EE to hike bills by 2.2% next month for millions of customers – adding up to £27.46 a year to bills
MILLIONS of EE mobile users are to be hit with price hikes of 2.2 per cent from 30 March.
It means an average increase of 58p a month - or £6.96 a year for those on the provider's most popular contract.
But if you have EE's most expensive plan, which is £104 a month for the 120GB Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G, for example, then bills will rise by £2.29 a month - or £27.46 a year.
The increase, which is based on the retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation for December 2019, as announced last month, is smaller than last year's 2.7 per cent hike.
Only pay monthly customers are affected - so pay-as-you-go users, broadband customers, and BT users - which EE is part of - won't be hit.
But as mobile providers are allowed to up prices in line with inflation each year - as long as they tell you in advance of signing your contract - you can't leave penalty free.
HOW TO CUT YOUR MOBILE BILL
FIRSTLY, decide if you’re happy with your current deal and whether you want a new deal or handset - or both.
If you’re outside the minimum term of your contract then you can leave penalty free - and you might be able to find a cheaper deal elsewhere.
Pay-as-you-go deals are better for people who don’t regularly use their phone, while monthly contracts usually work out cheaper for those who do.
The best way to find a new deal is by checking comparison websites, such as MoneySupermarket and uSwitch.com, which compare tariffs and handset prices.
It’s also worth trying Billmonitor, it matches buyers to the best pay-monthly deal based on their previous three months of bills.
It only works if you’re a customer of EE, O2, Three, Vodafone or Tesco Mobile and you’ll need to log in with your online account details.
MobilePhoneChecker has a bill monitoring feature that recommends a tariff based on your monthly usage.
If you’re happy with your provider then it might be worth using your research to haggle a better deal.
If you're still within your contract you'll only be able to exit for free if you're able to argue the increase will be of material detriment to you.
Of course, those who are outside of their contract are free to switch penalty free to a different provider - or you can call-up and try to haggle costs down by threatening to leave.
You should also quote cheaper deals found elsewhere.
EE won't tell us how many customers are affected only saying it's a "small number", but it's likely to be millions as the BT group, which owns EE, has 26.8million household customers.
And EE mobile users aren't happy with the hike, with some saying they're being hit despite only recently joining the network.
One unhappy customer tweeted: "@EE absolutely disgusted, RPI increase on a three-week-old contract! If I'd known about it when I took the contract out I would have waited until later or not taken it out at all.
"Shame you don't value loyal customers."
Another said: "Always lush when you start a contract with an internet company, and within two months are told there’s an increase in the price... thanks
@EE #feelinggreat."
Someone else added: "@EE being jokers and putting my tariff up for the second time in the same 24-month contract."
An EE spokesperson said: “Like many service providers, our pay monthly plans increase by RPI annually, and this year customers on our most popular plan will typically see an increase of 58p a month.
"We’re currently contacting our customers to remind them this will take effect from March 30, 2020.”
From EE to Vodafone, here’s how to avoid being overcharged by your mobile phone provider.
Plus, Martin Lewis has raved about super cheap SIM only mobile deals that cost from £5 a month.