Price Increase during fixed price contract

[swaish]

I am 13 months into a two year fixed cost contract. I have today received an email advising my monthly costs will be increasing by £2 a month; not a vast amount of money but unexpected.

Can TalkTalk increase costs during a fixed cost contract? If so can I terminate the contract without penalty? Pleased with the service overall but there are some keen offers around and it may be worth me moving.

Swaish

[Anonymous]

i have also gone to another provider, granted i am without internet for 9 days, i seemed to of manged for years before internet came along, just found the whole experience totally annoying, especially when i paid money towards the tv box for recording tv and i have to return it with the router but get non of the money i paid towards the tv box back

[stewartrodgers]

In regard to people opting to leave as a result of the £2 price increase. 

I reckon these "automated" letters and emails warning people of early termination fees may cause some folks just to stay with TalkTalk in order to avoid any potential dispute. Customers who would normally leave might consider it not worth the potential hassle of encountering admin errors and end up staying.

These automated warnings may just be working in TalkTalks favour. 

Cynics might consider that a useful ploy.

As for me, l have already signed up with another provider. The trust has gone as far as I am concerned.

[ferguson]

I doubt you will find much disagreement with your sentiments here @R2223.

Sadly, the general conditions allow them to change contract terms at any time as long as they give you 30 days' notice that you can leave without penalty. 

[R2223]

I renewed last year after they sent an email expressly stating that my price would be fixed for 18 months. That "Good Things Come To Those Who Stay" email that has been posted in here. Surely this is breaking the law because of the wording in that email was absolutely explicit.

It's disgusting if I'm honest, the latest company to use Coronavirus as the excuse of the day. At the least they should honour and see out people currently on a fixed contact.

[glenntr]

Just to reiterate my posting earlier, see Ofcom's page on Changes to Terms and Conditions Contracts - Ofcom

Pasted from Ofcom:

Phone and broadband providers can change the terms of a contract so long as they give you a month's notice.

If your provider increases your monthly price beyond what you agreed when you signed up, it should:

1. give you at least one month's notice of the price rise; and
2. allow you to exit your contract without penalty if you choose to

So it's Ofcom who have allowed this practice, I'm not exonerating TT from their actions, but they are just playing within the rules. Where else would the consumer be subject to such practices that are skewed in favour of the supplier.

[Redflag]

So my fixed price contract counts for nothing !

[Anonymous]

that is correct when i cancelled they sent an email stating early charge of £117 but a quick call and then got another email stating i owe nothing except my current monthly bill as my bill is the 23rd and as that bill is produced on the 15th i may have a small final bill to cover from the 15th to the 23rd, so yes the email for early termination is generic but like mentioned TT should have done more as they must have known customers would leave, not everyone will bow down to firms...

[AllyM]

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@dboat wrote:

Regarding switching people are reporting getting threatening emails regarding charges

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To be fair to TalkTalk, as much as I am upset by what they have done, they are not deliberately "threatening" people who leave with extra charges. People are getting automated emails quoting early termination fees because TalkTalk have been too lazy to set up their systems to take account of people leaving due to the price increase. If you are in the position it is a bit of a pain but you can contact customer services to explain and they will get the charges waived.

[dboat]

Can I really get fibre? who knows? Regarding switching people are reporting getting threatening emails regarding charges. I will try contacting the CEO office to see what my options are.

[AllyM]

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@ferguson wrote:

PlusNet prices are set to rise by CPI + 3.9% from June this year. 

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Isn't £18.99 plus the increase still likely to be less than @dboat is paying now, never mind an extra £2 increase next month?

[Nexster]

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@Nexster wrote:

@Arne-TalkTalk 

Apologies if this has already been asked.

Should people choose to leave is it possible for you to leave a note on there accounts stating this rather then having them have to call up?

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@Arne-TalkTalk 

Any chance of a responce please?

[ferguson]

Plusnet prices are set to rise by CPI + 3.9% from June this year. 

