topic Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed in Pay Monthly

2025 price increases - clarifications

phonek — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:19:35 GMT

Yet again, confusing info whenever I phone Customer Services (FIVE times now!) about this.

I have an iPhone 16PM and Apple Watch Ultra (these are both owned outright; bought from Apple directly).

I have sim-only on the phone (£8/mth) and the watch as a sync device (£7/mth).

Q: How much is each part of my plan going up by?

One CS agent says increase is 1.80+0.75 (phone+watch), another contradicts insisting its 1.80+1.80 (phone+watch). So which is it?!

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

Enlli — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 16:30:34 GMT

It's £1.80 for the phone airtime and 75p for the watch

From the email I received

With this in mind, we want to let you know that from your April 2025 bill, the monthly cost of airtime plans will increase by £1.80 and any data only or watch plans by 75p.

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

phonek — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 16:41:36 GMT

Yes I got that on my billing email:

"...from April you will see an increase to your bill of £1.80 for airtime plans or 75p for data or watch plans..."

But also another email that said:

"New sim only tariff, for £7.00* a month
Airtime Plan initial cost:
£7.00* a month

Total monthly cost £7.00 a month
Increasing to £8.80 in Apr-2025 bill
Increasing to £10.60 in Apr-2026 bill
Airtime Plan will increase every year thereafter by £1.80 from April bill.
2024 Sim Only Smart Watch 30 day 1001 Airtime Plan
0 Minutes
0 Texts
1GB Data
Volt O2 Travel Inclusive Zone"

Contradictory?

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

phonek — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:17:38 GMT

Should also add that these price increases are WAAAAY higher than under the old system, as well!

Whoever at Ofcomm thought pounds+pence increases would be better than percentage increases, must have been smoking something!

phone: 1.80 / 8 = 22.5% increase

watch: 0.75 / 7 = 10.7% increase

both: 2.55 / 15 = 17% increase

Under the previous system, even if you got high inflation RPI rate (say 5%) + 3.9% extra = just 8.9% increase. (so 8.9% on £15 = £1.34 total increase, vs. £2.55 on new system!)

Or am I missing something?

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

madasaf1sh — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 16:53:18 GMT

@phonek

I wouldn't say anything at o2 is straight forward.. and think they have confused themselves, the way I have read it is for exisiting watch contracts then it is 75p, for new watch contracts its £1.80 a year... (for a service that doesn't work)...

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

phonek — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:11:56 GMT

@madasaf1sh

Thanks, Yeah as usual, c0ck-eyed info that confuses staff as much as customers. 🙄

What do you mean by this, out of interest: "...(for a service that doesn't work)..."?

Do watch plans not work for you?

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

phonek — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:08:57 GMT

Another thing about these increases, is the percentage increase is now higher for those on cheap deals, yet lower for those on expensive ones. Very very sneaky!

eg.

cheap deal

1.80 / 8.00 = 22.5% increase

expensive deal

1.80 / 30.00 = 6% increase

So in effect, people who shopped around to get new deals via comparison sites are being forced into higher prices quicker over time, whereas legacy customers are getting slower increases over time.

No doubt very deliberately to counteract the (often sim-only) cheap deals marketplace, we're now in.

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

Enlli — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:30:28 GMT

Don't forget £3.50 on Virgin Media if you signed up this year. So a simple Volt Package of Broadband and Phone goes up by £5.30

Mind you my Water rates have gone up over £200. Apparently the CEO and shareholders need a rise

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

phonek — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 18:38:24 GMT

@Enlli

Yeah, my Virgin Media broadband is on the older percentage thing of +7.5% (3.6 RPI+3.9), thus 'only' £3.26/m more. So £0.24/m or £2.88/y saved. Wow lucky me! 🙄

I'm dreading my Thames Water bill this year. If they're bankrupt (or near to), then the previous two years of 12% increases each year are likely to be nothing compared to this year's one!

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

madasaf1sh — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 18:50:15 GMT

I gave up and have gone back to a Pixel 9 Pro Fold with a Pixel watch as my personal phone, and it stopped working near enough then some things would work, then stop again..
Too much faffing...

Blame OFCOM for these price increases across all networks as those on cheap tariffs are all been screwed over

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

Oxonian — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:07:51 GMT

@phonek wrote:
Whoever at Ofcomm thought pounds+pence increases would be better than percentage increases, must have been smoking something!

