Consumer watchdog Which? is urging broadband firms to cancel “exorbitant” mid-contract price hikes for vulnerable customers less than two weeks before they are due to take effect. Millions of broadband and mobile phone customers can expect to see monthly bill increases of at least 14 per cent from April.
Providers often link their annual price rises to January’s consumer price index (CPI) or the retail price index (RPI), which were 10.5 per cent and 13.4 per cent respectively. BT, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone broadband contracts allow prices to go up by CPI plus 3.9 per cent.
At TalkTalk, it is CPI plus 3.7 per cent, while Shell Energy can add CPI plus 3 per cent. Sky and Virgin Media contracts allow mid-contract price increases but they do not stipulate a pricing formula in the same way as rivals.
