THOUSANDS of pay-as-you-go mobile customers could face TRIPLE the cost for their phone bill after a fast-approaching price hike.
Brits have been warned that their calls, texts AND data will jump by up to 250 per cent when price hikes hit in July.
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The mobile phone provider Three has announced the mounting costs would strike on July 12 for pay-as-you-go customers who bought traditional packages rather than bundles.
These phone users top up with credit and only pay for whatever they use.
The network previously charged phone calls and texts at 10p, but soon calls will rise to a staggering 35p per minute and texts will be 15p each.
Data is set double in price and will soon cost 10p per MB.
Three said its rates would “still remain competitive across the market”, after upping its prices.
It’s unsure just how many Brits will be affected, but there are roughly 1.6 million pay-as-you-go customers in total, so thousands could be affected.
Bundle packages, however, which have a set price paid inadvance for a certain amount of minutes, texts and data – will not be impacted by the price hikes.
So to avoid paying more or switching to another provider, Three recommended trying one of its bundle packages.
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These start at £10 a month for unlimited minutes and texts and 10GB of data.
If you’re after something with more data, rival provider GiffGaff offers a similar package for the same price but with 15GB of data.
Alternatively if you barely use your phone and want to stay pay-as-you-go, the cheapest rate is 1pMobile, which piggybacks off EE’s network.
Unfortunately, the soaring prices will also apply when Three customers are abroad in its “Go Roam” destination, including many European countries.
And Three isn’t the only company charging more for phone use abroad – as EE, Vodafone and O2 will now have extra roaming costs for Brits travelling on holiday.
Roaming used to be free before Brexit, but now Three customers will have to pay £2 a day to use their contract allowances.
A Three spokesperson said: “Like many mobile providers, we have to review and revise our pricing.
“From 12 July 2022 we will be increasing the prices of calls, texts and data, which will affect Pay As You Go customers who choose not to purchase a bundle.
“Our new rates still remain competitive across the market.
“We have a range of Data Packs or Add-Ons available for Pay As You Go customers starting from £10 per month, all of which include unlimited minutes and texts as well as generous data allowances.
“We continue to focus on improving customer experience and deliver better value on our new Pay As You Go services, giving customers access to even more competitive deals and 5G at no extra cost.
“We are investing over £2 billion in the UK’s fastest 5G network to ensure we have a strong 4G and 5G network, capable of delivering better connectivity, every day, for every customer.
“We will be contacting these customers from 1 June 2022 onwards, and this change will be introduced from 12 July 2022.”
