'Threatening to leave could deliver cheaper broadband'

Customers threatening to leave their existing internet service provider (ISPs) could find they are offered better deals and can pay less for a faster connection.

According to Moneysavingexpert.com, many ISPs now have a customer retention department in their service centre, which is designed to reduce the number of customers cancelling their accounts, frequently by offering a reduction in monthly payments, reports the Daily Mail.

By threatening to leave - regardless of whether or not they actually plan to - customers are commonly passed through to this department and could end up paying cheaper rates that they could use to access VoIP solutions or download more media content.

Martin Lewis, founder of Moneysavingexpert.com, told the paper: "Arm yourself with the best price you can get. I threatened to leave my provider, told them what package I was moving to and they matched it - even though it was half what I'd been paying. I saved £70 a year."

Around £17 billion a year could be saved in the UK economy through universal connectivity, according to new research from Orange and YouGov.