Hiking prices of services under UK law

ffox

I have a contractual agreement with a company in which I pay them a fee in exchange for their service. In the agreement it states they can hike up prices for the service they offer according to the rate of RPI. It also states that they can do this as many times as they like.


I am weary of this. There are a few things I wish to know. Firstly, our agreement has nothing to do with retailing of any sort. What is the general position of the law in terms of hiking up prices? I'm sure there is a law against these sorts of practises because they could hike up prices indefinitely. My guess is this is related to misrepresentation of service/product pricing, and this in turn is tied to consumer regulations. I would be grateful if anyone could fill me in on this.

KatrinaWaves

They could change their prices, and you can withdraw your custom

Comms69

They can charge what they like, you can choose to go elsewhere.

ffox

The question is, they can charge what they like - is this before or after the fact? I'm more interested in the legal question here.


The answer I was looking for is misleading prices under pricing law, this is part of Consumer Protection from unfair trading regulations. Please add your knowledge and experience of such matters in this direction.

davidmcn

ffox wrote: »

The answer I was looking for is misleading prices under pricing law, this is part of Consumer Protection from unfair trading regulations. Please add your knowledge and experience of such matters in this direction.

I don't see what's misleading about it. Their prices go up in line with the RPI (which is a generally-accepted indicator of inflation, whether or not you're specifically talking about retailed items). How much notice do you need to give to get out of the contract?

ffox

davidmcn wrote: »

I don't see what's misleading about it. Their prices go up in line with the RPI (which is a generally-accepted indicator of inflation, whether or not you're specifically talking about retailed items). How much notice do you need to give to get out of the contract?

They are hiking up prices not by the change in RPI but by the rate of RPI itself. At the moment RPI has actually been going down for the last couple of years.


The can do this as much as they like. To me these practises ring alarm bells.

TrickyDicky101

ffox wrote: »

They are hiking up prices not by the change in RPI but by the rate of RPI itself. At the moment RPI has actually been going down for the last couple of years.


The can do this as much as they like. To me these practises ring alarm bells.

You do understand how inflation works? Things get more expensive year on year (on average)?

Why so cagey about what the service or whatever is?

davidmcn

ffox wrote: »

At the moment RPI has actually been going down for the last couple of years.

I think you misunderstand inflation. The annual rate of increase in prices has been going down - prices are still going up, just not as quickly.

bris

Once you are out of contract they can make the price anything they want. It's then up to you to whether you take out a new contract or not.
In contract they can put up the price but only at RPI which is pretty small and in line with inflation. This is not a breach of contract as it's an acceptable term in that contract.


They may be able to do it as many times as they like but it's strictly linked to inflation so it can never be large amounts.

waamo

Interesting question this. Can companies put prices up in line with inflation? I don't know. I think I will ask a train company. They might know.

TheTalkingDead

Forum rules state we are not allowed to give legal advice. If you are looking for legal advice on the matter then the best advice is a contract law specialist.