Britons have been urged to check if they can get a better broadband or mobile deal as prices will soon be rising.
Many providers implement mid-contract price hikes in April based on inflation plus an additional amount, with bills increasing on average £27.19 a year for broadband and £24.23 for mobile.
Figures from Uswitch.com suggested those who have stuck with the same provider will have see their bills increase 23.4 percent since March 2023.
Sabrina Hoque, telecoms expert with the group, said: “If you are facing a price increase, but are happy with your current provider’s service, it may still be worth running a comparison.
“By checking what prices are available elsewhere, you can always take these costs back to your current provider to negotiate a better deal.”
She explained the steps people should take to check if they can get a cheaper policy.
The consumer expert said: “Finding out when your contract ends, particularly if you haven’t moved in the past 18 or 24 months, is a great place to start as you will then know if you are free to leave without penalty.
“It’s always worth checking the small print, as some providers do allow customers to exit without penalty fees. This even applies to those who are in contract.
“Sky Broadband, Direct Save Telecom and Giganet are all good examples that will allow a penalty-free exit within the 30-day window of the price rise announcement.”
These providers allow customer to leave penalty free within a 30-day window of the price rise announcement but this does not apply to Sky TV customers.
Vodafone and Community Fibre have also said they will freeze prices until 2025 for those switching now ahead of the April increases.
Several mobile providers have also committed to not increasing their prices mid-contract, including Giffgaff, Talkmobile, Lebara, SMARTY, iD Mobile, Lyca, Asda Mobile, VOXI, Honest Mobile and Sky Mobile.
There are also smaller regional alternative networks who have pledged to not implement mid-contract increases.
These include Trooli, Zen Internet, Hyperoptic, Hull Fibre, Link Broadband, Open Fibre, Squirrel Internet, Infinics and Yayzi offer full fibre deals and have committed to not hiking their costs for consumers throughout their current contract agreements.
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