Are escalating Broadband Bills a Fair Contract?

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

MattMattMattUK said:

IanMSpencer said:

Bit slow, but it seems OFCOM are grasping the nettle.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67680327

Not really, they are not banning RPI+ increases, they are just saying that the provider has to lay them out in a way that an eight year old can understand, which is largely a pointless exercise. 

I agree and am in the process of responding to their consultation. However, at least they have admitted it is a problem and in some detail. They even admit that the contracts probably don't meet Consumer Act standards but are reluctant to use consumer law because it will take too long. Given the state of my contract with Vodafone, pricing changes up front is one of only a few faults in it. If they changed the offer but left in their clauses allowing arbitrary price increases for undefined future unforeseen reasons, as mine currently states (while allowing cessation of service without reason, notice or compensation while allowing early termination charges to be applied to me), it certainly would be pointless.

Their consultation rejects some pretty obvious solutions. Myself, I think you either have fixed price offers or you have variable price offers and if its variable, you can switch, rolling 1 month contracts.

OFCOM are entirely silent on their central role in the magic 3.9% as well.

Further, if OFCOM allow for variable fixed price contracts, what is the betting that PCP and energy suppliers will adopt the same approach?

HillStreetBlues

I don't feel in contract price rises should be allowed, let the company factor in the price alowing for this.
If they are allowed should only be one after 12 months.  I don't see how signing up for instance in March should have a price rise a few weeks later.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

HillStreetBlues said:

I don't feel in contract price rises should be allowed, let the company factor in the price alowing for this.
If they are allowed should only be one after 12 months.  I don't see how signing up for instance in March should have a price rise a few weeks later.

The OFCOM consultation rejected that.

4.26 Option (b), prohibiting inflation-linked price variation terms that would apply in-contract price rises less than 12 months after the start of the contract, would give customers temporary certainty about what they will pay for services subject to inflation-linked price variation terms. Italy’s national regulatory authority has consulted on interventions that include this requirement in response to the proliferation of inflation-linked price variation terms in that market.120 However in the context of the UK telecoms market, we do not consider that this remedy could give customers sufficient clarity or certainty about what they would pay for services subject to inflation-linked price variation terms and contract periods of over 12 months.

They could have combined it with their shiny new clause though, couldn't they? Rejected, so not up for consultation. I will reply that you either have fixed contracts or you have variable price contracts, and you don't muddy the water with a variable fixed contract (or is that a fixed variable contract).