I think @phonek that we calculated a couple of weeks' ago that those with monthly bills of circa £23.00 or more will benefit ; those with lower bills will be disadvantaged. 👍

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

phonek — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 22:02:43 GMT

@Oxonian - Oh I see. Got a link to that thread by any chance?

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

Oxonian — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 21:09:01 GMT

I actually cannot see the thread that I referred to @phonek ; but it does exist as I did the calculations.

I will have another look when i have more time tomorrow. 👍

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

phonek — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:21:54 GMT

@phonek wrote:
@Enlli
Yeah, my Virgin Media broadband is on the older percentage thing of +7.5% (3.6 RPI+3.9), thus 'only' £3.26/m more. So £0.24/m or £2.88/y saved. Wow lucky me! 🙄

I'm dreading my Thames Water bill this year. If they're bankrupt (or near to), then the previous two years of 12% increases each year are likely to be nothing compared to this year's one!

@Enlli

Lol, my water bill just arrived...

£200.55 increase! 639.16 (this year) - 438.61 (last year).

– just a whopping 46% increase over last year, to be precise!

We can't go on a meter in our flat either, so get this AHC (Assessed Household Charge) method instead. But for two adults who are still careful with our water use, this likely means we're paying much more than we'd pay on a meter.

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

Enlli — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:47:37 GMT

My water bill is over a £1000 up by £200

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

jonsie — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 23:52:55 GMT

@Enlli wrote:
My water bill is over a £1000 up by £200

Perhaps I shouldn't mention that I'm on a meter and now pay between £12 to £15 every month

Mind you, single guy living alone now paying just a quarter of what the lady next door does

Tried to persuade her to get a water meter and even offered to apply for her but to no avail

You just can't help some people....

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

Enlli — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 07:44:29 GMT

@jonsie Large house with five adults.

Looked into a meter but the calculation comes out the same.

Re: 2025 price increases - clarifications

phonek — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:34:45 GMT

Here, just 2 adults, can't have a meter in our flat so no choice anyway; thus on AHC (Assessed Household Charge), not the more expensive RV (Rateable Value).

Even if we could be on a meter, only affects ~20% of your total bill amount anyway, as most is fixed charges and fixed waste water charge, so we'd save maybe £50-75 on our new £640/year bill (some people may have soak-aways to save a small extra amount on waste water, but not many people). While ours went up 45%, some have seen 70% increases from reading across the web, so maybe shouldn't grumble in the scheme of things.

The thing is that the water industry has been massively badly managed over the last couple of decades at least, so we've all been paying far less than we should have been been charged over a long period. (even outside of any dividend shareholder overpayments, and the like, that were the final cherry on the cake in lack of funding issues!)

When I look at my last 10-years of bills being on AHC, one year I had a ridiculous MINUS 0.67% DECREASE! Others were pennies increase per year, seemingly not even having inflation taken into account; which was completely unsustainable! Only until 3-years ago did we see 12% increases – when the penny finally dropped, and someone in high places realised water needed proper investment. Hence we see the pricing consequences today.

Here's a copy-paste of my last 10-years of water spreadsheet:

Blue = tiny increases (past ridiculous behaviour!)

Green = minus decrease (past ridiculous behaviour!)

Red = recent large increases (current ridiculous behaviour caused by past ones!)

Bill/y	*+/- £*	*+/- %*
313.74	7.27	2.37
311.65	-2.09	-0.67
316.05	4.40	1.41
316.91	0.86	0.27
319.20	2.29	0.72
334.05	14.85	4.65
348.40	14.35	4.30
389.72	41.32	11.86
438.61	48.89	12.54
639.16	200.55	45.72

Re: 2025 price increases - clarification needed

BigBilly49 — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 09:57:45 GMT

I took out a new contract in November 2024. £6 pm I expected a rise of 7-7.5% but when I got my bill it went up by £1.8 (30%). I read this was for contracts after 17/01/25. Can you tell me who’s right?

Re: 2025 price increases - clarifications

MI5 — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 10:01:28 GMT

@BigBilly49

Doesn't matter when contract was taken. Everyone was forced on to the new terms but given the option to cancel within 28 days.

Too late to cancel now though.