The price hikes will apply to broadband, TV and home phone customers from either 1 April or 1 May, depending on the type of package you have. It said it is writing to customers to explain exactly how and when their bill will change.

It joins the majority of other telecom providers which have confirmed price hikes of at least 14% this spring, including BT, EE and Vodafone.

Change to T&Cs

As well as the upcoming price rise, Virgin Media is also making a change to customer terms and conditions.

Virgin Media is one of the few providers that doesn’t apply mid-contract price hikes (those written into the terms when you sign up to a new deal), though it can and does apply price hikes at other times.

Going forward, price hikes will be written into contracts from April 2024, based on the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, plus 3.9%.

This change means that where customers are usually able to leave penalty-free following a price rise announcement by Virgin Media (within 30 days of the notification), as price rises will be written into contracts,  customers will likely face a penalty if they decide to leave within the minimum term.

The majority of other providers also apply mid-contract price hikes based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation, which tends to be lower than RPI.

However, Virgin Media confirmed there will be no price changes for vulnerable customers in 2023 including those on Essential Broadband packages (who receive Universal Credit) and Talk Protected landline customers.

‘Price rises are never welcome’

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.”

While a host of providers have already announced price hikes, there are other providers which have remained quiet.

John Lewis Broadband, Hyperoptic, Sky and Now are yet to announce price hikes. Like Virgin Media, they all don’t allow mid-contract price hikes, although they have said “services are variable and our prices and services can change”.