Telecoms watchdog Ofcom is investigating providers over inflation-driven mid-contract price rises, after a third of customers said they didn’t know if bills would be upped.
32% of customers suggested they were unaware if their phone bills could be increased mid-contract in a January Ofcom survey, suggesting price rises would be a surprise.
Ofcom said it was “vital” for people to know about price rises, given current economic uncertainty, and would investigate whether providers are clear enough when upping bills or creating new contracts.
Vodafone, O2, Three and EE make up the UK’s big four mobile contract providers, with the latter expected to raise prices by 14.4% at the end of the financial year in March.
With many other providers following suit in rising prices by amounts over and above inflation, customers are increasingly seeing pressures - stemming from higher costs last year - passed on in bills.
“Inflation-linked price rises can be unclear and unpredictable. So, we’re concerned that providers are making it difficult for customers to know what to expect,” commented Ofcom consumer protection director Cristina Luna-Esteban.
Ofcom has been investigating BT over the complexity of its contract, having already looked into its subsidiaries EE and Plusnet over concerns they were not providing customers with a short, simple summary of terms, as required since June last year.