Banned: Surprise mobile mid-contract price rises

Meanwhile, Ofcom’s director for networks and communication, Natalie Black CBE, said that now, “more than ever, households want and need to plan their budgets.”

“Our new rules mean there will be no nasty surprises, and customers will know how much they will be paying and when, through clear labelling.”

Ofcom said it was unfair to expect customers to accommodate for surprise price rises linked to inflation, which measures price rises over time, and “can be incredibly volatile and… difficult to predict”.

Providers must now show information about increases “prominently” for customers’ attention, both during a sales call or in-store.

Ofcom began investigating the issue in 2003, and in its concluding report said that price increases communicated in an “unfair” way “could diminish consumer engagement, undermine confidence in the market and weaken competition”.

It said, as of April 2024, about six in 10 broadband and mobile customers were on contracts subject to inflation-linked price rises.