Fixed Price Plus

[Hedge23]

Hi,

I've been out of contract for a year and on Fixed Price Plus (FPP).

FPP is still mentioned in TT's help and support site (updated 21/11/25) and continues, there, to promise never to increase monthly bills, once out of contract, by more than the rate of inflation.

Last April, my bill went up by the CPI rise, as expected. Ten days ago, I received a TT email with options, one of which was "Do nothing". This would mean my bill increased by CPI, again, in April 2026. All fine and as expected.

Today I received an email saying TT were changing terms and conditions and that a £4 increase will apply from April. The amusing justification was that it is "easier to understand", no reference being made to its being 5 times the current rate of CPI increase.

If this is correct, it means that in TT's promise "won't increase by more than the rate of inflation, ever" needs a minor adjustment. "Ever" needs to be replaced with "for a year, or until we change our minds". A worthless promise which serves to define the company.

Have others received similar communications? Has TT decided to renege on its FPP promise? Or is it simply an erroneous communication? 

TT may have decided simply to get rid of its FPP customers.

Certainly,  if actions define promises as worthless, they are likely to succeed. 

Interested to learn if others have encountered this...

Cheers

[nambuso-TT]

I understand, I appreciate you pointing that out.  apologies for any inconvenience that this might have caused to you. Thanks

[Hedge23]

Hi nambuso.

Many thanks for your response which I know is given with all sincerity. 

I do try to be helpful so, with a degree of sincerity matching precisely your own, offer a suggestion.  If you Google the expression "I'm sorry you feel that way", you'll find it described as a dismissive,  gaslighting, non-apology designed to shift blame from the speaker's actions to the listener's feelings. Not what you intended, I know, so you may wish to remove the expression from your repertoire.

You're welcome.

[nambuso-TT]

Hi there @Hedge23 I am very sorry to hear that you feel this way.

[Hedge23]

Hi walle1j,

Indeed, I assumed, initially, that it was an incorrect email. This has happened before, in relation to pricing.

Unfortunately,  the TalkTalk responders, both here and following a CEO complaint, doubled, trebled and quadrupled down on it. The upshot was "We're changing your Ts and Cs" with no admission that an unequivocal promise was being broken or that the website was incorrect. 

There were some laughs, along the way. One involved defining the word "variable" before going on to say that its use within the expression "variable CPI increases" meant that Ts and Cs could change to ignore the previous promise. Another (CEO complaint response) said that the use of the word "fixed", within "fixed price increases" must mean that these extended to include Fixed Price Plus. Neither of these arguments was presented with a tincture of irony.

I was amused at TalkTalk people employing absurd, and demonstrably incorrect, attempts to use syntactical nuance to defend the indefensible.

Happy, in the end, that this nonsense provided the necessary impetus for me to leave.

Good luck with your wait for an unknown bill in April. Whatever it is, I'm confident you'll get a splendid, common sense explanation for it.

[mandisa1-TT]

Hi there @walle1j We apologize for any inconvenience caused to you. Please start you own thread so we can further look into this for you.

[walle1j]

I'm in a similar situation (out of contract with a CPI% increase once I am out of contract). I have spent nearly three hours on the phone to TalkTalk. 

This morning, I was informed by a member of the complaints team that some of their customers had been sent the wrong price increase email.  Like you I should be a fixed CPI increase when I am out of contract. 

I was informed that I wouldn’t know what the new amount will be until I get billed next month and then to contact them. I stated that this was Ofcom would be that happy with that.

[ferguson]

@Hedge23 

Good luck with your new provider, would you care to share who they are?

[Thabile-TT]

Hi there @Hedge23 I would feel the same way if I were in your shoes. I apologize for the inconvenience, as we will investigate this matter and ensure that you do not receive these types of calls in the future.

[Hedge23]

Thank you for your reply. I am not "being contacted by the retentions department". Rather, I am receiving abandoned calls, with a recorded message. I received another, an hour ago. We are into double figures. Here is commentary from Ofcom, dated 26 January 2026.

