Broadband

More than three quarters of those who've tried to haggle with 10 big-name providers have managed to agree a better deal, with the AA and Sky the companies most open to negotiation, according to a poll of almost 4,000 MoneySavingExpert users.

BT's £12.5 billon buyout of mobile phone giant EE has been given the go-ahead after a six-month inquiry by the competition regulator. But if you're an EE customer, you won't see any change to your contract when the merger goes ahead, probably at the end of this month.

Millions of Sky customers hit with inflation-busting line-rental price rises last month have been given a fresh opportunity to haggle a better deal after action by regulator Ofcom.

If you're one of TalkTalk's four million customers you've until Thursday to claim a free upgrade – including free Sky Sports for TV customers or a 12-month mobile Sim – after the telecoms giant extended its deadline.

It's Christmas week. If you're off work (or bored at it), stuffed with turkey, and desperate to avoid the relatives...

TalkTalk customers attempting to claim a free upgrade offered to them in the wake of October's high-profile hack have been left frustrated after logging in to their accounts to find they were unable to select the upgrade they wanted.

TalkTalk has today started giving out free upgrades to all four million of its customers – including free Sky Sports for its TV users – to "say thank you" for sticking with the firm after a data hack left nearly 157,000 account holders' personal details exposed.

George Osborne has pledged to save families up to £470 a year by boosting competition and cutting red tape in areas such as banking, utilities and mobile phones.

- A YEAR'S BT line & fibre b'band for £285 plus get a £100 Sains vch - A YEAR'S Plusnet line & standard b'band for £111 (equiv £9.24/mth) - How Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk custs can leave or slash £100s off costs

Four million TalkTalk customers will be able to choose a free upgrade to their service from 1 December, following the data hack last month which resulted in more than 150,000 users having their personal details accessed.