All good things have to end I guess

[AllyM]

Having previously been on a Fixed Price Plus plan, I have enjoyed the CPI % only price increase for the last couple of years but just had the email informing me they are changing the terms and conditions so that I am now subject to the £4 per month standard increase.

Quote from the email:

"From 1st April 2026, a price increase of £4 per month will apply to your broadband service charges. We feel that offering a fixed price increase is clearer and easier to understand than our previously communicated approach of CPI and makes it easier for you to see the price paid throughout your contract with us"

Translation:

"From 1st April 2026, a price increase of £4 per month will apply to your broadband service charges. We feel that a fixed price increase of £4 will most likely be much higher than the CPI percentage and make us much more profit throughout your contract with us"

I guess all good things have to come to an end at some point, but it does seem to make a mockery of actually having a contract of one party can just change the terms of the contract whenever it suits them.

[Mandisa-TT]

Hi @AllyM thank you for continuing the discussion — I appreciate you explaining your concerns so clearly. I understand why you feel the change conflicts with the expectations set when you joined on a Fixed Price Plus plan, and I’m sorry that this has left you feeling let down.
 

To give you full transparency:
 

Your original agreement guaranteed no changes during the minimum term and CPI‑linked increases after that period. Once the minimum term ends, the service continues on a rolling monthly basis, but it then follows the most up‑to‑date version of our terms and conditions. This is why the annual price change now follows the fixed‑amount model rather than the CPI approach that existed previously.
 

That doesn’t take away from how the original CPI promise feels from your side, and your feedback about how this comes across has been taken on board.

In terms of what we can do now:

• If you choose to recontract between 1–31 March, you will not receive the £4 increase this year.
• If you take a new 24‑month contract, you’re not locked into taking a second‑year increase without options. You can recontract again after those 24 months — and customers who recontract at the end of a fixed term continue to benefit from discounted pricing and avoid the annual increase applied to out‑of‑contract accounts.
  This is often the best way to maintain the lowest possible monthly price going forward.

[Mandisa-TT]

I understand @AllyM 

[AllyM]

The only issue with taking out a new contract is that I would be agreeing to the £4 per month price increase in the second year, so I would need to get a very good deal this year to make the whole 24 month contract worthwhile.

It would also be nice if TalkTalk could just acknowledge the statement  "When your contract ends, we promise to never increase your price above the rate of inflation"  made to those of us who took out a Fixed Price Plus contract, and have the courtesy to simply admit "we are reneging on our promise", rather than repeating generic evasive statements like "We’ve updated our terms and conditions" and "this year the price rise is being calculated a little bit differently".

[Philile-TT]

@AllyM if you choose to recontract with us between the 1st and 31st March you will be exempt from this year's price rise. 

[AllyM]

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@nambuso-TT wrote:

Hi @AllyM, thank you for contacting us today, this year the price rise is being calculated a little bit differently, because you’re out of contract and placed your last order before 12 August 2024, your annual price change is now a flat £4 instead of a CPI‑based increase.

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Still kind of missing the point. I think.

TalkTalk are of course free to change their terms and conditions if they wish, and that is perfectly ok for customers who subsequently agree to a contract with those updated terms and conditions.

The contract I agreed to however, was for no price increases during the initial 18 month minimum term and annual increases of CPI percentage rate of inflation thereafter. Just because I am "out of contract" does not mean that contract is null and void, it simply means I am outwith the minimum term during which I cannot terminate the service without penalty charges.

Here is the wording from the chat at my last renewal:

"You have chosen our Fixed Price Plus promotion. Fixed Price Plus means that the price of your broadband remains the same during the minimum contract term and will increase by no more than the CPI rate of inflation thereafter. When your contract ends, we promise to never increase your price above the rate of inflation"

It seems pretty clear that TallkTalk are trying to renege on that promise.

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@nambuso-TT wrote:

We’ve updated our terms and conditions because a fixed amount is clearer and easier to understand than the old CPI% approach, all major broadband providers now use fixed annual price increases, and TalkTalk is fully in line with the rest of the market. 

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The reason for the change is largely irrelevant, but I'm sure the huge majority of customers are intelligent enough to be able to look up the current CPI rate and calculate a percentage, so continuing to use that statement to imply that the change is beneficial to customers comes across as rather insulting. It is much more beneficial to TalkTalk as the chosen fixed value is much higher than the CPI rate is likely to be.

[nambuso-TT]

Hi @AllyM, thank you for contacting us today, this year the price rise is being calculated a little bit differently, because you’re out of contract and placed your last order before 12 August 2024, your annual price change is now a flat £4 instead of a CPI‑based increase. We’ve updated our terms and conditions because a fixed amount is clearer and easier to understand than the old CPI% approach, all major broadband providers now use fixed annual price increases, and TalkTalk is fully in line with the rest of the market. 

I see that you were sent communications to recontract with us, if you wish to take up this offer I can take a look at the available options for you, if you choose to recontract with us between the 1st and 31st March you will be exempt from this year's price rise.