Ep28 - Mobile & Broadband Costs

Mrs Mean Money Show

You may believe that your broadband or mobile deal is the best value in the market because you spent ages checking prices, but you could still be hit with inflation-busting increases this Spring.
Now is the time to check the small print of the contract that you thought fixed the price for your broadband or mobile service. The companies are allowed by Ofcom to increase fees by inflation plus around 4%. Some are choosing the CPI inflation rate for December, which was 10.5%, giving a total increase of more than14% . Others are increasing by the January RPI rate, which will be announced in February, and is likely to be about 3% more giving a total increase of around 17%.
Some are charging less. Now is the time to find out what your company plans.
While millions of customers will have no choice but to pay because they are in contract and would have to pay a hefty penalty if they cancel. They can be charged for the rest of the contract even if they have cancelled the service.
But the good news is that millions of customers are out of contract and even if they are told in coming weeks that their costs are going up they can leave the company and find a better deal.
With so many people looking for new broadband contracts there are bound to be good deals to win new customers. And now might be the time to check the packages you are paying for. Do you still a landline. They cost from about £20 a month and cost a lot more than mobiles to make calls.

Please send ideas questions, tips and warnings about rip-offs to Mrs Mean through the contact page on her website: mrsmeanmoneyshow.co.uk or to [e-mail]