MSE News: O2 and Virgin Mobile to hike mobile prices by up to 17.3%

alb4rtj

I usually just renew my sim only on Uswitch. Should I do this after April and then then be charged that rate instead of the increase?

savergrant

charlieboy_80 said:

I’m a teacher. I got 5%. Are the folks at O2 paying their employees 17% more, or is this extra pride hike going into CEO pockets? Absolute scumbags.

At the risk of defending multinational companies your contract says price increases of rpi + 3.9% are allowed? Unless your messages are delivered by a messenger on foot I would imagine they incur some power costs, and that these have increased (probably by more than 17%) since your contract started. So it isn't just to cover staffing.  If they are breaching your contract you can switch for free. If not then did you read your contract before signing it?

savergrant

MrSpicy said:

Checking my contract, it doesn't make any distinction between the handset & service cost. It simply says the entire monthly cost if subject to RPI+3.9% increase. It doesn't anywhere detail any breakdown of that cost for the phone and the service.

That is the drawback with a bundled deal. They are able to class your whole bill as the service they are providing to you. When you signed the contract how much was the equivalent plan sim only, and how much would the phone have cost separately? 

Georgeb1971

alb4rtj said:

I usually just renew my sim only on Uswitch. Should I do this after April and then then be charged that rate instead of the increase?

Hmm, yes I read this somewhere too.....so even though I'm mid contract I can transfer on to a new o2 sim deal and avoid the increase I think. 

GTR_King

I am not happy with the 17.3% will be going from £55 for iPhone 14 plus & Apple Watch SE to £64 not happy to pay that price will I be able to do anything??

JimmieDee

Ok. So for one of my contracts, it's going up 13.4% but for everything, device payments and airtime part. How can this be? I bought my iPad at a fixed price and with 0% interest over a number of months. So how can the increase affect the device part of the plan? This in essence means they've changed the price of the goods I purchased well over a year ago or are effectively now charging interest. This stinks badly of unfair or illegal practice.

flaneurs_lobster

GTR_King said:

I am not happy with the 17.3% will be going from £55 for iPhone 14 plus & Apple Watch SE to £64 not happy to pay that price will I be able to do anything??

The iPhone 14 plus was released last October when RPI was at 14%. When you took out the contract, which bit of the price increase in April did you not understand? Two year contract? It'll be going up next year too.

"..will I be able to do anything??".  Sell the phone, pay off the contract, buy something cheaper.

savergrant

JimmieDee said:

Ok. So for one of my contracts, it's going up 13.4% but for everything, device payments and airtime part. How can this be? I bought my iPad at a fixed price and with 0% interest over a number of months. So how can the increase affect the device part of the plan? This in essence means they've changed the price of the goods I purchased well over a year ago or are effectively now charging interest. This stinks badly of unfair or illegal practice.

So how much a month do you pay for the handset and how much for the connection? Have you been quoted new prices and how do these compare with the rpi increase. And what happens to your deal when you have finished paying off the cost of the phone? My guess is that if you are paying a fixed monthly amount for the phone (eg £40pm for 24months would be £960) that part will not be increasing.

savergrant

flaneurs_lobster said:

GTR_King said:

I am not happy with the 17.3% will be going from £55 for iPhone 14 plus & Apple Watch SE to £64 not happy to pay that price will I be able to do anything??

The iPhone 14 plus was released last October when RPI was at 14%. When you took out the contract, which bit of the price increase in April did you not understand? Two year contract? It'll be going up next year too.

"..will I be able to do anything??".  Sell the phone, pay off the contract, buy something cheaper.

Check what it said on the contract you signed and if necessary claim you don't believe the figures the bank of england quote for inflation so it doesn't apply to you?

JimmieDee

savergrant said:

JimmieDee said:

Ok. So for one of my contracts, it's going up 13.4% but for everything, device payments and airtime part. How can this be? I bought my iPad at a fixed price and with 0% interest over a number of months. So how can the increase affect the device part of the plan? This in essence means they've changed the price of the goods I purchased well over a year ago or are effectively now charging interest. This stinks badly of unfair or illegal practice.

So how much a month do you pay for the handset and how much for the connection? Have you been quoted new prices and how do these compare with the rpi increase. And what happens to your deal when you have finished paying off the cost of the phone? My guess is that if you are paying a fixed monthly amount for the phone (eg £40pm for 24months would be £960) that part will not be increasing.

This is the extract from the email:

"The change means that from April 2023 the price of your monthly mobile plan (that’s the cost of your device, inclusive texts and data) will rise in line with the 13.4% Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation."

It specifically states that the rise applies to the cost of the device.