge.
These can be high and offset any savings you would make by switching, so always check the terms of your deal before you switch.
If you're planning to switch, use comparison sites like , and to find the best contract for you.
Trying haggling
Sometimes simply asking does the trick too.
Call your provider and explain you're not happy - it may be able to offer you a better deal.
You should do some research first so you can give evidence of better deals you can get elsewhere - or new customer offers your provider might have.
If you are haggling, it's always best to stay calm and polite with the person you're speaking to.
We've rounded up six top haggling tips - and spoke to one woman who saved £268 on her mobile phone bill just by asking.
Another Virgin Media customer managed to save £210 on their broadband bill because of the method though.
Experts estimate the typical household could save as much as £250 a year on bills from broadband to mobile phone deals simply by haggling.
How to get help
If there's no way of avoiding the price hike, you could look at getting help to cover the costs instead.
Millions of households on benefits could save £100s on their broadband bills if they take advantage of the right help.
BT, Community Fibre, G.Network, Hyperoptic, KCOM and Virgin Media O2 all offer social tariffs, which allow you to enter cheaper deals, but only if you're eligible.
You'll need to apply directly with the provider, which will assess your eligibility.
According to Ofcom, you could save on average £150 on your broadband bills by switching to the schemes.
But you have to be receiving either employment and support allowance, income support, jobseeker's allowance, or Universal Credit, and sometimes other benefits, to claim.
Most start from just £15 a month with speeds of up to 50Mbps on offer.
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TalkTalk even offers its own FREE broadband, but it's exclusively for job seekers.
is with the Department for Work and Pensions, and the jobcentre can hand out a referral code to get the deal in England, Scotland and Wales.
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