"Silent and abandoned calls are a form of misuse of electronic communications services and networks. Organisations should ensure that their practices, systems and processes are designed to prevent silent and abandoned calls. This includes ensuring Automated Calling Systems (ACS), dialler systems and call handling arrangements do not generate these types of calls. 

Repeated silent and abandoned calls may amount to persistent misuse under the Communications Act 2003. Organisations are reminded that Ofcom may take action for persistent misuse including imposing penalties of up to £2 million, taking into account Ofcom’s statement of persistent misuse and enforcement guidelines. "

Stop it now.

[Philile-TT]

@Hedge23 If you wish not to be contacted by the retentions team, I can write a note on your account advising them that you do not want to be contacted. 

[Hedge23]

Thank you, Philile, for the reply.

I note that you say "Yes, the terms and conditions has (sic) changed...". I guess the demonstrably more accurate words "Yes, we have broken or promise..." aren't allowed. 

No matter. I have another question for you. I know (per your accounts to February 2025 which ref a 2% attrition rate) that TalkTalk has been seeing an average of 16,000 customers leave, each week. I decided, last Thursday, to join their number. The switch is being handled by my new provider. TalkTalk has emailed to confirm the date and that I do not need to do anything.

Why, then, have I been having multiple calls, each day from Friday, from 03451 72088, your retentions department? Nobody is there. Simply a recorded message, stating (incorrectly) that you need some "key information" and that someone will call me. You do not require any information.

What type of organisation imagines that it is acceptable to make robocalls with a recorded message? What are you hoping to achieve? Is someone going to promise not to break any more promises, I wonder.

[Philile-TT]

@Hedge23 as mentioned above "if your order date is before 12/08/2024 and you are out of contract you will be affected by the £4 increase". You are currently out contract and your order was before 12/08/2026. Yes, the terms and conditions has changed for customers who are out of contract on fixed price plus promotion. Communication was sent out to you advising you that you will be affected by price change. 

[Hedge23]

Thank you for the reply, Mandisa1.

I wonder if you could clarify and confirm three things for me, please.

1. Fixed Price Plus promise.

As a reminder, this said "With Fixed Price Plus, you'll never have to worry about mid-contract price rises. Plus, once your contract ends, your monthly bill will never rise above the annual rate of inflation, ever. "

Given your points 1 and 3, is there any part of the following statement with which you disagree and, if so, on what basis?

• "TalkTalk sold an add on called Fixed Price Plus which included a specific promise, itself not time-limited. By imposing new Terms, from April 2026, TalkTalk is breaking that promise."

Further, what is a "former FPP customer " (your point 3.) How can such a person exist, without recontracting, given the "ever" promise?

2. Website

Your page, dated 26 February 2026, says the £4 increase applies to new customers joining after 1 April 2026 or existing customers recontracting from that date.

I fall into neither category.

This page links to the "annual price update" page. That page contains the FAQs, one of which specifically excludes Fixed Price Plus customers from the change.

Is there any part of the following statement with which you disagree and, if so, on what basis?

• "Despite being updated as recently as 26th February 2026, TalkTalk's website misrepresents its pricing policy."

3. Terms and Conditions

Have these changed, since 16  November 2025? If so, where may I find a copy? Clearly, when the £4 change was first announced, it was envisaged that the FPP promise would be honoured, hence the point in FAQs. Has a decision been taken, in the interim, specifically to break that promise via a new set of Ts and Cs?

Thank you for your assistance. 

[mandisa1-TT]

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to you, however terms and conditions have been updated, hence you were sent out communication.

[mandisa1-TT]

To clarify the discrepancy, you’ve highlighted:

The Terms and condition of customers who were on a fixed price plus have been amended.
 

