A majority of Britons believe broadband and phone providers are hiking their prices to boost profits rather than to meet higher inflation-linked costs, a new poll revealed on Thursday.
The Ipsos survey for the Standard found that 53 per cent of adults think the main reason for broadband and phone companies raising prices is to increase their margins.
It showed an almost identical result for petrol retailers and for car and home insurance firms.
The figure for utilities, water and energy companies, was even higher at 57 per cent.
The damning verdict on suspected “greedflation" reveals how many Britons struggling during the cost-of-living crisis feel it is being made even worse by widespread profiteering.
Many broadband or phone providers hiked prices by around 15 per cent this year.
Petrol retailers have been accused by motoring groups of stinging drivers with excessively high prices at the pump, often being quick to raise them when the cost of oil rises but then being slower to cut them when it drops.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has accused manufacturers of branded products, including baked beans and baby formula, of fuelling food price inflation by pushing up their prices by more than their costs.
Gas and electricity bills for millions of people are still at a level set by the energy cap.
Asked in the poll what they thought was the main reason for price rises:
- For broadband/phone providers, 53 per cent said to increase profits, 15 per cent due to inflation-hit firms meeting their own increased costs, and 25 per cent equally for both factors.
- For petrol retailers, the figures were 54 per cent (profits), 15 per cent (costs), and 24 per cent (both).
- For car and home insurance companies, 53 per cent (profits), 19 per cent (costs), 22 per cent (both).
* For utilities, 57 per cent (profits), 16 per cent (costs), 24 per cent (both).
- For supermarkets, 36 per cent (profits), 27 per cent (costs), 33 per cent (both).
- For clothes and fashion retailers, 32 per cent (profits), 28 per cent (costs), 30 per cent (both).
Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos UK, said: “Inflation may be coming down, but the cost of living is still a key concern for Britons.
“They are critical of the Government’s performance on it, but it’s not just an issue for the Prime Minister - there is scepticism towards business too.
“This comes from both Conservative and Labour supporters, and the middle-aged and older people too are often the most likely to believe the desire for increased profits is the main reason behind rising prices.”
The detailed figures showed that 61 per cent of adults aged 45 and over believed petrol retailers were increasing prices to boost their margins, compared to 46 per cent for 18 to 44-year-olds.
The respective split for these two broad age groups on businesses profiteering from price hikes was 58 per cent (age 45+) to 45 per cent (18 to 44) for car and home insurance firms, for utilities 64 per cent/47 per cent, broadband/phone providers 57/47, supermarkets 43/27, with a more balance picture for clothes/fashion retailer 30/34.
The findings come after an Ipsos poll last month revealed more than half of young people and renters in Britain are worried about the cost of Christmas.
Forty-four per cent of adults in the country held this view, up from 31 per cent in 2020, given the price of presents, and food inflation making Christmas dinner more expensive.
For young people, aged 18 to 34, the figure was higher at 58 per cent, for renters also 58 per cent, people from ethnic minorities 57 per cent, and working class households, 50 per cent.
* Ipsos UK interviewed 1,008 adults in Britain by phone between December 1 and 7 for its latest survey. Data are weighted. More information atwww.ipsos.com/en-uk
