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Is It Legal For Prices To Go Up Mid-Contract?

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49 minutes ago, apelike said:

IIRC the new price reviews were only announced in January so you should have been informed about that happening if in contract and then given the option of leaving without a penalty. Most T&Cs on contracts have clauses which allow them to alter prices during a contract providing you agree to it but they have to notify you first. The new contracts with BT, EE and Plusnet now have reviewed terms and conditions and no longer include fixed priced contracts for the duration, but not all ISP are doing that. Some like TalkTalk are still guaranteeing  no price hikes for the duration of the contract. 

Strange - there must be some confusion somewhere, because at least two people I know on on forums elsewhere who supposedly have these 'fixed' contracts with TT have recently been informed of price increases. Fortunately they have both been around long enough to spot the typical cack-handed way they work, and have managed to actually reduce their contract price quite substantially - yep, the new contracts include the escalation clause, but the reduction means they will still be paying less than originally, even when it kicks in.

 

As a point of interest, I am moving from Plusnet (the 'cheap' arm of BT) whilst I still have about three months to go on a fixed-price contract - not for financial reasons, more because of the destruction of a once special provider by the dead hand of that monolith. My new provider guarantees no in-contract price rises, and no increase once out of contract for as long as you stay with them.

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Last year I did the opposite, gave 30 days notice to Talk Talk on the 10th of November, in favour of going back to Plusnet, and so far it's been good! Only fly in the ointment's the fact it takes them a minimum of 8 and half minutes usually to answer the phone, which wouldn't be so bad without the annoying music.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, MrAllen2K21 said:

Last year I did the opposite, gave 30 days notice to Talk Talk on the 10th of November, in favour of going back to Plusnet, and so far it's been good! Only fly in the ointment's the fact it takes them a minimum of 8 and half minutes usually to answer the phone, which wouldn't be so bad without the annoying music.

 

 

Fair enough, but I've been with Plusnet since just after BT bought them from the original founders, and in those nine years, I've seen the gradual decline of a company that actually worked for its' customers to one that behaves just like the the old GPO Telephones, where the customer is regarded as a nuisance to be ignored as much as possible and fobbed off with promises that are never kept, and false information, just to make them go away.

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6 hours ago, RollingJ said:

Strange - there must be some confusion somewhere, because at least two people I know on on forums elsewhere who supposedly have these 'fixed' contracts with TT have recently been informed of price increases.....

Interesting. I have just had a look and you are perfectly correct that they will increase prices but their terms and conditions do state this:

 

"From 2022, each April we’ll increase the broadband subscription amount you pay per month by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation plus 3.7% (which is lower than BT, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone’s current price rise commitments)."

 

6 hours ago, MrAllen2K21 said:

Last year I did the opposite, gave 30 days notice to Talk Talk on the 10th of November, in favour of going back to Plusnet, and so far it's been good! Only fly in the ointment's the fact it takes them a minimum of 8 and half minutes usually to answer the phone, which wouldn't be so bad without the annoying music.

I think it's telling something when you have actually had to phone them!

Edited by apelike

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4 hours ago, apelike said:

Interesting. I have just had a look and you are perfectly correct that they will increase prices but their terms and conditions do state this:

 

"From 2022, each April we’ll increase the broadband subscription amount you pay per month by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation plus 3.7% (which is lower than BT, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone’s current price rise commitments)."

 

I think it's telling something when you have actually had to phone them!

Can't be bothered to split the quote, so a numbered reply;

 

1. I also checked the T&Cs after posting, and you are correct, it does say 2022, which means that the messages those two people received were sent in error, as both accounts were opened towards the end of last year, were 18 month contracts and were guaranteed 'fixed' for the term of the contract.

 

2. It depends what @MrAllen2K21needed to contact them for.

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At my previous home i was with Virgin for 14 years, if I contacted 5 times that's pushing it, sadly  they are not in my area.   I have had  to contact sky so many times in 4 times I have lost count I  what options are there, who would SF members recommend or are they all rubbish in their own way?

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6 hours ago, RollingJ said:

Can't be bothered to split the quote, so a numbered reply;

 

1. I also checked the T&Cs after posting, and you are correct, it does say 2022, which means that the messages those two people received were sent in error, as both accounts were opened towards the end of last year, were 18 month contracts and were guaranteed 'fixed' for the term of the contract.

Just to clear things up a bit... did their contracts include any other package or just for broadband only? I only ask as in the link given by iansheff in post #6 it states that TV and extras included can be subject to a price rise during contract as those are not fixed. Mine is an 18 month contract and was also taken out in November and I have not received any messages about prices changing, but I don't have a TV, phone or extras just fast fibre so maybe that is why.

 

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2 minutes ago, apelike said:

Just to clear things up a bit... did their contracts include any other package or just for broadband only? I only ask as in the link given by iansheff in post #6 it states that TV and extras included can be subject to a price rise during contract as those are not fixed. Mine is an 18 month contract and was also taken out in November and I have not received any messages about prices changing, but I don't have a TV, phone or extras just fast fibre so maybe that is why.

 

In both cases, just FTTC broadband and phone line. I don't know if line rental increases were excluded from the guarantee, but the 'new' prices they were given couldn't be just be line charge increases - they are usually around £1.00/£1.50, not £10.00+ as these were.

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5 hours ago, scousemouse said:

At my previous home i was with Virgin for 14 years, if I contacted 5 times that's pushing it, sadly  they are not in my area.   I have had  to contact sky so many times in 4 times I have lost count I  what options are there, who would SF members recommend or are they all rubbish in their own way?

Can't recommend any really only say that almost all have some quirks, I went with TalkTalk because it was one of the cheapest for fast fibre and has always been reliable when I have had it before. The most reliable one is probably BT but that is at a cost but they are doing a good deal at the moment. One I wouldn't recommend however is vodafone which is the only one I have had a problem with and a quick look on their user forum will give you a hint as to why. Before choosing it's a good idea to first have a look at any user satisfaction ratings you can find and not some from sponsored sites such as Uswitch.

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