Vodafone have delivered a blow to customers this week after announcing a price hike to its broadband plans.
The telecoms company has sent out messages to customers informing them of the rises and what it will mean for their future bills.
Many customers will see their monthly costs go up this month, with the increase partly due to the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) hike at 5.4%, but Vodafone have said that in order to support the rise in their running costs and to keep up with increased demand, an additional 3.9% will be added as well. This, they say, is so they can "continue essential investment in their network as they expand coverage."
Their email to customers said: "We wanted to let you know that we’re making a change to the cost of your broadband plan. We understand that no one wants to see prices increase, but like many businesses we’re experiencing a significant rise in the cost of running our network and providing our services.
"Your monthly cost will go up from your April bill. This increase is the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate at 5.4% to support the rise in our running costs to keep up with increased demand and an additional 3.9% to continue essential investment in our network as we expand coverage. For example, if you were paying £20 a month, your monthly cost would increase by £1.86."
However, one loyal customer said that the price increases will force him to shop around for a better broadband deal despite being with Vodafone for many years. Andrew Stuart said he was shocked when he first read the email, stating that it's another thing to add on top of the cost of living rises.
He said: "When I saw the price rise, I was shocked. I know things are going up a lot but a 9.3% increase on a monthly bill does seem a bit much, when everything else is being squeezed at the same time and real terms income after tax is actually going down. It's an essential utility for work, so it's not something I can do without, but I am tempted to shop around, despite having a few years of relatively painless service."
Andrew is currently paying £29 a month for his broadband but the increases will mean his new monthly bill will work out as £31.76, an increase of £2.76 per month. Although this seems a small amount, Andrew has said it adds up when you factor in other rises elsewhere.
He added: "It's yet another thing going up, energy, National Insurance, council tax, petrol and food prices and now this."
Vodafone customers who took out a home broadband plan starting from February 2, 2021, will be subject to a price increase based on the December CPI rate (5.4%) + 3.9%. Those who took out a contract before will be subject to a price increase based on the March’s RPI rate (8.2%). The average monthly price increase for our broadband customers will be £2.44.
A Vodafone UK spokesperson said: "We know no one wants to see prices increase, but these reflect the rising costs that we continue to face in running our network and providing our services. Like many other industries, we face rising operational costs, including energy, staffing, logistics and transport.
"Unlike many other industries, we also have multi-million pound licence fees for spectrum usage, and a requirement to make costly changes to our supply chain. These price increases are essential for us to maintain investment in our network and services, and continue to improve our customers’ experience on our network.”
Vodafone have also said they will not be increasing prices for those customers who are registered with them as financially vulnerable, as of March 20. They said they offer a range of lower tariff mobile and home broadband plans, from theirs Basics range through to Pay as you go and VOXI, as well as their Superfast broadband plans.
Mobile customer who took out a contract from 9 December 2020 will see an increase in their monthly bill from April 2022 based on the Consumer Price Index rate published in January (5.4%), plus 3.9%.
Customers who signed up to a new contract before 9 December 2020 will see an increase in their monthly bill from April 2022 based on March’s RPI rate (8.2%). Customers on Vodafone EVO plans will only see an increase to their monthly bill on their Airtime Plan (rather than both Airtime and Device plan). The average monthly price increase for mobile customers will be £2.31.
Vodafone have released a deal where customers can get up to twice as much data as they did previously with no additional cost – meaning a £15 Big Value Bundle will now get them 20GB of data instead of 10GB. Existing Vodafone Pay As You Go customers will also benefit from the increased data allowance which will be automatically updated for them on their current bundle. Find out more here.
