Vodafone to hike bills for MILLIONS of customers in April as it imposes mid-contract price rise
Yesterday O2 and EE confirmed that bills would also rise for their customers
MILLIONS of Vodafone customers will see their bills rise in April as the mobile firm imposes a mid-contract price increase.
The firm is allowed to push up prices because of a clause in its terms and conditions that warns customers about possible price increases in line with inflation.
It means bills will go up for customers who took out a pay monthly contract after May 5 last year - including those who have upgraded.
The increase will be dictated by the Retail Price Index (RPI) figure for March this year.
If RPI stays at 2.6 per cent next month a customer paying £35 a month will see their bills rise by around £10.50 a year.
A spokesperson from Vodafone said: “Any customer that took a pay monthly plan on or after the 5 May 2016, will have an annual price adjustment in April, in line with the March Retail Price Index (RPI).”
Customers can visit the .
Mobile firms tend to increase prices for customers locked into contracts at the beginning of the year.
EE is pushing up some customers bills by 2.5 per cent from March 30 in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) announced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in January.
While 02 is increasing monthly bills for its pay-monthly and sim-only customers by 2.6 per cent in April, in line with the latest RPI figure announced today.
The hikes do not affect pay-as-you-go customers from either network.
Both firms said they were in the process of contacting customers to let them know about the changes.
A spokesperson from Three Mobile told The Sun Online that "no decision has been made yet and we will let customers know once we have made a decision".
Some customers can leave if they don't like the increase
Rules set by the regulator Ofcom mean that customers can leave mobile, landline or broadband contracts penalty-free if a provider ups prices mid-term - but only if it didn’t warn you about the rise.
You may also be allowed to leave without paying a charge if the rise is of “material detriment”, e.g, a higher than inflation increase.
As 02, EE and Vodafone warned customers about rises in their terms and conditions and they are in line with RPI, you won’t be able to leave if you’re still locked into a contract. If you want to, you'll have to pay an exit fee.
If you’re outside the minimum term of your contract then you’ll be allowed to leave without paying. You should check with the provider about how much notice you need to give to do this.
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