Only a few days left for 1.3 million mobile customers to make a crucial move – or pay more
MORE than a million mobile customers have just a few days left to make a crucial move or end up paying more.
The majority of Sky Mobile's telephone rates will increase on February 14.
Monthly bills for the average customer without a contract will increase by 3 percent.
Most data rates of 20GB and under increase by £1.
Those on rates of 25GB or more will see a £2 increase, although some customers will face a £3 increase.
This means customers will face an annual increase of between £12 and £36.
Sky says around 71 percent of its non-contract customers will be affected by the increase.
This means that around 1.3 million people will be affected by an increase of around 3 percent, 0.9 percentage points below the current inflation rate of 3.9 percent.
Generally, most cell phone providers increase their prices around the beginning of the year.
This is the second time in six years that Sky has increased the price of one of its mobile plans.
Last year the company increased prices by an average of 9 percent.
The price increase will take effect from February 14. This means that if you pay your phone bill on the 20th of each month, you will pay the extra amount from February 20th.
Sky Mobile users still under contract remain unaffected.
There's still time to take action so you can potentially avoid paying more.
Customers can change their contract by contacting Sky's customer service team and taking out a new contract between now and February 14.
'INVESTING IN NETWORK'
A Sky spokesperson said: “To continue to invest in our network and provide the best service to our customers, non-contract customers will see an average increase of 3 percent on their monthly Sky Mobile bill.
“This is consistent with the majority of our tariffs seeing a £1 monthly increase, maintaining our position as one of the best value mobile providers in the market.”
Other major mobile phone providers are expected to announce bill increases in the coming weeks.
Telecom companies typically base their prices on the inflation rate plus 3.9 percent more.
Normally, the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) or January Retail Price Index (RPI) is used to determine the increases.
The core CPI, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose 5.1 percent in the 12 months to December 2023, ONS figures show.
The RPI figure currently stands at 5.2 percent.
Most customers will see their bills increase from April 1, although some companies such as Sky could bring this forward.
FREE TO LEAVE
If you are not happy with the change, you can leave.
Only customers without contracts are affected, so that means you can leave without penalty if you wish.
You can leave at any time leading up to or after February 14th.
Of course, shop around for the best deal; these can be found on comparison websites such as MoneySupermarket and Uswitch.
Also check out Smartphonechecker, which lists all available phone deals.
NEGOTIATE FOR A DEAL
It's also worth negotiating with Sky to see if it gets you a better deal.
If you think your bills are too high and want to reduce them, the first thing you need to do is find out what the cheapest deal on the market is.
You can use this rate as a negotiating tool to get a better offer from your provider.
Contact your provider to see if they can match this rate. If not, you might want to switch.
For more ways to reduce your phone bill, we have eight tips to reduce costs.
Plus, here's the full list of providers that increased their bills last year.
Here's also the full list of household bills set to rise by up to £370 by 2024 – and how to avoid paying more.
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