Virgin Media updates £12.50 social tariff broadband eligibility to help 9.7m people on DWP benefits save money
dailyrecord.co.ukVirgin Media O2 has significantly expanded its support for households hit hardest by the ongoing cost of living crisis by enabling more people to sign up to its social broadband tariffs which start at just £12.50 per month.Some 9.7 million people receiving benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including those on Income-based Employment Support Allowance, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit or Universal Credit, are now eligible for the provider’s social broadband tariffs, Essential Broadband and Essential Broadband Plus.The change has been made possible after Virgin Media O2 became one of the first major telecoms providers to fully integrate the DWP’s social tariff checking tool which makes it faster and easier for customers to prove their eligibility with an automated check.
The change will mean low-income families and those who need support most can receive fast, reliable and cheap broadband more quickly.The price of basic Essential Broadband, which was initially available to just those receiving Universal Credit, was cut to £12.50 per month last year for all new and existing customers, making it one of the cheapest packages in the market.Virgin Media O2 later released a new, faster tier called ‘Essential Broadband Plus’ that delivers speeds of 54Mbps for just £20 per month.All Essential Broadband products come with no fixed-term contract and no activation fees.The provider has taken many proactive steps to raise awareness of the support it is offering during the cost-of-living crisis. This includes: The provider is also calling for a cut in VAT on social tariffs, from 20% to no more than 5%, which is in line with other utilities such as gas and electricity.Virgin Media
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