Which? has told telecom firms to stop any plans to go ahead with ‘unconscionable’ broadband and mobile price hikes in April, even after the industry watchdog found the practice hurts consumers and set out plans to ban it.
Ofcom recently planned to ban the practice of inflation-linked mid-contract price rises, saying that they cause ‘big consumer harm’, but this will not happen before the next wave of expected hikes in April 2024.
Many providers seem ready to shamelessly go on – with next week’s CPI inflation news set to start the announcements of the latest round of shocking hikes for consumers. Many may have already suffered increases of up to 17 per cent last year.
Which? Has written an open letter to big broadband and mobile providers – BT, EE, O2, PlusNet, Shell Energy Broadband, TalkTalk, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone – telling them to cancel any unfair and unpredictable price hikes planned for April this year. The letter has been published as a full-page national newspaper ad this morning.
Right now millions of broadband and mobile customers who are under contract are stuck and at the mercy of providers, facing a no-win choice between increases that could leave some customers struggling to pay for these essential services or facing nasty exit fees – possibly of hundreds of pounds – to leave.
During a cost of living crisis when many households are struggling to get by, Which? guesses that telecoms firms stand to make more than £400 million from April’s mid-contract price hikes alone.
The consumer champion is calling for people to be given certainty about the total cost of their broadband and mobile contract when they sign up.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: “Millions of people face price rises they could never have guessed when they signed broadband or mobile contracts and may struggle to pay. Given the watchdog has found inflation-linked mid-contract price rises hurt consumers and set out plans to ban them, it would be unconscionable for telecoms providers to go on with these hikes.
“Telecoms firms must do the right thing – scrap their plans for unfair price hikes this April and end unpredictable in-contract price increases once and for all, so everyone can understand what they will pay when they sign up to a contract for these essential services.”
Zen Internet CEO Richard Tang, said broadband companies have been tricking customers for years by advertising one price, but then hiking that price mid-contract in a way that customers don’t understand.
“Watchdog Ofcom is taking those companies to task by planning to ban this dodgy practice. But despite the ongoing cost-of-living challenges consumers still face increases this Spring before the plan can happen. Our industry has a bad reputation for managing customer expectations and being honest with communications. It is time for this to stop and for providers to give consumers much more clarity and certainty over what they will pay for their broadband services,” he said.
