Major broadband, TV and phone provider hikes costs for millions of customers adding over £50 a year to bills

A MAJOR telecoms provider is to hike bills by at least £50 a year for millions of customers.

Virgin Media is writing to customers from today on what is happening and the options available to them.

Impacted customers will see their bills increase from either April 1 or May 1 but Virgin will confirm which date yours will change on in an email.

But if you're not happy with the increase, then you will have 30 days from receiving the notification from Virgin to cancel penalty-free.

Many broadband and mobile phone providers base their annual price increases on the rate of inflation plus an extra 3.9%.

The rate of inflation was announced last week as 10.5%, so bills will rise by 14.4%.

The exact amount more you pay will depend on how much your bill is now, but for some could add more than £100 a year to bills.

On average, Virgin Media cable customers will receive a price increase of an average of 13.8% - though this will be higher or lower depending on packages.

For example, Virgin's Big Bundle package costs £29.99 a month.

This means these customers will see a £50 a year increase to their bill.

Virgin confirmed that vulnerable customers will not see a price change this year which includes those on the Essential Broadband packages.

A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We know that price rises are never welcome, particularly right now, but like many other businesses we are experiencing significantly increased costs while investing to keep pace with growing demand, as broadband usage rose more than 10% last year and speeds increased by 40%.

"We’re committed to supporting customers in this tough climate and are freezing prices for vulnerable customers including those taking our social broadband tariffs. 

“The introduction of inflation-linked price changes, which comes into effect in 2024 when RPI is projected to be at around 1.5%, will give customers clarity and certainty about what to expect from their bills while fuelling the investment required both now and in future.

"We will be clearly communicating these changes directly to our customers over the coming weeks.”

Last week, BT, EE and Three are among the firms confirmed to The Sun that they will put up bills by up to 14.4%.

Price rises will come into effect for millions of customers from the end of March.

This means that if you pay your bill on the 15th of every month for example, you'll pay the new price from April 15.

The rise will affect customers even if they are signed up to a contract with a fixed price.

How much will my bill increase by?

Your internet provider or mobile network should contact you to let you know how much your bills will increase in April.

If you're an BT, EE, Plusnet or Three customer, there's an easy way to work out how much more you're set to pay from April.

Just find out what 14.4% of your current monthly bill is - you can use an online percentage calculator to work that out.

If you're a Virgin customer you'll need to use 13.8% instead, though remember this is an average rise.

Then add those two figures together - this will give you your new monthly payment.

To find out your annual cost, times that total figure by 12.

If you're not happy with the rise, then you could try and haggle a cheaper deal

If you think your bills are too high and want to drive them down, the first thing to do is find out what the cheapest deal on the market is.

You can use this rate as a bargaining tool to get a better offer with your provider.

Get in contact with your provider to see if they can match this rate - if not, you might want to switch instead.

If you're mid-contract though and wish to leave, bear in mind that you could face an exit fee so check with your provider for any charges.

Plus, it could be harder haggling with these prices as they come most years from all providers.

For more ways to cut your phone bill, we've got eight tips for slashing costs.

Just this week, Sky confirmed that its mobile phone prices will be rising for out of contract customers.

It means their bills will increase by £1 a month, or an average of 9%.

Sky will contact all customers affected prior to the change coming in.

The hike will come into effect from February 14 - this means that if you pay your phone bill on the 20th of every month, you'll pay the extra amount from February 20.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk