EE to hike bills for millions of customers by 4.1% next month
Customers paying £40 per month will see their bills rise by almost £20 per year
MILLIONS of EE mobile customers will see bills rise by 4.1 per cent next month.
The telecoms firm is increasing costs in line with December's Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation figure from March 30.
It means a customer paying £40 per month will see their bill rise by £1.64 per month or almost £20 per year.
The rise affects pay monthly mobile and mobile broadband customers who joined or upgraded since March 29 2014.
The mobile firm is allowed to impose a mid-contract price rise because of a clause in their terms and conditions that warns customers about possible price increases in line with inflation.
Last year, EE pushed up bills by 2.5 per cent, while O2 increased costs by 2.6 per cent for customers.
While Vodafone put up bills by 3.2 per cent in April.
Mobile firm Three announced a rise of 2.6 per cent in the same month too.
Customers who are unhappy with the rise and outside the minimum term of their contract can leave for free.
If you're not then you may have to pay a fee to leave.
Some customers maybe able to get an early upgrade or switch to a new plan, but only if they are eligible.
READ MORE ON BILLS
A spokesperson from EE said: “We go further every day to provide our customers with the UK’s best mobile network and great customer service, with 4G coverage in more places than any other operator.
"Like many service providers, our Pay Monthly plans increase by RPI annually, and this year customers on our most popular plan will typically see an increase of 85p a month.
"We’re currently contacting our customers to remind them this will take effect from 30th March 2018.”
- Looking for a new mobile deal? Check out our round-up of the best offers.
HOW TO CUT YOUR MOBILE BILL
FIRSTLY, decide if you’re happy with your current deal and whether you want a new deal or handset - or both.
If you’re outside the minimum term of your contract then you can leave penalty free - and you might be able to find a cheaper deal elsewhere.
Pay-as-you-go deals are better for people who don’t regularly use their phone, while monthly contracts usually work out cheaper for those who do.
The best way to find a new deal is by checking comparison websites, such as MoneySupermarket and uSwitch.com, which compare tariffs and handset prices.
It’s also worth trying Billmonitor, it matches buyers to the best pay-monthly deal based on their previous three months of bills.
It only works if you’re a customer of EE, O2, Three, Vodafone or Tesco Mobile and you’ll need to log in with your online account details.
MobilePhoneChecker has a bill monitoring feature that recommends a tariff based on your monthly usage.
If you’re happy with your provider then it might be worth using your research to haggle a better deal.
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