CUSTOMERS at another major mobile and broadband firm could see their bills rise by around £50 a year.
Virgin Media O2 has informed its customers that bills will rise from April 1.
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It comes after BT, EE and Three confirmed to The Sun they will put up bills by up to 7.9%.
The firm uses January’s retail price index of inflation plus 3.9% to determine its mid-contract price rises.
RPI is a measure of inflation that tracks the cost of a fixed basket of goods over time, to see how prices have fallen or increased.
And with January’s retail price index at 4.9% it means millions will see their bills increase by 8.8%.
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Virgin customers will see their bill increase by an average of £4.16 per month, or £49.92 a year.
A Big Bundle customer currently paying £31.99 a month, for example, will see their new bill rise to £34.81 – an increase of £2.82 a month, or less than 10p per day.
Meanwhile, O2 customers will see their bills rise, but the price increase will only apply to the airtime part of your bill.
This is what you pay for minutes, texts and data.
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The increase will not be applied to device plans – what you pay for your handset.
O2 said this means the average price increase will be 5%.
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But customers whose plans started before March 25, 2021 will see prices rise by RPI alone.
For example, an iPhone 15 with an airtime plan with 25BG of data currently costs £50.99 per month.
The price increase would apply to the £25 airtime element only, so a customer on this package would see their bill increase by £2.20 a month.
Telecoms giants use a loophole in contracts which allows them to raise prices annually.
The exact amount you pay will depend on how much your bill is now, but for some, the hikes could add up to £30.60 a year more onto bills.
If you’re on a broadband and mobile social tariff, you won’t see an increase to your bills because Virgin Media O2 has frozen these tariffs.
Social tariffs are broadband and mobile phone packages available to people on certain benefits
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “We will be writing to all impacted customers directly to explain when, why and how any price changes may come into effect.”
Alex Tofts, a broadband expert at Broadband Genie, said the latest price rise is a “sting” to customers.
He added: “This year, it’s poised for another hefty increase using the RPI figure, although with inflation easing, the jump is anticipated to be less dramatic.
“The kick in the teeth for Virgin customers is that even if they are mid-contract, they will have no choice but to swallow the extra cost, as leaving may come with a hefty exit fee.”
Ofcom is currently reviewing inflation-linked, mid-contract price rises but is yet to publish its final decision on its proposals to ban the practice.
A survey by Which? found that 78% of consumers believe that mid-contract price hikes are always unfair.
How much will my bill increase by?
Your internet provider or mobile network should contact you to let you know how much your bills will increase in April.
There’s also an easy way to work out how much more you’re set to pay.
Just find out what percentage increase of your current monthly bill is – you can use an online percentage calculator to work that out.
Then add those two figures together – this will give you your new monthly payment.
To find out your annual cost, times that total figure by 12.
If you’re not happy with the rise, then you could try and haggle a cheaper deal
You may be able to leave without paying a fee, even if you’re mid-contract, so it’s worth checking.
If you think your bills are too high and want to pay less, the first thing to do is find out what the cheapest deal on the market is.
You can use this rate as a bargaining tool to get a better offer from your provider.
Get in contact with your provider to see if they can match this rate – if not, you might want to switch instead.
If you’re mid-contract though and wish to leave, bear in mind that you could face an exit fee so check with your provider for any charges.
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Plus, it could be harder haggling with these prices as they come most years from all providers.
For more ways to cut your phone bill, we’ve got eight tips for slashing costs.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
