BT, EE and Vodafone are increasing bills by up to £74 a year in a further blow for families struggling with the rising cost of living.
The telecoms giants are hiking prices by 9.3% from April at the same time as Brits are facing soaring energy bills, food costs and tax raises.
All three broadband and mobile phone providers base their annual price increases on the rate of inflation – which was released today – plus an extra 3.9%.
The Consumer Price Index for January hit the highest rate in 30 years at 5.4%, the Office for National Statistics said today.
We looked at some of the most popular mobile deals and broadband costs to work out how much more you could be charged.
However, the increase could be less depending on what services and products you’re signed up to.
A Sun investigation found that EE – which is owned by BT – is increasing prices by as much as £73.68 a year.
That’s how much more it will cost for someone with a monthly contract for an iPhone 13, with 128GB of storage and unlimited data.
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Consumers on cheaper contracts will also have to pay more.
Someone with a BT Mobile Samsung Galaxy A12 with 64GB of storage and 15GB of data, will pay an extra £1.60 a month – which works out at £19.20 more a year.
EE and BT are also hiking broadband prices by as much as £3.25 a month.
Customers signed up for BT Fibre 2 with a landline phone currently pay £34.99 a month but will be charged £38.24 from April.
Over the year, that works out at an extra £39 on their internet bill.
BT said the average price increase will be £3.50 a month – or £42 a year.
Yesterday the company said it “remains committed to supporting customers facing financial hardship and have a number of options to help them”.
Vodafone customers who took out a contract from December 9, 2020 will see their bills rise by the CPI rate plus 3.9%.
That means its Superfast 2 broadband deal will go up £1.86 a month – costing an additional £22 a year.
Vodafone said most customers will end up paying between £2.32 to £2.88 extra a month – that totals £34.56 a year.
In a statement released yesterday it said the increase is due to rising costs across energy, staffing logistics and transport.
It also blamed the hike on costs from Ofcom, the regulator, and supply chain changes.
How much will my bill increase by?
Your internet provider or mobile network should contact you to let you know how much your bills will increase in April.
If you’re an BT, EE or Vodafone customer, there’s an easy way to work out how much more you’re set to pay from April.
Just find out what 9.3% of your current monthly bill is – you can use an online percentage calculator to work that out.
Then add those two figures together – this will give you your new monthly payment.
To find out your annual cost, times that total figure by 12.
How can I save money on my internet and phone bills?
The first thing you should do is speak to your provider, as you may be able to negotiate a cheaper deal.
One Virgin Media customer saved almost £700 on their TV and broadband package just by asking the company.
Price rises could prompt you to consider switching to a cheaper company, but make sure you check your contract first.
BT and Vodafone both confirmed that you can’t leave your contract early just because of the upcoming price rise.
This is because the annual hike of CPI plus 3.9% was included when you signed your agreement.
You could face additional charges if you cancel before your agreed contract is up
If you do decide to switch, comparison websites such as Compare The Market and Moneysupermarket can help you to find cheap deals.
Families on benefits such as Universal Credit are often able to get cheaper broadband packages.
Severalcompanies provide special discounted rates for customers who are on Universal Credit or other benefits.
BT offers a basic £15 a month phone and broadband package for households that claim certain benefits – this deal isn’t affected by price increases this year.
Virgin Media also has a cheaper deal for people on Universal Credit.
The £15 a month Virgin Essentials offer is only available to existing customers – but it could be a good option if you’re already signed up and are looking to reduce your costs.
There’s an O2 Virgin Media scheme to help hard-up Brits get free mobile data.
The National Databank provides community groups across the country with data vouchers or SIM cards to hand out to those in need.
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