Vodafone's latest price hike could see UK bills increased by 10 percent

May 24, 2014

Vodafone as announced price rises for the UK market, which could see monthly bills go up by as much as 10 percent. While contracts themselves will not be altered, the mobile operator will be increasing the amount charged on use above customer allowances. The company will calculate how much bills will be increased using a three month profile of each customer's bill. Should consumers be disappointed with the increase, they can leave the operator without charge.

Should Vodafone detect that a bill will rise beyond 10 percent, the operator will provide that customer with the right to cancel his (or her) contract without any fees. It's noted that should subscribers wish to leave Vodafone, they must write to to company before prices are raised on June 28. A standard UK call placed outside a contract allowance will be increased by 5p to 45p per minute.

Contacting certain 118 directory services will be bumped to £5 from £2.25 - £3.75 (affected numbers: 118 500, 118 404, 118 247, and 118 212). Vodafone does state that the "vast majority" of its customer base on unlimited call and SMS plans will stay within their agreed bundles and won't experience any increases.

This move comes after the company unveiled a partnership with Netflix. Vodafone has also announced reductions in European roaming chargers, however. A call connecting to a EU country will drop by 6p to 18.7p per minute.

Should customers happen to regularly go over their allowances, there are a number of extra bundles available to add to a plan to prevent surcharges. Research carried out by price comparison website Uswitch has shown that "almost a quarter of Brits regularly exceed their data allowances, paying an extra £91.20 per year on extra mobile data alone."

Thankfully, if you do happen to go beyond your limits and are with Vodafone, the company will be providing you a way to cancel the contract without charge, should you wish to do so.

Source: BBC