[AllyM]

@dboat Have you tried escalating your complaint to the CEOs office (email CEO Tristia Harrison and it will be passed onto one of her complaint managers)? Some people have been given a credit to the value of £2 per month for the remainder of their contract.

I got upgraded to Fibre yesterday, even though ADSL was fast and reliable enough for my needs. Most ISPs seem to be pushing to get people off ADSL nowadays so they don't want to do deals on it.

If you want to go with your option 4, I noticed that Plusnet seemed to be offering reasonable prices on ADSL.

[dboat]

I have Fast Broadband (ADSL) the only fibre available in my area is Fibre 150 and even that I am not 100% sure on. My contract was due to end Jan. 2022.  From what I have worked out these are the the options in my area . 

1.  Do nothing.  My monthly charge goes from £19.99 to £21.99.  They can increase this anytime they feel like it and will definitely go by CPI+3.7% (or what ever % they want at that time).

2. Take the retention deal they offered me in chat and my monthly charge goes fro £19.99 to £22.95 (Yes that's more than if I do nothing)   They can increase this anytime  they feel like it and will definitely go up by CPI+3.7% (or what ever % they want at that time) next year. There does not seem to be Fix Priced Plus plan for Fast Broadband (i.e. ADSL)

3. Move to Fibre 150 (If it is really available) at £32/Month for 6 months and £64 for 12 Months.  Will this increase by CPI+3.7%, more than likely.  Is the mythic Fixed Price Plus available for this? Who knows.

4. Sod off somewhere else.

[allalogie]

Put another way....

Every year.....TalktTalk are going to increase your bill by 6 times the current rate of inflation...

Not a good look...🙄

[AllyM]

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@allalogie wrote:

Aside from the £2 monthly increase on what was an apparent fixed price contract....

.....increasing each year by inflation PLUS 3.7% is just taking the mickey....

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Unfortunately, annual price increases of inflation plus a %age are what they're all doing.

Not nice when so many people have lost their jobs and those of us still working are getting 0% pay rises.

[rolandsizzers]

FYI.

Tried but failed to get a £2 credit for the remaining year on my contract. Offered a price rise of £1.05 and £2.50 discount for three months. Took 20 mins with the Indian call centre and then 45 mins on/off hold with the Ireland call centre and an escalating series of hoops to get this - with lots of fake referrals to managers etc. So.... have decided to try PlusNet, mainly because of Talktalk’s stubborn attitude and lack of customer loyalty recognition and a lack of confidence after their much publicised fixed price assurances. Plusnet are offering £75 Amazon gift card via uswitch making them cheaper than my existing deal. Hopefully the switch will go smoothly. After 6 years plus with TalkTalk it seems a shame, if they had increased my price at the end of my contract I would probably have stayed. I am sure their fixed costs don’t vary when we all leave so they are simply down on revenue - whoever thought that was a good strategy will surely not get promoted!!!! At the end I was assured that “my account was blacklisted and I would be welcome back” !!!!! I should &£#@@#£ ing think so!!!!

[allalogie]

Aside from the £2 monthly increase on what was an apparent fixed price contract....

.....increasing each year by inflation PLUS 3.7% is just taking the mickey....

[davep]

I guess the gigabit roll out coming to you in next x years and headlining the news today is where our extra charges are going.  Just think, I won't have a normal phone line, may not be able to have my super slow broadband but have the privilege of paying probably at least double what  I now pay.  We will all be paying far more in the future.  I guess there are still those like me who don't really need it but will have to subsidise others.

Fibre was laid to the village a few years ago because the copper wire was stolen.  I still don't need it.

Hopefully some will find the comments amusing.  I guess plenty may not.  

[Kenny DX]

Same thing has happened to me. I don't want to do business with a company that renages on its contracts. I have been a talktalk customer since it was tiscali, but that counts for nothing, I will be cancelling my contract, so that they will get nothing further from me. I hope that many of you will do the same so that companies might learn that they cannot treat their customers like this.