VIRGIN Media is to hike bills for millions of customers by up to £54 a year.

The rise means costs for customers will go up between £2.50 and £4.50 a month from March 1 2021.

Virgin Media is the first provider to hike prices

1

Virgin Media is the first provider to hike prices Credit: Alamy

The above inflation increase means bills will by 4% on average.

The hike includes customers with broadband, TV and fixed-line phone contracts who joined before June 29 2020.

Customers who are on a fixed-price promotion won’t be hit by the hike until their contract ends.

Virgin Media has written to customers to inform them of the increase.

Customers can cancel contracts if they are unhappy about the rise and they won’t have to pay a fee.

They will have to tell Virgin Media within 30 days of receiving their email or letter about the hike that they want to leave.

How to save on broadband and TV bills

HERE’S how to save money on your broadband and TV bills:

Audit your subscriptions

If you’ve got multiple subscriptions to various on-demand services, such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Sky consider whether you need them all.

Could you even just get by with Freeview, which couldn’t cost you anything extra each month for TV.

Also make sure you’re not paying for Netflix twice via Sky and directly.

Haggle for a discount

If you want to stay with your provider, check prices elsewhere to set a benchmark and then call its customer services and threaten to leave unless it price matches or lowers your bill.

Switch and save

If you don’t want to stay with your current provider check if you can cancel your contract penalty free and switch to a cheaper provider.

A comparison site, such as BroadbandChoices or Uswitch, will help you find the best deal for free.

A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “Changing prices is never an easy decision, which is why, unlike other providers, this is our first cable price change in 18 months.

“We are currently writing to cable customers to transparently communicate these changes and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure we deliver for our customers and keep them connected at a time when it has never been more important.”

In December, we revealed how to switch providers and save £100 a year.

Last year, Sky hiked bills by £72 a year, while BT increased costs by £48.

Martin Lewis shows off the best broadband deals on The Martin Lewis Money Show

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk

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