Virgin Media to hike bills for 5 MILLION customers by up to £48 a year – here’s how to beat it
Some customers will see their bills go up by as much as £48 a year
MILLIONS of Virgin Media customers are to see their bills leap by as much as £48 a year.
The telecoms giant said that the "majority" of its customers will see their bills go up in November by an average of 4.7 per cent - as package costs increase between £1.99 and £3.99 per month.
Customers with a broadband, phone and TV plans will see the biggest rises - between £3.49 and £3.99 per month.
While those with broadband only and broadband and phone packages will pay £1.99 to £2.99 per month more.
The latest rise - the second within the space of nine months - will come as a blow to customers, after facing a string of increases last year.
Virgin Media said it is in the process of contacting customers to inform them of the prices, which come into effect from November 1 2017.
But the telecoms giant warned that some customers will start to see increases in their bills from October 2017.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We do everything we can to balance keeping our prices competitive while investing to meet the ever-increasing appetite for broadband and content.
“Online usage increased by more than 35 per cent in the last year and streaming now accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the total traffic on Virgin Media’s network.
“We’re investing more in our ultrafast network to continue offering the UK’s fastest widely-available speeds.
"This all comes on top of must-see TV programming – from Virgin TV Exclusives to the only place where you can watch all of the live football action from both Sky and BT Sport in a single package.”
HOW TO TO BEAT THE HIKES
IF you're unhappy with the hikes, then you don't have to accept them:
Customers who are unappy with the price rise and want to leave can do so without paying a penalty.
To cancel you must inform Virgin within 30 days of recieving notification of the increase.
If you're unhappy about the increase but don't want to leave Virgin media then you can try calling up to haggle.
Telecoms firms don't wan't to lose customers so its worth seeing if they can do you a better deal.
The best way to do this is by finding a better deal than you're already on. Then calling up Virgin Media and say you'd like to leave.
You'll usually get pushed through to the "rententions" department who have the power to cut your bills.
Ask if there is any way they can cut your bills. If they refuse, then ask if there are any free extras that they can throw in.
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