Broadband - Annual Price Increases

blue.peter

I've been getting my line rental and broadband from Force 9 (PlusNet) for a good few years now. They've been pretty reliable, so I'm reluctant to change. However, I was rather taken aback by an e-mail that I received from them a few days ago. They've announced that from June, the amount that I pay will increase each year by CPI + 3.9%. Based on the most recently published CPI figure of 0.7% (February 2021), that'd mean that I should expect an increase of about 4.6% in June. This seems an awful lot, especially as it'll compound year on year.

So is CPI + 3.9% typical? What increases are other providers imposing?

Is it justified? How?

Lauramatt83

Hi blue.peter, I’ve been with Talktalk for close to 10 years and received a similar email today. I’m going up by 3.7% plus CPI. Better yet, I renewed my contract 6 months ago to a 18month fixed price plan and it’s also being increased by £2 at the end of April! Contacted customer service to dispute this and they were no help whatsoever, template response and offered a more expensive contract as a goodwill gesture *rolls eyes*

JJ_Egan

Yes that's about the current increase 3.5 to 5% .

Open Reach have now been allowed to raise wholesale prices .

Dellgrad12

It might be worth looking at SSE Broadband. They offer fixed price contract (18months) with no rises, including these CPI related ones that are becoming quite common now.

blue.peter

Dellgrad12 said:

It might be worth looking at SSE Broadband. They offer fixed price contract (18months) with no rises, including these CPI related ones that are becoming quite common now.

Thanks. I've just had a look at SSE. This is what I found:

Pretty bizarre, I thought, since I already have fibre from PlusNet. But it is what it is.

I'm not too bothered about the CPI bit of the PlusNet increase. It's the +3.9% bit that seems excessive. That means that my broadband cost will be an ever-increasing proportion of my pension. But apparently, from other responses, that rate of increase isn't abnormal.

moneysavinghero

3.9% + CPI is standard across all BT owned suppliers. Other suppliers will probably follow suit.
It will become like car insurance where you will have to keep changing suppliers every few years or end up overpaying.

blue.peter

moneysavinghero said:

It will become like car insurance where you will have to keep changing suppliers every few years or end up overpaying.

Perhaps. But I thought that there was a charge - £50 or so? - for leaving an ISP. That'll act as a major disincentive to switching, because it'd take so long to recoup by way of reduced ongoing charges.

Or has that switch charge been dropped without my noticing? I'm pretty sure that it was still in place when my father died a few years ago, because I recall PlusNet telling me that it'd be waived when I cancelled his service because of his death.

macman

There was only ever a cease charge, not a 'switch charge', so migration does not incur any charge at all. 

moneysavinghero

You would only have to pay a charge if you cancelled mid way through a contract. Same as if you cancel your car insurance half way through the year. But if you switch at the end of the contract then there is no charge.

blue.peter

So it looks as if I'm stuck with a hefty annual increase. But something good has come out of all this. I realised that I've been paying PlusNet far too much each month. One phone call and I've got my monthly payment down from £36.52 to £22.99. I've had to commit to a new 24-month contract to get that, but am not bothered - I've been with PlusNet (Force 9) for 19 years, and have been content with their service. That monthly reduction will pay for several years of CPI + 3.9%.

mrochester

Talk talk are increasing their prices this year but thankfully they are allowing people to terminate their minimum terms without penalty due to the change.