By spring 2023, some broadband customers could see their annual bills rise by as much as £54, according to recent reports. This news comes as more internet service providers (ISPs) have confirmed they will be rolling out price rises that are above the current rate of inflation (10.5%).
The situation was also addressed this week by Martin Lewis from popular consumer rights website MoneySavingExpert, who corroborated these claims and encouraged bill payers nationwide to review their current broadband deals and consider switching to a new, cheaper provider.
The advice for consumers is to also act sooner rather than later as the increases are expected to happen at the end of March or in early April.
How are these price rising being calculated?
Spring price rises are nothing new and retailers across various sectors often review their pricing in line with the latest updates to the consumer price index (CPI) or retail price index (RPI).
However, right now these indexes are at their highest levels in 40 years (10.5% and 13.5% respectively). On top of this, providers often add their own yearly contractual cost increase. As a result, price rises are expected to be significant.
According to Yahoo! Finance, BT has already said it will be increasing its broadband bills by 14.4% - which works out at 10.5% CPI and 3.9% from their own costs. As such, similar percentage increases from the likes of Vodafone, TalkTalk and Plusnet could see customers 'pay an extra £54.86, £54.22 and £52.67 a year respectively'.
The switching process
Switching is something you can do online or over the phone with your ISP, once you've scoured the best broadband deals and found something better for your needs and budget.
Often the process can be relatively simple and not overly time consuming - plus, your new provider will handle the move across to their services. Although, in some cases you may need to pay an exit/cancellation fee to break from your existing ISP's broadband contract.
However, a user poll from MoneySavingExpert has also found that calling your provider and haggling with them over the phone for a better deal can be a successful tactic. Those involved in the poll said that TalkTalk, Sky and Virgin Media were the most receptive and accommodating with this particular strategy.
That said, it's still worthwhile looking over the broadband market right now and having a list of packages that you can use as a reference point when looking for something better. This is also something you can use our widget (below) for; simply put in your postcode and we'll show you the top deals in your area.
