Martin Lewis sends urgent warning to every UK Netflix customer

Martin Lewis has sent a warning to every Netflix subscriber in the United Kingdom after sending out his latest Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter.

Pushed to subscribers' inboxes on Wednesday (12 February), the weekly round up from the British financial journalist issued an explainer to those paying for Netflix in the UK, which sits at around 19 million.

And with a reported 8.5 million people signed up to the MSE newsletter, there is likely to be a fair share of crossover in those looking for Lewis' latest tips while also browsing for the latest bingeable TV show that's dropped over on Netflix.

Fresh MSE Netflix alert

Prioritising the Netflix alert this week by putting it in the newsletter he edits, Lewis warned subscribers to the streaming platform about 'hikes' that have come in to place this time.

Yes, we're talking about paying more for the same product.

"Netflix hikes prices by up to £24 per year," Lewis writes in the newsletter before offering tips on how to save.

A Netflix warning from Mr Lewis (Channel 4)

Netflix price changes have already come in

By the time you're reading this, Netflix has already put its new prices in place with them being effective from last Thursday (6 February) for new customers

Fear not if you're an exiting customer, though, as the existing 19 million customers have been given a 30 day notice period about when prices will change for you.

The standard plan with adverts is now £5.99 a month, up 20 percent from £4.99. If you want to go ad-free, it's £12.99 after being increased by 18 percent from £10.99. The premium membership is now £18.99, up from £17.99 (six percent).

For those who have the additional members on their plans - something introduced when Netflix cracked down on its account sharing between households - it'll go up form £4.99 to £5.99 for one extra member without ads. If you choose an extra member package with adverts it will be £4.99; up from £3.99.

Netflix prices are going up (Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Why is Netflix increasing its subscription costs?

Speaking about the price rise, Netflix said focus was on 'reinvesting' to 'further improve' the Netflix of the future.

It said: We will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can reinvest to further improve Netflix."

Netflix also said it would 'continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members'.

But Paolo Pescatore, a technology analyst at PP Foresight, warned: "Netflix must tread extremely carefully. There is a ceiling, a point at which consumers will become incredibly frustrated by price hikes."

Those with Netflix have the right to cancel at any time, and in a world where there is fierce streaming competition with the likes of Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, Pescatore's warning might be worth listening to