Vodafone prices going up?!.

Guys_Dad

Well they can't write t&c then!..

Putting prices up mid contract - as in 4ii is clearly detrimental to you. Furthermore, they write in the increase clause

"increase the fixed periodic charges for your Price Plan (if applicable) by an amount which is more than the percentage increase in the Retail Prices Index Figure (or any future equivalent) in any twelve month period"

Note :- not the preceding 12 month period or any other definitive period other that "any 12 month period". Fine then, take September 2008 - 2009 when RPI went down !

Big business usually holds all the cards and pays £thousands for legal advisers, whereas we are just consumers. Now I don't claim to be a lawyer, and I hope that some MSE members reading this who might be can chip in, but in order to negate the detriment clause in 4ii, they should have an "except" rather than an "or" between 4ii and 4iii.

As far as all of the networks upping their prices in January for existing contracts, so far Vodafone and Orange - I have contracts with both - have only notified that they are taking the new rate of VAT into account.

whowants2brich

I too am miffed as to why 3 have chosen to do this. Increasing in line with VAT is fine. Increasing the monthly cost for new contracts is fine. But changing the price of a previously fixed and agreed contract price, mid-contract, that is just daylight robbery, very wrong, and to hide behind the RPI increase, hmmm...

I too only have 5 months at the new price, so I shall be ensuring that my contract is cancelled as soon as I can. Oh, and I won't be renewing either!

And to boot, to push people away from 3 even faster, I called 3 about this. They transferred me to the mobile broadband technical support team, despite having a billing issue. They transferred me back to billing, who transferred me to tech support, and back, and back and so on.... I spoke to 8 people, before I got cut off by the person in the billing team!!!

So yeah, VAT increase of 2.1%, fine, but any more than that, and I'd be having serious thoughts about the phone provider...

Exhortation

Many companies will use the VAT rise to mask price increases. The monthly inflation figures over the course of the next 12 months should make very interesting reading, indeed.

whowants2brich

Exhortation wrote: »

Many companies will use the VAT rise to mask price increases. The monthly inflation figures over the course of the next 12 months should make very interesting reading, indeed.

Yeah, my mobile broadband + laptop deal, for which I have until the end of May, I think, is going from £15 a month to £15.75... A 5% inflation rate... If everything else looks anywhere like that figure, I'm gonna have trouble making ends meet - and I'm sure I'm not the only one...........