Martin Lewis’s Smart Savings Hack
Ring doorbell customers are facing a significant price hike for their subscription services, a move that has drawn criticism and concern among users. The subscription, essential for storing camera footage in the cloud and accessing other features, is set to increase by 43 percent, jumping from £34.99 to £49.99 per device annually. This change marks a substantial rise in costs, especially for those who signed up for the basic plan at £24.99 per device per year in 2022, effectively doubling their expenses in a short period. Amazon, the parent company of Ring, cites enhancements to the Protect Basic Plan and ongoing investments in service offerings as the reasons behind the price adjustment.
In response to the looming price increases set to take effect in March, Martin Lewis, a well-known money-saving expert, has offered a workaround to mitigate the impact of the hike. He suggests that customers could cancel their current subscriptions to receive a pro-rata refund, then re-subscribe at the current rate, locking in the price for another year. However, this strategy comes with a caveat; customers risk losing their saved video recordings, as cancellation leads to the deletion of all previously stored footage. Lewis’s advice aims to provide a temporary reprieve from the price rise, though it requires customers to weigh the potential loss of their video archives against the savings.
As the deadline for the new pricing approaches on March 11, Ring customers have a narrow window to consider Lewis’s suggestion. The proposed solution underscores the dilemma faced by consumers as they navigate the balance between maintaining access to valuable service features and managing escalating costs. The situation reflects broader issues in the tech industry related to subscription services and the challenges of sustaining affordable access to digital amenities.