Virgin Media and Which? have started a war of words after the consumer group accused the telecoms group of “potentially unlawful” price rises.
Which? said Virgin Media had pushed through inflation-linked mid-contract price increases while charging high exit fees for customers who chose to cancel.
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said Virgin Media was “trying to have its cake and eat it”.
“Which? believes this is not only unacceptable but potentially unlawful and Ofcom [the telecoms regulator] must investigate urgently,” she said.
Virgin Media strongly rejected the claim describing the accusations as “baseless” and “a one-sided, selective and misinformed reading of widely used contractual terms”.
Telecom customers at most providers have faced big price rises this year due to a structure that bases them on inflation plus 3.9%.
Concha said: “While other providers use the consumer price index (CPI) to calculate inflation-linked mid-contract price rises, Virgin Media is the only major broadband firm that will use the RPI from next spring."
Which? has formally complained to UK regulator Ofcom about the price rises and also a clause in Virgin Media’s terms and conditions that it says breaches the Consumer Rights Act.
A Virgin Media spokesman told the Telegraph: “We have always been open and transparent about any price increases.
"While we know that price changes are never welcome, against a backdrop of rising costs, increased usage and continued investment we have already openly set out to customers that we are introducing inflation-linked price changes from April next year, which are widely used and give customers greater certainty about what to expect from their bills.
“We have no plans to increase monthly bills multiple times within the same year. If separate out-of-bundle charges are increased at any point, this would be clearly outlined and customers would receive a right to cancel.
“Our terms and conditions have been drafted in line with standard industry practice, consumer law and Ofcom guidelines.”
Ofcom said it would respond to the issues raised by Which?