Unjustified Price Increase During Fixed Contract – Request for Refund and Price

[1001steve1001]

My £11.79 price is going up by £2.25 a month. A 20% increase.

20 PERCENT!

I've been a loyal customer for years. EE obviously does not need me anymore.

Steve

[Chris_B]

@1001steve1001    It’s a fixed price increase that you agreed too, it’s not based on a percentage of when you currently pay.  That fact you can do math is great but it doesn’t mean anything when it’s a FIXED PRICE INCREASE.  It’s there in the writing should you have chosen to actually read any of it.   

[jonathanrawle]

I have an old EE contract that has always had inflationary increases. I have never agreed to a fixed increase, and it has never been in any written terms I have agreed to (which I do always read). Today, EE have e-mailed me to tell me I'll have a 31% increase in March! They can  forget it. They have really done it this time, as I'll be moving providers to a deal that is cheaper even without the increase, offers EU roaming, and will presumably have a website that actually works when I log in to check my account, rather than giving errors and sending me round in circles.

[Chris_B]

@jonathanrawle   As Decembers CPI rate hasn’t been published yet.   I’ll say this to something else

December CPI rate is published 21St of January 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/consumerpriceinflationukdecember2025

[Minkey1]

@1001steve1001 

Indeed. My £9.50 SIM plan is increasing by £2.49 on March 1st. Just over 26%.

It’s totally irrelevant to me whether someone paying £80 a month for a high end phone and service is only paying a nominal % increase.

In a financial context flat increases are regressive and mean that customers like us subsidise others.

I have “triple play” services so the SIM’s are only part of it. Lethargy will play a part but doesn’t mean I like it.

[bristolian]

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@Minkey1 wrote:

@1001steve1001 

In a financial context flat increases are regressive and mean that customers like us subsidise others.

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Many, myself included, totally agree that flat-rate increases may be "simple" but penalise lower-priced plans. Blame for this is not entirely with the operators but also with Ofcom for initially accepting and latterly, encouraging it.

[Minkey1]

@bristolian 

Indeed. We are governed by morons who want to offload half the job upwards and downwards to unelected apparatchiks.

Whilst keeping 100% of the money and expenses, obvs.

It’s “Blue Monday” today. Two glasses of Malbec haven’t helped. You may have noticed.

[Minkey1]

It’s gets better. Wife’s £7pm SIM is also going up by £2.49 - 35.6%.

Outstanding work there Ofcom.

[jonathanrawle]

As they have unilaterally changed the terms I agreed to, am I allowed to leave without paying the 30 day "notice period"? The so-called notice period is nothing of the sort in any case. If I request a PAC, I have to pay 30 days from when I have used the PAC, in other words, when I am no longer using the service. That's not a notice period. It's a 30-day penalty for leaving. Do I have an argument for not having to pay this? I think so, but no doubt I'd have to phone up, and at this point I really don't think it's worth it for the sake of a month's payment.

[bristolian]

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@jonathanrawle wrote:

As they have unilaterally changed the terms I agreed to, am I allowed to leave without paying the 30 day "notice period"?

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I'd recommend you seek independent legal advice, however I strongly suspect it will be along the following lines...

No terms have been changed, mid-contract price rises will be part your T&C. O2 were recently in the national press for changing the fundamental terms of their mid-contract rises and the notification of this triggered 30day release clauses - not the actual rise itself, which would occur subsequently.

I would recommend you check the relevant T&Cs for when you last re-contracted, and if you can identify a specific term that you believe has been breached, you will have your answer. The most recent T&Cs do make separate reference to "price rise percentage" & "price rise amount", you'd have to check yours.

[jonathanrawle]

The last change in terms I received said:

We’re moving the following number(s) to new terms that will apply from 31 March 2022. This means the price of all of your charges (including your price plan charges) will increase each year from March 2022 by the Consumer Price index (CPI) rate of inflation (5.4%) published in January that year plus 3.9%:

[details of number and price removed]

If you’re not happy with these changes you are able to cancel these number(s) without charge.

So the terms I was on did specify that my price would be increased by CPI +3.9%. At that particular change, they also said I could leave without charge.

But as I said, life is too short to waste time arguing with these jokers. I'll be moving somewhere cheaper with EU roaming (which I still don't know if I have with EE as their website is broken and their add-ons incomprehensible, although I suspect not). I've found a cashback deal where I'll get three months free, so I can try the alternate network as my second eSIM before using my PAC.