Martin Lewis warning to Sky, BT, EE, O2, Three, Plusnet and Virgin Media customers as he pushes for ban
It's bad news for those with either a broadband and phone contract, as Martin Lewis' team of experts have issued a warning on price rises for 11 of the United Kingdom's top providers.
You can now expect to pay up to 8.8% more a month than you already do, with almost a dozen UK suppliers of phone and broadband services confirming price rises that will hit millions of people within a matter of weeks.
Sadly it's not a new phenomenon, with it coming after a 17.3% price rise in 2023.
So, what does that mean to the cash in your pocket?
Well, as the Money Saving Expert (MSE) team puts it, your £20 a month deal last January will now be the equivalent of £25.
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The average phone contract bill is around £35.42, meaning those who had signed up with that can now expect to pay £44.28 a month.
That's £8.86 extra a month and £106.32 over the course of a year. No fun as the cost of living crisis continues.
Speaking about the latest price rise this week, the MSE team kindly set out which providers and impacted and which customers, as not everyone signed up is automatically going to pay more.
Lewis has campaigned to end mid-contract, inflation-linked price hikes for broadband and phone deals.
He even wrote to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, earlier this year with a list of topics that could be addressed in the Spring Budget.
In his letter to Hunt, Lewis said: "You have spent the past year focused on reducing inflation. Yet the policies of telecoms providers are both inflationary and anti-competitive. They bake into their contracts 3% or 4% above-inflation price hikes each year, which is, by definition, inflationary in its own right.
"Last April, the rise was 17% – now we’ve just learnt December’s inflation figures, which most base their rises on, meaning BT, EE, TalkTalk, Three and Vodafone have all just confirmed huge rises of around 8% for April 2024.
"Worse, this impacts those who are locked in the middle of their contracts, so cannot take advantage of the competitive market to ditch and switch. While Ofcom is consulting on proposals to only allow mid-contract rises laid out in pounds and pence in advance, that still allows above-inflation rises. Whereas best practice, if rises are to be allowed, is to have that system, but with an override saying it cannot be more than inflation."
Ofcom has announced plans to ban mid-contract, inflation-linked price hikes but no date has been pencilled in at this stage.
For the full list of broadband and phone contract price hikes, have a look below:
Vodafone
Pay-monthly broadband, mobile, tablet and smartwatch customers will see prices rise by 7.9% from 1 April.
Broadband users on Vodafone Essentials wont see prices rise. Neither will mobile pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers.
Three
7.9% price rises will be brought in from 1 April for broadband and mobile customers who took out a deal or upgrade on or after 1 November, 2022.
The price rise will also be brought in on the same date for broadband and mobile users who took out deals on or before 29 October, 2020.
For broadband and mobile users who took out a deal or upgraded their package on or between 29 October 2020 and 31 October, 2022, prices will rise by 4.5% from 1 April.
Virgin Media
It is an 8.8% price rises from 1 April for most of Virgin Media's broadband customer base, as well as its landline and TV users.
There will be no increase if you're one of Virgin Media's customers using its Essential Broadband, Essential Broadband Plus, and Talk Protected phone-only plans.
Sky
There will be an 8% price rise for customers from 1 April using Sky's home phone service.
Costs will go up by 6.7% from 1 April for Sky broadband and TV users. This includes Sky Glass and Sky Stream.
Phone users who are out of contract with Sky have already seen prices rise by 3% in February.
TalkTalk
People signed up to TalkTalk's broadband and landline services will have their prices upped by 7.7% on 1 April.
A 4% price rise will also be brought in on the same date for Fixed Price Plus customers who are no longer in their minimum contract period.
O2
Costs will increase by 8.8% on 1 April for pay-monthly and sim-only users with mobiles, tablets and/or smartwatches. It applies to anyone who took out a deal or upgraded on or from 25 March, 2021.
A 4.9% price increase will be brought in on the same day for pay-monthly and sim-only users with mobiles, tablets and/or smartwatches who took out a deal or upgraded before 25 March, 2021
iD Mobile
It's a 7.9% price rise for customers who took out or upgraded pay-monthly deals between or on 1 November, 2022 and 32 January, 2024. The price rise will come in from 1 April.
A 4.9% price rise on 1 April will also be introduced for pay-monthly customers who bought or upgraded their packages between or on 1 May, 2022 and 31 October, 2022.
Shell
Shell customers on its broadband and landline deals that were signed before 22 January of this year will have their bills upped by 6% from 1 April.
Those who signed up after have been given price guarantees until April 2025.
Plusnet
From 31 March, Plusnet's landline and broadband users will have their bills increased by 7.9%.
EE
EE customers will have their bills increased by 7.9% if they use the services broadband, landline and mobile services.
It'll come in to play from 31 March.
BT
From 31 March, BT customers using its landline, mobile, TV and broadband services will pay 7.9% more every month.
Landline-only and Home Phone Saver BT customers will have their bills increased by 4% from the same date.
Topics: Martin Lewis, Money, Phones, iPhone, Technology, UK News, Cost of Living, Politics
Tom Earnshaw