Virgin Media O2 customers set to face hefty phone bill hike
Phone bills for Virgin Media and O2 customers are set to rocket as the telecom giants feels the inflation sting.
All Virgin Mobile customers will face a 11.7 per cent rise – the 7.8 per cent current rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, only O2 customers who joined or upgraded to the network after 25 March 2021 would pay the full increase. Bills for customers who joined earlier will go up by the current RPI rate of 7.8 per cent.
The price increase only applies to airtime charges as opposed to the cost of the device, which is bad news for customers who have a ‘bundled tariff’.
However, a spokesperson for O2 told City PM that the majority of its customers have airtime and device costs separated out in their contracts, thereby softening the blow for many.
Virgin Mobile wrote to customers in January, warning that increases were on the way, and allowed customers to give 30 days’ notice to exit their contracts without penalty.
An O2 spokesperson said: “We recognise price changes are never welcome, and always balance keeping our prices competitive with the need to continue investing in the services that our customers use and love.”