Virgin Media to hike broadband and TV prices by 13.8% - adding extra £80 to annual bills

Virgin Media is increasing its broadband, TV and fixed-line phone service prices by an average of 13.8%.

The company says the increase will vary based on the package customers are signed up to and will come into effect on either 1 April or 1 May, depending on your current deal.

The price change is expected to include those with both bundled packages of more than one product and those with just one product, such as broadband.

According to the latest Virgin Media financial results, the average customer spent £48.19 per month. This amount is set to go up by 13.8%, which would add an extra £6.65 each month to bills, or £79.90 over the course of a year.

Customers will be told how much extra they are set to pay and when to see the increase in their bills in the “coming weeks”. Virgin Media said customers affected by price hike will have 30 days after being informed about the changes to cancel their contract if they choose.

The firm also said not all of its customers will be affected by the increase, including mobile-only customers, those on ‘Essential’ broadband packages, those on ‘Talk Protected’ phone plans and other vulnerable customers.

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%.

“The introduction of inflation-linked price changes, which comes into effect in 2024 when RPI is projected to be at around 1.5%, will give customers clarity and certainty about what to expect from their bills while fuelling the investment required both now and in future.”

Virgin Media is not the only provider to be hiking prices this year, as BT, EE, Plusnet, Shell, TalkTalk, and Three have als all announced April price hikes of up to 14.4% for mobile and broadband customers. Meanwhile, Sky Mobile is raising prices for out of contract customers by 9%.

Virgin Mobile customers are also set to see price rises this year as well, although the amount bills will go up won’t be announced until next month as it is based on the January Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation figure, published in February, plus an additional 3.9% on top.

The rises come after regulator Ofcom warned UK telecoms providers to "consider whether large price rises can be justified at a time of exceptional financial hardship".

At the same time, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is also considering new guidance that could require information about mid-contract price rises to be made clearer.