Growing up I remember the day we got Sky TV. It was amazing. Going from five channels to… loads of channels changed my world. The thing was, I didn’t realise how expensive it actually was until I got my own house and my own bills! Ouch. This post is really only for people that have existing subscriptions that would like to get a Sky discount rate on their package. If you don’t have Sky, you can sign up over on their website. If you are an existing Sky subscriber, keep reading.

I read about the “The Super LAZY way to Haggle with Sky” over on SavvyInSomerset. It’s a great step-by-step guide, but doesn’t get you more than 20% off your bill. It’s done all online and really is perfect if you’re lazy. Nice gesture Sky, but the real savings are to be had with a little more effort and perseverance.

If you really want a Sky discount of up to 75%, you’re going to have to go without sky for a few weeks. There’s no point in sugar coating it, you’re going to need to cancel your package. You could get a 100% Sky discount if you stopped right there, but then you’d lose 100% of your channels too. Maybe you could take up matched betting for risk free profit or investing your spare cash into CryptoCurrencies to pass the time?

If you’re out of contract, which is usually 12 or 18 months, then you’re good to go with this little known tactic. It’s not worth your time asking for a discount over the phone. The best that I could get out of them on the phone was £5 off a month. At the time, I stupidly took it and was stuck in another contract. Don’t do that.

Stay Committed for your Sky Discount

You need to be willing to go without Sky for a short period. At least for the 30 days cancellation period. You’ll lose Sky+ functionality. You won’t be able to record TV, or watch any of your recordings! How Rude! Make sure you’ve caught up on all your recordings. Is that new TV show you wanted to watch starting soon? No? Good. Are sporting events your thing? Check your calendar to make sure that nothing you’re interested in is starting over the next two months. You need to commit to cancelling. You’ll be speaking to a real life person. Don’t give into peer pressure. Pick up the phone and call the Sky cancellations number.

DON’T pay to call any premium rate numbers if you can help it! I can almost always find a local rate alternative on SayNoTo0870.com that I can call from my mobile for free with my inclusive minutes!

When you speak to someone to cancel, nine times out of ten they will try and offer you something to try and keep you. The minimum offer that someone with weaker will power than you might buckle under and settle for. That’s not you! Stay strong here.

The general rule here is that they will pass you through to the Cancelations to process your request. What actually happens is that you will normally be transferred to the Retentions team. People that might have slightly stronger powers and be able to offer you a slightly better deal again over the phone. Tempting, right? No. Don’t give in!

When they finally realise that you’re serious, they will continue with your cancellation request. Gulp.

Play the waiting game for your Sky Discount

It’s all becoming real. The cancellation email arrives as a bead of cold sweat glistens off your forehead. It’s going to be ok! You should have 30 days to change your mind and go crawling back at your current package cost. Use that 30 days to cram in as much TV as you need in preparation for going cold turkey at the end of the cooling off period.

I got this email on the 29th November 2016. This gave me the period until the 31st December.

Sky Discount #1 : 60% off

So I’d been without sky for over a month. I was starting to panic that my luck had fallen through and I wasn’t going to get any discount until it got to the 17th of February and this email dropped into my inbox.

48 Days into my Sky fast, I was on the edge of breaking. 60% off is a great Sky discount, but I had seen online that other people had got to the magical figure of 75% off. I had to be strong. Flicking through the Freeview channels just wasn’t enough for me. My Satellite dream was fading. I was tempted

My Sky Discount Finally Came

Sure enough, after 81 days without Sky, they were the ones to choke. My inbox glowed with the email offering me the magical 75% Sky Discount.

I called and signed back up without much hesitation and was back to all of that television goodness by the 25th. It can take up to 3 days to reconnect you providing you still have all of your own equipment.

If you’ve read this far, you might be thinking that there’s a fair amount of effort involved just to get 75% off a TV subscription. But lets have a quick look at the numbers.

Was Paying : £38 pm
Now Paying : £9.50 pm

Previous Annual Cost : £456
New Annual Cost :  £114

ANNUAL SAVING : £342

For 84 days of perseverance, I’d say a saving of £342 is pretty good going! Wouldn’t you? We have exactly the same package that we did. We’re not missing out on anything other than not having access to the subscription channels for that short amount of time.

As per Sky’s conditions, we’re now locked into another 12 month contract, which is fine, because I’d be happy to do this all over again when the time comes!

You can see what happens the next time I tried getting a discount from Sky, or you might want to consider is switching to VirginMedia* if it’s available in your area and get a £50 reward by using this link.

I’m led to believe that this kind of thing works with loads of different types of subscription or service companies. I’ll be sure to give them a go. Have you tried this? Write in the comments how you got on.

Please don’t take this post as a guarantee. Despite the probability that Sky are still making a profit on this heavy discount, there is always the possibility that they will not offer you these savings. If this is the case, there’s always offers available for new customers for you to take advantage of. I’d suggest starting there.

TL;DR – Getting a Sky Discount

1. Call Sky to Cancel
2. Don’t give in too soon
3. Take up a new hobby for 3 months
4. Reap the rewards