MILLIONS of broadband customers have only days left to avoid price hikes – or face a fee.
Those with Virgin Media will need to pay more every month from April 1 or May 1, as per an email sent out to customers.
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The level of increase will vary depending on your package, but bills will rise by 13.8% on average for cable customers.
For example, Virgin’s Big Bundle package costs £29.99 a month – which means annual bills will increase by £50.
The firm has said the rise is due to “running costs” which are “increasing”.
Meanwhile, vulnerable customers will not see their prices increase this year.
This includes Universal Credit claimants on Essential Broadband packages and Talk Protected landline customers.
Virgin Media currently offers the right to cancel without a penalty if you do it within 30 days of being told of the rise.
Scores of consumers have shared their letters on hotukdeals, with some given until March 7 to cancel.
It means you may only have days left to take action.
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From April 2024, the firm will start to use the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation – plus 3.9% on top – when deciding how much to raise prices by.
It will also start to include this price rise within the terms and conditions of customer contracts.
That means you’ll no longer be able to cancel penalty-free from April 1, 2024.
The Sun has asked Virgin Media to confirm how much exit fees might be, and we’ll update when we hear back.
But do note your specific exit fee may be different from another customer’s depending on your package.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says it expects RPI measures to be lowered to 1.5% in 2024, which stands currently at 13.4%.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We know that price rises are never welcome, particularly right now, but like many other businesses we are experiencing significantly increased costs while investing to keep pace with growing demand, as broadband usage rose more than 10% last year and speeds increased by 40%.
“We’re committed to supporting customers in this tough climate and are freezing prices for vulnerable customers and those taking our social broadband tariffs.
“We are clearly communicating these changes directly to our customers.”
The 2024 annual increases will also include add-ons you receive in addition to your package.
The only exceptions are the following subscriptions:
- Netflix Add to Bill
- Disney+
- Lionsgate+
- Stream Entertainment
Elsewhere, BT, EE and Three will also be increasing bills from the end of March by up to 14.4% a year.
That’s up by a maximum of £156 a year.
The increases will affect every customer signed up for a contract with a fixed price.
The rate of inflation was announced most recently as 10.5%, so bills will rise by 14.4%.
The exact amount you pay will depend on how much your bill is now, but for some it could add more than £100 a year to bills.
What are my rights to cancelling a contract?
It’s important to know how cancellations work and the rules surrounding them if you’re not happy with your service.
First of all, you can usually only cancel penalty-free if you’re outside of your contract minimum term, which is normally the first 12 to 24 months.
After that, you have the option to switch elsewhere.
There are comparison tools out there like BroadbandChoices or BillMonitor to help you decide on the best deal if you’re not sure.
But always have a check whether it’s a fixed contract and that there are no price rises promised – if there is a cancellation fee then these points will all be mentioned in the terms and conditions.
For those still within their contract minimum term you’re unlikely to be able to cancel without incurring an early exit fee.
These vary by provider and depending on the length left on your deal.
Either way, you should always try to avoid missing bill payments.
If you think you might miss one – get in touch with your provider as soon as possible in case they can offer support.
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
