Brits paying an extra £277 for bills after price hikes - how to cut costs

Householders are paying hundreds more for key bills in the latest round of hikes. Mobile phone customers have seen their bills rise by £7.90 a month, according to data from Uswitch.

It means Brits are paying £94.80 for their mobiles each year. People are also paying £15.20 each month for broadband, coming to £182.40 more each year.

Both of these mean people are paying an extra £277.20 combined. Under current rules, broadband and mobile firms can hike prices mid-contract in line with inflation, plus up to 3.9 per cent on top of this.

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Most companies use Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation data for December or Retail Prices Index (RPI) for January to decide their increases, Mirror reports. This year, increases were between 7.9 per cent and 8.8 per cent.

Due to high inflation over the past two years, customers have seen major increases in bills compared to other years. There were hikes of up to 17.3 per cent last year.

Uswitch said the worst affected have been loyal customers. According to the price comparison site, mobile customers across both pay-monthly and SIM-only contracts who have stayed with their provider for eight to nine years paid an extra £13.20 on their mobile bill last month.

Those who switched their provider less than one year ago were the best off, with increases averaging out at £6.70. Broadband customers who stayed with their provider for seven to eight years paid an extra £22.10 this month.

Those who switched less than one year ago paid 23 per cent lower than the national average. More than half of Brits (57 per cent) say they were not expecting the mid-contract price increase this year.

This is despite regulations from the ASA, which came into effect last December, requiring providers to ensure information on price rises is "up front and prominent" and not in small print.

Ofcom has announced a consultation outlining plans to stop inflation-linked price rises linked to uncertain future figures, with findings due to be published this year. Uswitch said this could offer customers protection from uncertain price increases during their contract.

But it will only apply to customers taking new contracts once in effect - so customers still within their previous contract will not benefit. Sabrina Hoque, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, said: "An expected Ofcom ban on inflation-linked price increases will be welcome news to consumers, giving them increased clarity on what they'll pay for their contract upfront. But this still doesn’t undo the impact of year-on-year rises for millions of Brits.

"There are a few different factors in play that contribute to these big variations, especially for those who have been with their provider a long time. A key factor is the compounding effect of annual year-on-year mid-contract price rises, as each year’s percentage increase will be based on a bigger and bigger total.

"After multiple years, this will really make a difference. Customers seeing these price rises can still take action. Most broadband and mobile contracts range from around 18 to 24 months.

"Your provider will let you know when your contract is about to end, so don’t be tempted to ignore these emails when they come through - it really only takes a few minutes to run a comparison and see what else is out there. And you don’t even have to leave your provider - your current provider could have some brilliant new offers available.

"Don’t fall in the trap of being out of contract, call them up and negotiate a better deal."