topic Price increase in April 2021 in Fibre

Price increase in April 2021

pjds1 — Sat, 01 May 2021 17:54:59 GMT

In July 2020 I received an invitation

Renew your Faster Fibre and Line Rental contract
£23.50 per month for 18 months

No mid contract price rises for 18 months.

I accepted and the new contract started in August 2020. By my reckoning that contract is still valid until February 2022 but in April my bill increased by £2. How can Talktalk justify that?

Re: Price increase in April 2021

martswain — Sat, 01 May 2021 18:08:23 GMT

Please go to the "Your Account and Billing" section, there you will find hundreds of posts on this subject.

TT have invoked a clause if the Ts and Cs and ditched the fixed term contract.

You would have been notified by email in February or March around your billing date.

After receiving that email, you had 30 days to leave without penalty.

PS. Didn't read your attachment, I don't download anything that could be dodgy, however you have no cause to complain.

Re: Price increase in April 2021

pjds1 — Sat, 01 May 2021 21:27:57 GMT

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post.

I did receive the email notification in March but (as my attachment confirms) several emails from TT during the last 9 months had stated that my broadband contract was 'FIXED' so I did not expect this increase to apply to me. If, as you say, there are hundreds of posts on this subject then Talktalk presumably now has many disgruntled customers like me. I understood FIXED to mean just that.

You say "TT have invoked a clause <if> the Ts and Cs and ditched the fixed term contract". When I clicked on the link in my last email to the Ts&Cs I could only find the new Ts &Cs, not those relating to MY current contract so I was not aware of the clause you mention.

Presumably as I missed the deadline to sign up to a new contract and get 'an Amazon Echo Dot 4th gen (whatever that is!) or an Amazon Smart Plug,(?) or a Ring Indoor Cam' that I don't want, I could now be charged to leave!! I will be looking around for better service as I feel I DO have cause to complain.

Re: Price increase in April 2021

Birchcroft — Sat, 01 May 2021 21:58:29 GMT

While I am one of the many disgruntled customers who have had their price increased mid-contract I have to agree with @martswain that, legally at least, you don't have grounds to complain as Clause 16 has been in the Ts&Cs since at least 2018 and the email you received from TalkTalk made it clear that the change applied to you and that you had 30 Days to leave without penalty. Personally I used that period to negotiate a credit to cover the increase, others managed to negotiate a better deal.

So while what TalkTalk have done is morally objectionable legally Clause 16 of the contract, which is approved by the regulator, effectively means they have the right to change the contact when and how they wish, provided the give you 30 Days notice and the option to leave without penalty. Because it's allowed by the regulator all ISPs include a similar clause.