SIM Only fixed amount increases

Sky_Dragon

O2 are increasing both my SIM only contracts by a fixed £1.80 next year, a 33% and 26% increase for each - way bigger than under the old RPI + 3.9%

I believe this will apply to all contracts (so much higher payers will get much smaller % increases) and similar fixed amount increases have been announced by other networks.

Have any networks announced more modest increases for 2025?

Seems this will put a lot of pressure on the cheapest deals going forward (and incentives to switch annually if you're paying under £10 a month).

la531983

This is what people apparently wanted rather than percentage increases. The will of the people, or something.

flaneurs_lobster

For the last 3 years I have "upgraded" my O2 PAYM 32GB/month deal via USwitch the month before any increase. 

Price has never risen, last year it reduced by 50p to £8, and they added 2GB.

Neil49

flaneurs_lobster said:

For the last 3 years I have "upgraded" my O2 PAYM 32GB/month deal via USwitch the month before any increase. 

Price has never risen, last year it reduced by 50p to £8, and they added 2GB.

I do exactly the same just after the price rise kicks in.

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

Really easy process where you just say you are an existing customer and select the option to keep your existing number. There's a bit of "paperwork" involved but it's a lot less hassle than switching provider

Sky_Dragon

Neil49 said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

For the last 3 years I have "upgraded" my O2 PAYM 32GB/month deal via USwitch the month before any increase. 

Price has never risen, last year it reduced by 50p to £8, and they added 2GB.

I do exactly the same just after the price rise kicks in.

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

Really easy process where you just say you are an existing customer and select the option to keep your existing number. There's a bit of "paperwork" involved but it's a lot less hassle than switching provider

Interesting - I never seem to see online deals that better my current one. I usually try calling their retention teams or get a call from O2 with an offer (I'm getting 25GB doubled to to 50GB via Volt for £5.43 pm) but negotiating is getting harder I feel. 

flaneurs_lobster

Sky_Dragon said:

Neil49 said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

For the last 3 years I have "upgraded" my O2 PAYM 32GB/month deal via USwitch the month before any increase. 

Price has never risen, last year it reduced by 50p to £8, and they added 2GB.

I do exactly the same just after the price rise kicks in.

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

Really easy process where you just say you are an existing customer and select the option to keep your existing number. There's a bit of "paperwork" involved but it's a lot less hassle than switching provider

Interesting - I never seem to see online deals that better my current one. I usually try calling their retention teams or get a call from O2 with an offer (I'm getting 25GB doubled to to 50GB via Volt for £5.43 pm) but negotiating is getting harder I feel. 

TBH, even with a £1.80 hike that deal will be pretty hard to better elsewhere.

housebuyer143

I use giff gaff who don't increase their prices, because my £6 SIM with a £1.50 rise is 25% more... I was happy with the percentage rise tbh.

molerat

la531983 said:

This is what people apparently wanted rather than percentage increases. The will of the people, or something.

No it wasn't.  It was what OFCOM decided the people would get under the guise of a fixed amount being more transparent. The people wanted a fixed term fixed price but OFCOM fell for the provider's whinging and gave them something that was actually worse for customers than the previous regime.

housebuyer143

molerat said:

la531983 said:

This is what people apparently wanted rather than percentage increases. The will of the people, or something.

No it wasn't.  It was what OFCOM decided the people would get under the guise of a fixed amount being more transparent. The people wanted a fixed term fixed price but OFCOM fell for the provider's whinging and gave them something that was actually worse for customers than the previous regime.

I can't really believe OFGEM thought this was good and agreed to it. Stick to the status quo if the change is worse. 
This new change punishes the poorest people who might have a £6 SIM only etc. Now they get a 25% increase while the person paying £60 a month only gets 2.5%.

Kim_13

housebuyer143 said:

molerat said:

la531983 said:

This is what people apparently wanted rather than percentage increases. The will of the people, or something.

No it wasn't.  It was what OFCOM decided the people would get under the guise of a fixed amount being more transparent. The people wanted a fixed term fixed price but OFCOM fell for the provider's whinging and gave them something that was actually worse for customers than the previous regime.

I can't really believe OFGEM thought this was good and agreed to it. Stick to the status quo if the change is worse. 
This new change punishes the poorest people who might have a £6 SIM only etc. Now they get a 25% increase while the person paying £60 a month only gets 2.5%.

Also, surely no one is paying £60, given that device costs are excluded. Unlimited is on their website at starting at £33, so even those not getting discounts are getting above inflation rises. They should have done x pence in the pound, given that that calculation would allow them to set out the schedule of charges as required, and it really shouldn’t be news to Ofcom that being allowed to do something means nearly everyone does it.

This is a flat £21.60 annual hike to all customers. The only good way to deal with O2 now is going April to April contracts, or rolling a deal on the old terms until it is no longer competitive. The £42 annual broadband hike is even worse given that the minimum term is 18 months, therefore no customers get a contract without a hike and some get two - and you can’t contract at the optimum time given the out of contract cost is so much higher.

EDIT: Just noticed that some contracts on their website are for 2 years. Customers now need to triple check the length before taking any!