Disgusted in price rises once a contract is signed

[Anonymous]

I think it is disgusting that O2 decide to raise the bills with so called inflation, we only sign on for up to 2 years and usually have crap service, but we cant then get a reduction in areas that have poor coverage, if they can't wait until customers have the choice to come over, or renew at new tarrif rates then its a bad show and just infuriates customers for such an appitance. Shame on them....

[cyrillicguy]

Just my two cents if I may

It's most certainly true that if there's a price rise mention in the contract, you can hardly argue - you've signed up for it. 

However, there's something I never really paid my attention to, but there might be other folks who did:

 After the RPI goes up by whatever %, does O2 increase prices for existing and new customers alike?

What I mean is that say if there was a plan for £X, and after the RPI went up by 1% all the existing customers are forced to pay £X+1%, would the new customers signing up for that tariff after the price rise date also end up paying £X+1% from the very start? Or would they be paying just £X until the next RPI increase?

Because if it's the lattest...well...ok, like I said, O2 are entitled to do whatever they want within the contract's parameters, but it certainly leaves a kinda bad aftertaste, if you ask me....

[Anonymous]

Hi @cyrillicguy

A very good question. For existing customers the price rises as you rightly say.

For new customers they get the advertised prices for new accounts which change on a regular basis.

So yes existing customers pay more than new ones is my perception.

It is a bit like BT who put on a huge 6.25% price increase last year in their broadband then almost immediately offered a range of new tariffs with discounts ranging up to 63% for the entire contract. I was not happy.

[Curr946]

When I bought my phone the increases were fully explained by the guy in Carphone warehouse.

[MI5]

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@Curr946 wrote:
When I bought my phone the increases were fully explained by the guy in Carphone warehouse.

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Good to hear they are following the rules.

[jonsie]

Hopefully everyone should now be aware of the increase every April, it's certainly not hidden or buried in the terms and conditions any longer. O2 now make a point of it in any correspondence concerning new contracts. It's good to see CPW also making customers aware.

[Anonymous]

Obviously I knew about the increases but it wasn't pointed out to me when I rejoined O2.  Whether or not that was because I was a returning customer I don't know, but nothing was said.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi @cyrillicguy

A very good question. For existing customers the price rises as you rightly say.

For new customers they get the advertised prices for new accounts which change on a regular basis.

So yes existing customers pay more than new ones is my perception.

It is a bit likeBT who put on a huge 6.25% price increase last year in their broadband then almost immediately offered a range of new tariffs with discounts ranging up to 63% for the entire contract. I was not happy.

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I asked the team for a clarification to this. Piperdog's answer is on the basis that offers change regularly, which they do. Someone signing up to a £30/mo S5 tariff today might be £25/mo for the same tariff in 3 months time – but that’s not the same as the RPI increases. RPI applies to all customers – new and existing. If you go and sign up today to a new tariff, the 1.1% increase should be reflected in the April bill.

When you go to the O2 site and try ordering a new tariff, this is on the checkout screen:

• Each year O2 Refresh Airtime Plan/Pay Monthly sim only tariffs will be adjusted on your April bill by the Retail Price Index (RPI)* rate of inflation announced in the preceding February. This year's rate is 1.1%.

More info about RPI here:  http://o2lin.kr/O2Prices

[cyrillicguy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi @cyrillicguy

A very good question. For existing customers the price rises as you rightly say.

For new customers they get the advertised prices for new accounts which change on a regular basis.

So yes existing customers pay more than new ones is my perception.

It is a bit likeBT who put on a huge 6.25% price increase last year in their broadband then almost immediately offered a range of new tariffs with discounts ranging up to 63% for the entire contract. I was not happy.

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I asked the team for a clarification to this. Piperdog's answer is on the basis that offers change regularly, which they do. Someone signing up to a £30/mo S5 tariff today might be £25/mo for the same tariff in 3 months time – but that’s not the same as the RPI increases. RPI applies to all customers – new and existing. If you go and sign up today to a new tariff, the 1.1% increase should be reflected in the April bill.

When you go to the O2 site and try ordering a new tariff, this is on the checkout screen:

• Each year O2 Refresh Airtime Plan/Pay Monthly sim only tariffs will be adjusted on your April bill by the Retail Price Index (RPI)* rate of inflation announced in the preceding February. This year's rate is 1.1%.

More info about RPI here:  http://o2lin.kr/O2Prices

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What I meant was:

1) Just before the annual RPI increase John scrolls through the O2 website and finds a plan which suits his needs. This plan is advertised for, say, £20. John is aware that after April he will be paying £20.22 because of the RPI increase, but he's impatient and wants his new sim right away, so he goes ahead and signs up.

2) Jane wants the same plan, but decides to wait a little bit and see what the O2 tariffs for new customers will be like after April. Now, after April, will she find out that A) O2 has risen the prices, and the same tariff now is advertised for £20.22 for new customers....or...B) O2 keeps advertising that tariff for £20, and Jane thanks herself for being patient and waiting, as she knows that because she has signed up after April, she'll be paying £20 for her plan up until the next year's increase (as opposed to John who signed up just a month earlier but will be getting charged £20.22 for the same service).

So, is it normally A or B?

P.S. For the simplicity of things let's assume that the aforementioned tariffs are sim-only 12 months, i.e. without phone/tablet, although as RPI increases only affect the Airtime part of Refresh plans (i.e. any possible change in phone/tablet price due to the promos or natural decrease in value is irrelevant here), the same logic should work for Refresh plans.

P.P.S. Once again, I'm not arguing about O2's rights to rise prices along the lines of RPI. It's in the contract, they're entitled to it, I get it

[MI5]

Normally it is "B"

[jonsie]

I'm sure it will be B