Martin Lewis issues urgent 'act now' warning to avoid huge price hikes
Martin Lewis has issued a warning over huge broadband and mobile price rises coming this spring - and says you need to "act now" to avoid them.
In the most recent Money Saving Expert email, Martin Lewis explained how telecoms giant usually increase prices in line with inflation.
"My heart sank last Wed, as the latest 10.5% CPI inflation was announced," he added, explaining this is what broadband and mobile firms base their price increases on.
He then pointed out that many businesses don't stop there with "most" lumping a further 3% to 4% on top.
The newsletter then revealed the biggest rises in broadband and mobile phone which companies had announced in the last seven days, with BT, EE and Plusnet being amongst the top.
Martin Lewis issues 8-week warning to phone users ahead of huge price hikes
The Money Saving Expert warned of huge prices rises to broadband and mobile bills in April (Getty Images)Price rises announced in the last week according to Money Saving Expert
- BT broadband and mobile - 14.4%
- EE broadband and mobile - 14.4%
- Plusnet broadband and mobile - 14.4%
- Shell broadband and mobile - Up to 13.5%
- Sky Mobile - 9% for out-of-contract
- TalkTalk broadband - 14.2% unless on a fixed price plus tariff
- Three broadband and mobile - 4.5%/14.4% depending on when you signed up
- Vodafone - TBC
The Money Saving Expert said for those who are still in contract, there is "little you can do", but advises making a note of when the contract ends and that you should "take action then".
However, around 16 million people are out of contract and are able to do something about it as they will not be penalised for leaving.
Martin added: "Feel free to leave, so ditch and switch or haggle and you halve what you pay.
"Just to be plain, you'll still be hit by the price rise, but for broadband, for example, 14% on £20/month is a lot less than 14% on £40/month."
The newsletter highlighted that the majority of people are currently paying around £30 to £40 a month for their broadband and line rant.
It then noted that the best deals come from short-lived promos you can't get direct from firms, involving cashback or vouchers.
It said: "The best thing to do is use our broadband comparison to find top deals where you live as what's available is postcode dependent."
The newsletter listed the top three deals which are on the market at the moment which were from Shell Energy, Virgin Media, and Sky.
Martin Lewis urges everyone with a mobile phone to send two texts to cut bills
Full details of these deals can be found in the Money Saving Expert newsletter online.
The Money Saving Expert said the rises are going to hit "already struggling people hard."
He added: "I wish the regulator Ofcom would crack down on this, though I don't hold out much hope. Above-inflation mid-contract rises are unfair and they push future inflation higher."
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