Can the O2 and Virgin Mobile bill increase of £48 be avoided?

The UK is in the midst of its worst cost of living crisis in decades.

This situation could be further exacerbated for some O2 and Virgin Mobile customers, who could see their mobile bills increase by up to £48 a year in just over a month.

So why is this price hike happening? And if you are a customer, is there a way to avoid it?

Here’s what you need to know.

O2 and Virgin Mobile merged in a £31bn deal in 2021, forming a network that has over 46m broadband, mobile, voice and home subscribers.

Each year, they take the Retail Price Index (RPI) from January and add 3.9% to it to calculate bill increases for monthly paying customers in the new fiscal year.

So, with an RPI of 7.8% in January 2022, bill payers can expect an 11.7% increase from April 1, 2022.

However, the additional amount you will have to pay depends on the partner network you are with, the type of contract you have with them and the date you signed up.

“We recognize that price changes are never welcome and always balance keeping our prices competitive with the need to continue to invest in the services our customers use and enjoy,” an O2 spokesperson said.

“With our most popular rates costing from 33p a day for super-fast data with unlimited minutes and texts, our customers get incredible value along with added benefits such as Priority.”

O2 customers face bill hikes of 11.7% unless they have been with the network for more than 12 months.

If you joined or upgraded before March 25, 2021 – O2 says this covers most of its customer base – the upside will be capped at 7.8%.

For O2 Refresh subscribers – the O2 contract type indicates that most of its subscribers are activated – the increase in your bill will only apply to the “airtime” part of your offer, not your combined.

So on the £65.99 monthly bill you’ll be paying for a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with unlimited data on a 24 month contract, the £35 you pay for airtime will be the portion affected by the 11.7% hike.

You’ll pay £4.01 per additional month – or £48.12 per year.

This increase is on top of price increases introduced by O2 6 months ago for data usage beyond what is allowed in your contract.

If you are an O2 customer and you wish to terminate your contract early due to the increase in the invoice price, you will have to pay an exit fee because the price change is already included in the general conditions to which you will have subscribed.

Virgin Mobile customers will pay the full 11.7% regardless of when they joined the network.

However, like O2, the network splits its contracts into separate airtime and handset portions, and will only apply the increase to the airtime element of your bill.

With rising inflation, you’ll pay an extra £2.51 a month – or £30 a year.

It is understood Virgin Media O2 has already written to customers about the changes.

Once you received the letter, you would have had 30 days to terminate your contract without paying any penalty.

It may therefore be useful to check if you are still within this period, if you wish to change.

If you want to check how much extra money you’ll pay per month as a result of the April 1 increase, log into your online account and multiply your airtime rate by 1.117.

You will generally be in a good position to reduce your telephone bill if you reach the end of your contract and/or if you have accumulated a loyalty period with an operator.

All networks are open to haggling over the phone, so it’s worth calling yours to see if you can save money or get a better deal than the one you’re on.

You may well be able to recoup the amount of money you stand to lose due to inflation by getting a new deal.

If you find a good deal with another provider but are still not at least 3 months away from the end of your existing agreement, you are likely to face exit fees – so it’s worth checking if a change is worth it. taking into account the fees you will have to pay.

And, if your agreement with your network expires, it’s worth considering all the options available.

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