\n ‘My sister doesn’t have internet or a smartphone – how can she get online when she’s on benefits?’\n <\/p>\n
Every Tuesday, we get an expert to answer your financial problems or consumer disputes – you can\u00a0WhatsApp us\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0or email moneyblog@sky.uk. Today’s problem is…<\/p>\n My sister would like to get broadband\/WiFi where she lives. She is 69 and receives a state pension, but has no other form of income. She also gets housing benefit, soon to be transferred to universal credit – but is just over the amount to receive pension credit. She doesn’t have a landline, only an analogue mobile phone. She has a Gmail address. Is she eligible for a social tariff to enable her to receive cheaper broadband access? If not, are you aware of any companies that provide cheaper broadband deals? Any advice\/help would be most useful. Money blog editor Jimmy Rice tackles this one…<\/p>\n Thanks for your email, Ann – there are a few routes to get help for your sister.<\/p>\n As she’ll soon be on universal credit, she will be eligible for social tariffs with most broadband providers. They might be called “essential” or “basic” plans and they’re available to anyone on universal credit, pension credit, jobseeker’s allowance and a few other benefits.<\/p>\n I’ve had a look, and the cheapest available right now are for \u00a312.50 a month with\u00a0Virgin Media<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Community Fibre<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a015Mbps fibre\u00a0Virgin deal comes with free set-up and – this is significant – it would only tie her in for a rolling 30-day period.<\/p>\n The Community Fibre deal also has free set-up and has a much better speed of 35 Mbit\/s – ample for keeping in touch with family and friends, and streaming TV shows – but would tie your sister in for 12 months.<\/p>\n You can find a full list of the providers that have social tariffs via Ofcom here<\/a>. It would just be a case of calling – though without current access to the internet, your sister may need your help to find contact numbers.<\/p>\n You mention your sister has an analogue phone. If at any point she were to get a smartphone, she might be able to access free data via the National Databank. Find out more details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are also several phone providers that offer social tariffs\u00a0 – O2’s costs \u00a310 a month and EE’s is available for \u00a312 a month.<\/p>\n Both would provide an alternative route to internet access – though I appreciate your sister may not be in a position to afford either.<\/p>\n The other route worth investigating is a local digital inclusion hub.<\/p>\n
Ann Bettles<\/p>\n