Household Bills
O2, Three and Virgin Media price rises on the way
Millions of O2, Three and Virgin Media customers will see bills rise in April, adding more pressure to already-squeezed household finances.
Some mobile users will see bills rise by as much as 11.7% in April.
Below we outline what’s changing:
O2 mobile customers
Some customers could see their bills rise by as much as 11.7%, with the amount depending on which contract or package they have, and when they signed up.
For those who took out a contract before 25 March 2021, bills will rise by the rate of RPI (January’s rate) which stands at 7.8%.
Customers who took out contracts on or after 25 March 2021 will see bills increase at the rate of RPI + 3.9%, meaning 11.7% in total.
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The majority of O2 customers are on O2 Refresh which splits airtime and device payments, with price increases applied to the airtime part of contracts, not the device loan element.
An O2 spokesperson said: “We recognise price changes are never welcome, and always balance keeping our prices competitive with the need to continue investing in the services that our customers use and love.
“For most customers the price increase only applies to the airtime part of their bill and with our most popular tariffs costing from as little as 33p per day for superfast data with unlimited minutes and texts, our customers receive incredible value as well as extra perks such as Priority.”
Three mobile customers
Pay monthly mobile customers who joined or upgraded from 29 October 2020 will be hit with a 4.5% bill rise in April.
As an example, a customer paying £20 per month will see an increase of 90p per month from April.
But for customers who joined before 29 October 2020, they will see a 7.8% increase in May.
A Three spokesperson, said: “Like other mobile providers, our pay monthly plans are subject to an annual price change. We believe that certainty and transparency are integral to a great customer experience. Unlike other MNOs [network providers], we apply a fixed price change to ensure that customers clearly understand the full cost of their contract and do not have to rely on a fluctuating RPI or CPI rate. We will be reminding affected customers from February 2022 onwards, and this change will be introduced in their April 2022 bill.”
Virgin Media customers
All Virgin Media customers will see an increase of 11.7% (RPI+3.9%), and like O2, the increase will only be applied to the airtime element of its ‘freestyle’ contracts which most customers are on. There is no price rise applicable to device repayments.