Ask our Expert

Can I pay in advance for my TV?

Our digital TV expert says...

If you want the most digital TV channels, the best selection of high-definition (HD) and the best on-demand TV, then pay TV is the place for you.

There are three big digital TV providers offering extra channels if you want them; Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com), Sky (www.sky.com) and BT Vision (www.btvision.bt.com).

Pay TV providers

Unfortunately, it is not possible to pay in advance for these kinds of services as you would with a mobile phone - all three require that you pay your bill on a monthly basis for the duration of your contract.

Direct debit is the easiest and most convenient way to pay - as well as usually being cheaper than paying by credit or debit card or cheque.

But if you have a basic bank account that doesn’t allow direct debit payments or if you’re on a tight budget and don’t want money coming out of your account automatically, there are some other payment options available:

• Virgin Media - order Virgin Media cable TV over the phone and you can choose to pay by credit or debit card, cheque or by PayPoint at your local post office or bank. You will be charged an extra £5 a month if you use one of these methods though. Also, Virgin Media now sends out e-bills via email, and if you want paper bills these will set you back an extra £1.25 a month on top
• Sky - Sky no longer accepts cheques or postal orders sent direct to the provider, though you can still pay your bill at the post office or bank. You can also pay your monthly bill over the phone, online or even via your TV remote using your debit or credit card, though you will be charged an extra 50p
• BT Vision - as a BT customer you can choose to pay by credit or debit card online, over the phone, by bank transfer, cheque or cash. As with the other big TV suppliers, you will be charged a “payment processing fee” of £1.80 a month or £5.40 per quarter

Bear in mind that if you're unable to pay by direct debit, but are late with your manual payment, you could be charged an additional fee - which could be as much as £10 on top of your bill.

Sky Go

However, the new Sky Go service, which offers access to selected live channels as well as catch-up and on-demand content for existing customers, is now available to non-customers.

This means that if you have an iPhone, iPad, laptop or even an Xbox 360 or internet-connected TV, you'll be able to buy a Sky Go Monthly Ticket, costing £15-£40 a month.

This will give you access to a range of channels depending on what you sign-up for, and crucially, you can sign-up without committing to an annual contract. While this isn’t quite the same as paying for your digital TV in advance, it does allow you to manage costs on a monthly basis.

Freeview and Freesat

If you can’t pay your digital TV bills on a month-by-month basis, but want more than your standard analogue channels, then your best bet is either Freeview or Freesat.

These two digital TV providers each offer access to far more channels than traditional analogue TV services, along with recording boxes that let you pause, rewind and record “live” TV and a choice of HD channels.

And, with the digital switchover set to be complete next year and the old analogue signal switched off, you'll have to choose at least Freeview or wave goodbye to TV.

If you want to go for Freeview, boxes start from £20 but you can also get Freeview built into your TV. If you want Freesat, which offers more TV channels, you’ll need a satellite dish installed as well as a Freesat box.

Don’t forget that there are also loads of online TV and movie services available that can widen your telly scope too.

TV, broadband and phone packages

Company	Package Name	Channels	Broadband	Home Phone
	Sky Entertainment TV + HD + Sky Broadband Unlimited + Talk Freetime	Get channels like Sky 1, Sky Living, Sky Atlantic and more
	TV Essential + More Broadband and Calls	70 Freeview channels
	TV: L + Broadband: 30Mb + Phone: M	100 channels including Virgin 1, Sky1, Comedy Central, Bravo and many more

Ask us a question

If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at ourexpert@digitalchoices.co.uk