1. About the Fixed Price Plus (FPP) wording on the website

You are correct that the FAQ section refers to FPP customers continuing with CPI‑linked increases. This reflects how the plan operated previously. However, as of the most recent update to our Terms & Conditions, the price change approach for customers who are out of contract and whose order date was before 12 August 2024 has been updated to the £4 fixed annual increase, regardless of whether their previous plan was CPI‑only or CPI + 3.7%.
 

2. Why your 14/02 and 26/02 emails differ

The email sent on 17 February was part of a general re-contracting communication, explaining your options if you wished to remain on your existing plan structure.
The communication sent on 26 February is the formal annual price change notification, and this reflects the updated Terms & Conditions that now apply to your account.
 

3. Why the change applies to FPP customers

We understand your concerns regarding the original FPP promise. The recent T&C update means that all customers meeting the criteria — including former FPP customers — now fall under the revised fixed £4 structure. This is why the April change differs from the CPI‑only increase you would previously have expected.
 

4. What you can do now

If you prefer not to have the £4 adjustment applied, you do have an option:

Recontract between 1–31 March — doing so means you will not be affected by this year’s price rise.

I know this situation has been frustrating, especially with the conflicting wording between emails and web pages. I

Thanks again for your patience while we work through this with you.

[Hedge23]

Oh dear.

We appear to have a linguistic issue, here.

The placement of the adjective "variable" (and thank you for defining the word) adjacent to CPI correctly identifies the CPI as variable. That is what such indices are. They vary, over time, to reflect the thing they are measuring. 

"Variable", here, cannot be interpreted as meaning "subject to CPI increases or something...anything...else" which is what your (with all due respect, rather eccentric) interpretation suggests.

[Philile-TT]

In the FAQS under the section you are reading, please be advised that it is stated that "your broadband plan will continue to be subject to the variable Consumer Price Index (CPI)". Variable meaning liable to change. The rise for our customers that are on a variable contract is £4 hence you are charged at £4. Terms and conditions do change hence it is not the same as previous. 

[Hedge23]

Thank you for your response, Phillie.

The website page to which you refer is here

https://www.talktalk.co.uk/legal/annual-price-change

As you say, it refers to the date 12/08/24 in the main text. However, and as I have already mentioned, it says that customers joining before that date will face a 4% increase, rather than CPI plus 3.7%. As I pointed out, 3.7% never applied to Fixed Price Plus customers.

As I have also mentioned already, the FAQ, at the foot of the page, asks "Which plans are affected?". Herein, it covers, specifically, customers of Fixed Price Plus plans, saying they will continue to see CPI increases (if out of contract and having joined before 12/08/24).

So the website says that the "ever" promise from TalkTalk is being honoured. Your message says that is not being honoured, ignoring the only reference within that page to Fixed Price Plus.

Can you explain the discrepancy?

[Philile-TT]

@Hedge23 the 17/02/2026 email advises you about being out of contract and is an offer for you to recontract, this is not the initial price rise communication, the price rise communication is the email that you had received on the 26/02/2026. I was looking at your account and your contract ended on the 27/02/2025 the communication and also on the website it is stated that if your order date is before 12/08/2024 and you are out of contract you will be affected by the £4 increase, your contract was before that date (28/202/2023)  hence you will be affected by this £4 increase, the terms and conditions have changed they are not the same as the previous years were a fixed price plus customer was only affected by CPI increase. 

If you wish to renew your contract with TalkTalk and you do this between the 1st-31st of March, you will be exempt from this year's price rise. 

[Hedge23]

Further to your response where you say that FPP is, in fact, dealt with in the link you provided, I have had another look. The page, updated today, itself links to another page with more details.

On that page is a FAQ section, one of whose headings says "Which plans are affected?" Therein, I read, under the FPP section, "Once out of contract, for those customers who joined us before 12 August 2024, your broadband plan will continue to be subject to the variable Consumer Price Index (CPI). "

This rather suggests that the email I received on 17/2 was correct and that received 26/2 incorrect. 

Can you confirm, please?