Now Broadband customers to face price hike from July 5

Most families signed up to Now Broadband will be paying £42 a year more to get online from July 5, the provider has announced.

The price increase is Now's first since it launched in 2018 and the £3.50 a month increase will affect most of its broadband and home phone customers, regardless of which plan you're on. The only exception is Now's social tariff Broadband Basics, available to households claiming Universal Credit or other benefits. TV packages are set separately and are not included in the July price rise, although your broadband price will still rise if you have a Now Broadband and Now TV package.

Those unhappy with the extra fee are being allowed to switch plans without facing any penalties so it’s a good time to shop around and the news came in the same week that Now's owner, Sky announced a promotion offering half-price broadband until next year.

The offer is available on Superfast Broadband and Ultrafast Plus plans, with prices starting from £17 per month, although bear in mind that the headline price is for six months only and will double in December.

Sky Superfast Broadband costs £17 until the end of the year and £34.50 for the rest of the plan, and Sky Ultrafast Plus costs £24 per month until the end of the year, then £48 per month. Neither plan has a setup fee.

Most other major providers, including BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, as well as Sky, have already implemented price rises of up to 14.4% for their broadband customers earlier this year, amid a review into mid-contract price hikes on mobile and broadband bills by telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Ofcom's research found that around a third of mobile and broadband customers do not know whether their provider can increase their price in the middle of a contract and among those that did know, around half did not know how the rise would be calculated. The regulator is also concerned that providers aren't being clear enough about what customers can expect to pay during the full length of their contract.

Did you know your broadband provider can increase your prices in the middle of your contract? Join in the conversation below

Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com founder, said: "Ofcom looked into this issue a few years ago, and the solution it came up with then was too weak. During a period of lower inflation the impact of the relatively flaccid rules wasn't felt. Now, people are being slapped across their fiscal faces with 14% rises and it's very obvious this is an issue. I've twice said on my show that if I ran Ofcom I'd ban these mid-contract above inflation rises. Hopefully soon we'll see it do the same."

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