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

[XRaySpeX · Accepted solution]

@1001steve1001 : Yes, in March as per About annual price changes which you accepted.

[bristolian]

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@1001steve1001 wrote:

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

20 PERCENT!

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When mid-contract price rises were first allowed by Ofcom, they were percentage-based thus lower-priced plans had a lower increase. Then the inflation-crisis hit and price-rises breached double-figures, causing mass complaints.

There has been a general trend across the industry since then, towards "simplicity" that is best achieved by fixed-price increases, also achieving the price certainty over a 2year minimum-term that consumers generally want.

The negative-side of fixed-price increases is that they tend to be a higher-percentage on lower-priced plans, as in your case. Whatever the industry or individual operators do, is likely to cause upset somewhere. There are a handful of providers out there who advertise fixed-prices across 24months, but they may have other drawbacks in other areas.

[1001steve1001]

I'm out of contract, and I'm well aware of the "price changes which you accepted", so no need to shove that in my face.

My point is, ........... this is a 20 PERCENT INCREASE. 20 PERCENT.

You will justify that increase, so I'll leave the discussion here.

I'm looking at plenty of sub £10 contracts, and will shortly leave EE.

[Chris_B]

@1001steve1001   Say your contract was £50 per month would it be a 20% increase?   It’s a fixed price increase regardless of the amount you pay.   Not sure why you look at it as a 20% increase because that rule doesn’t apply across all price points.   

[1001steve1001]

I said it is a 20% increase, because it is. £11.79 plus £2.25 increase. Don't try to tell me otherwise.

I'm not interested in other price points that come out at lower percentages,  because I'm not paying those other prices. 

This 'simplifying inceases because that's what users desire' is a load of rubbish. Ee has found a way to bring in more revenue.

I'm off to Tesco or Asda, for £7.50 and £4.50; with the same service.

[garybs29]

"Same servicr" yes, ok. Didn't know either of those used the biggest & best EE network

[XRaySpeX]

Not the same service, just the same network. They are MVNOs that piggy-back on EE's network but provide their own services.

[Matt_124]

Not even the same network in this case! The 2 MVNOs named in that response use the blue-branded and red-branded networks respectively. 

I hope a coverage check has been done for their sake, but I somehow doubt it.

[bristolian]

A classic example of where a coverage check only even tells part of the story. Service & performance levels are not predicted.

As mentioned, Tesco is an O2 MVNO & Asda piggyback on VF.

To claim the "same service" is at best hopeful, otherwise "interesting"