100Mb b'band £20/mth, beware trav refund reverses, urgent Brit Gas

Ends Thu. Broadband price war 
Virgin and Shell slug it out... but YOU win with sub-£20/mth fast-fibre & line. HALF PRICE compared to what many pay for slower
 

Broadband is all about speed. Not just with your connection, but it's also about pouncing to grab short-lived promos for newbies, and right now we've a quick double-step.

Two providers, Virgin and Shell, are slugging it out with hot new deals that are only on for a few days, and one ends as soon as tomorrow (Thu). Both have reasonable feedback - about a third of custs rate them 'Good', a third 'OK' and a third 'Poor' - so they're neither the best nor the worst. As with almost all big broadband firms, some of their customers will have horror stories too.

EVERYONE should check if they can slash costs, as a huge 9m households are out of contract, often paying a rip-off £50+/mth for the slowest speeds. Our comparison will take you through many more deals (& includes service ratings), but here are the cheapest - fastest first:

1. Consider if you really have a need for speed. Faster costs more, though actually with the deals above the differentials aren't huge. Standard avg 10/11Mb is usually fine for browsing or light streaming (eg, watching TV) for one. Yet go faster for good streaming, gaming or if multiple people use the b'band at the same time.

2. The advertised speed is more reliable than it used to be. Rules have been tightened up in recent years. Now more than 50% of custs must get the advertised speed at peak times. Plus most firms, incl the two above, now tell you the estimated max you're likely to get in your home before applying. Virgin will allow you to cancel penalty-free if your speed doesn't live up to this for three consecutive days, and then isn't resolved in 30 days. See how to check your current speed and eight broadband speed tips.

3. Happy with your current set-up? Haggle. If you're out of contract, use the prices above to haggle with your current provider. It's often easy to get a deal. In our last poll, 84% of Sky custs said they succeeded. For Virgin Media it was 76%, BT 74% and TalkTalk 69%. However, it may take longer than usual to get through as providers are taking lots of calls from vulnerable custs during the pandemic - though we're hearing those call volumes are decreasing. See Broadband Haggling help.

4. Some Virgin switchers may need an engineer visit - but you may find out before signing up. You'll be told before you sign up if you're in the 60% of eligible custs who won't need an engineer. If your set-up does need an engineer, they still may not need to come to your home, as they may be able to sort it via an exchange, but you won't be told which in advance, so be aware of the risk.

5. Usually there's no need for engineers for other switchers (apart from some ditching Virgin). Most other firms require you to have a BT Openreach line, which is the underlying tech for most non-cable b'band. Though if you're leaving cable (ie, Virgin) an engineer may need to come round and install a line, which could cause a delay.

6. Switching usually means about 2hrs' downtime. You're told the switch time in advance and it's often quick. In rare cases, the outage is longer. So consider the risk as broadband's crucial now, but hopefully your mobile data can cover the gap if necessary.

7. Be warned, some providers can hike prices a little. Sadly, some telecoms firms do this in line with inflation once a year. If your contract states your price will increase by a certain amount, you're stuck with the rise. If not, most let you leave penalty-free within 30 days of the rise. From the duo above, Virgin says it won't increase prices during your contract, while Shell will let you leave penalty-free if it does. Though do note these in-contract rises tend to be small and as they pretty much all do it, that in itself doesn't mean you've got a poor deal comparatively.

This week, as well as me taking your questions, the big boss of HMRC Jim Harra is on the show, and he has agreed to answer your practical questions about coronavirus financial schemes and general consumer tax issues. Of course, I'll have the latest must-know news you can use too.

If you've a question for me or Jim, tweet @MartinSLewis, importantly using the show's #MartinLewis hashtag. Do tune in or, at worst, set the Betamax.