Pay-as-you-go users will be spared, but pay monthly customers will have to pay more.
O2 bills are set to increase from April, as customers feel the effects of the company’s latest inflation price rise.
Customers have already started being contacted about the change, which will appear in their April bills.
The Mirror reports prices will rise by 2.5 per cent in line with December’s rate of inflation – however this will be 0.2 per cent less than EE’s price hike announced earlier this month.
A message sent to one customer said: “Important news. From April we’re adjusting your tariff in line with the 2.5 per cent RPI rate of inflation, as mentioned in your terms.”
To put this into perspective, a £38 a month standard tariff will rise by 95p a month.
The latest announcement marks the latest in a ‘season of price rises’ led by Sky, EE and five of the Big Six energy firms this week.
The changes will affect all pay monthly customers, however for those on O2 Refresh – which the network says the majority of its customers are on – the rise will only apply to the your airtime plan, i.e. around £18 on a £35 bill.
“Our annual RPI adjustment this year is 2.5 per cent.
“Some other operators apply the RPI charges to the combined tariff which includes both the handset and airtime costs, while our O2 Refresh customers will only see the rate applied to their Airtime Plan and not the Device Plan,” an O2 spokesman said.
“We’ll be contacting customers next week to let them know the change which will be reflected from their April bill.”
Telecoms firms and other big companies are allowed to impose mid-contract price rises because of a clause in their terms and conditions that warn customers about possible increases in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
RPI is a measure of inflation published by the Office of National Statistics in December each year. It measures the change in the cost of a sample of retail goods and services.
O2’s terms and conditions state: “Each year your Monthly Subscription Charges will be subject to an annual adjustment by the RPI Rate. This adjustment could be an increase or a decrease and the adjusted amount will first appear on your April bill.”
However, the price hikes will not affect pay-as-you-go customers.
