Increase in Pay Monthly charge from April 2026

[Lismore]

I have just been informed that my monthly payment will increase from £1.80 to £2.50 from April 2026 - no explanation given!

This represents an increase of 20% approximately.  As RPI is only 3.9% this month - can this extoronate incresae be explained?

[garetc]

I don't see how they could, if O2 are releasing you from the contract then Mobileshop will need to take it up with them as the terms of the agreement has changed.

[Kathie1404]

I contacted them and didn't get a straight answer. Said they are still waiting for Martin Lewis to update his press release as he was contacting o2. 

Sitting on the fence spru g to mind. I have also messaged someone on here who used to work.for o2 for their opinion/advice

[Enlli]

What's Martin Lewis got to do with things I ask? Does he control O2 now? Sounds like bull to me.

[Kathie1404]

No he doesnt contol o2 but he said he was contacting o2 regarding 3rd party contracts to try to get an answer for people who have them. See link below

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/10/o2-price-rise/

[NetworkNorm]

So after making 4th call to O2, I finally got through to one of the UK team who could understand what I was trying to do which is, because I want to stay with O2, save me having to port out for a short time then porting straight back in on a better deal. 

As I'm 2 months away from my device and airtime plans "unlinking" - what I was hoping to get them to agree to was to "waive" the 2 months remaining and restart a new airtime contract from now. Unfortunately they are adamant that this isn't possible.

The option they did offer was to take out a brand new SIM-only airtime contract - at a much better rate than I'm paying now - and then "simply" terminate my existing contract early and move my number across to it. 

I agreed to this, but no e-SIM was available for me to download and I don't want to wait for a physical SIM. Given some of the horror stories I've read on here and elsewhere about people losing their numbers (I've had mine for 30 years) I changed my mind and called back and immediately cancelled the new contract.

Instead I'll just wait until January for the unlink, and then renew on a new contract myself, accepting that some of the deals today wont be available then. 

[madasaf1sh]

Martin Lewis is too busy ignoring the fact that he is complicit in all this, and is now trying to turn it to his advantage as the company he is employed by is offering affiliate deals where they make money.. 

And to be fair the prat is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard, and doesnt give 2 fecks about consumers and has no powers at all 

[pgn]

ML, someone for whom the bread is buttered on both sides, @madasaf1sh? 😁

[NetworkNorm]

Didn’t he selll-out to MoneySupermarket years ago and make millions in the process? 

[NetworkNorm]

Thinking about the price rise again, and my experience on the phone, I want to double check something before I go ahead.

If I take out a new contract online with O2 eg with a new number linked to my existing account, can I then call O2 and ask them to cancel my existing airtime contract as I’m within 30 days of “that” email and transfer my number to the. “New” number? 

[madasaf1sh]

You can ask but o2 CS seem to be refusing number migrations.. 

I would follow the advice we have already given to many many other people, port out for 30days then port back in..

o2 dont have to do number migrations and at the moment it seems they arent doing them... so take the simple route and port out and back in