O2 and Virgin Mobile customers to see bills rise up to 17.3% from April

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The price increase comes days after Ofcom announced an investigation into mid-contract hikes

Millions of O2 and Virgin Mobile customers face seeing their bills rise by up to 17.3% in weeks.

Virgin Media confirmed that prices will go up from 1 April and will apply to the airtime part of a contract - which covers minutes, texts and data. This is separate to what you pay for your handset, which won’t be going up in price.

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Those in mid-contract will see their airtime bill increase from April. Virgin Media O2 uses the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation for January, plus 3.9%, to determine price rises for the following year.

In January, RPI was 13.4% which means airtime bills will go up by 17.3%. However, Virgin Media O2 told The Mirror that the average customer will technically see a smaller rise of 10% overall, due to how it splits bills into airtime and device plans.

The 17.3% on airtime bills affects customers who took out a deal or upgraded from 25 March 25, 2021, but Pay-as-you-go users will be unaffected.

Customers will not see the cost of their plan rise as a result of transfer (Photo: Adobe)Customers will not see the cost of their plan rise as a result of transfer (Photo: Adobe)
Customers will not see the cost of their plan rise as a result of transfer (Photo: Adobe) | Ascannio - stock.adobe.com

A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “We know that price increases are never welcome but, unlike other providers, we freeze the cost of device repayments and are only changing our airtime prices, meaning average bills will go up by an effective 10.0% or less than 10 pence per day.

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“This is below inflation and reflects the fantastic value we provide for connectivity that is used almost constantly.

“These changes occur as our own business costs rise and we invest heavily in our mobile network to keep pace with ever-increasing usage, roll out new technologies like 5G and deliver valuable services that matter to our customers – whether that’s flexible plans, inclusive EU roaming or access to exclusive events and savings through Priority.”

The news comes after Ofcom announced it would investigate mid-contract hikes amid concerns telecom providers are not being transparent about what customers pay over the duration of their contracts.

Other major providers including BT, EE and Sky have already announced price hikes of up to 14.4% for their mobile customers from this April.

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Cutting the cost of your broadband and mobile bill 

It is always recommended to find the cheapest deal on the market, which then can be used as a bargaining tool to get a better offer from your provider

If your provider cannot offer you a cheaper rate, then you can switch over, but if you are mid-contract you might have to pay an exit fee.

If your contract is coming to a close, use comparison sites to familiarise yourself with what deals are available as new customers get the best deal.

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