EE, 02, Vodafone and Sky to push up bills from Sunday – here’s to cut your costs
We have top tips on how to keep your costings low amid the rises announced which is expected to affect millions.
MILLIONS of customers are going to be affected by the rise in bills from their telephone providers, which are going up from April 1.
Provider giants such as EE, Vodafone and 02 are expected to hike their prices by at least three per cent over starting Sunday.
Vodafone's rise is bigger than the increases already announced by rival networks EE and O2 earlier this year.
CAN YOU LEAVE IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE INCREASE?
RULES set by the regulator Ofcom mean that customers can leave mobile, landline or broadband contracts penalty-free if a provider ups prices mid-term - but only if it didn’t warn you about the rise.
You may also be allowed to leave without paying a charge if the rise is of “material detriment”, e.g, a higher than inflation increase.
As 02, EE and Vodafone warned customers about rises in their terms and conditions and they are in line with RPI, you won’t be able to leave if you’re still locked into a contract.
If you want to, you'll have to pay an exit fee. If you’re outside the minimum term of your contract then you’ll be allowed to leave without paying. You should check with the provider about how much notice you need to give to do this.
EE is pushing up some customers bills by 2.5 per cent from today in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) announced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in January.
While 02 is increasing monthly bills for its pay-monthly and sim-only customers by 2.6 per cent in April, in line with the latest RPI figure announced last month.
Sky customers are also facing a hefty bill rise, with some facing a £30 per year increase - on average £2.50 extra a month.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation rose from 2.6 per cent in January to 3.2 per cent in the year to February.
All in line for the rises will be contact by letter soon - if not already - to inform of any additional charges you may face.
Here we've rounded up the best ways to keep your costs down amongst the changes.
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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