EE, O2 and Vodafone are all increasing their prices, but this time it isn’t all in the name of Brexit.
Three of the UK’s largest mobile phone networks are instead upping their rates due to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate of inflation, and the changes are taking place across the board.
O2 is imposing the largest rise, choosing to apply a 2.6% increase in line with the RPI figure published in January 2017. It means all O2 pay monthly, SIM-only, O2 fresh, mobile broadband, and SMB Business contract customers will get an unwelcome increase when their April bill comes through.
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EE, meanwhile, told V3 that pay monthly, SIM-only, and mobile broadband customers will see a rise of 2.5% to their bills from April 30. The increase is only less than O2’s as EE chose to use the December 2016 RPI rate of inflation as opposed to the most recent one.
The final member of the three,
Elsewhere, Three has yet to confirm whether it will impose an increase in line with the RPI, but it is well within its rights to do so, so watch this space.
Consumers have very little room to maneuver when it comes to these rises. Regulator Ofcom’s rules state that disgruntled customers can only leave a mobile, landline, or broadband contract penalty-free if the operator didn’t warn of the rise in its terms and conditions – something that none of these firms failed to do.
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Do you feel your mobile phone contract is value for money? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
