If you're with a Mainstream Internet Service Provider (ISP) chances are you're in for yet another price hike this April.

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Let's make one thing clear. Lightning Fibre will not increase your service fee by a single penny during your fixed term contract, ever! What you sign up to is what you pay for the whole duration of your contract.

Sadly, our competitors don't do the same. On fact, in the last two years, BT Broadband have increased their prices by almost 25%. This March, BT will increase their prices by 9.3%.

BT Broadband's website states that "Each year, we adjust the prices of some of our products and services in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation, plus 3.9%. When we work out our prices, we use the CPI rate published in January. For January 2022, the CPI rate is 5.4%. This means that, in 2022, most of our customers will see a price increase of 9.3% (which is 5.4% plus 3.9%). These price changes take effect from 31 March 2022."

And what's worse, your contract with BT cannot be terminated early - without fees - if you don't like this price hike! It's all there in the small print:

"Any change to charges will not give you the right to cancel this agreement without paying a fee for leaving early".

EE Customers (who are supplied their Broadband over the same Openreach network as the one used by BT to serve their customers) are in for a similar fate:

"CPI (Consumer Price Index) plus 3.9% applies to customers whose contract started after 31 August 2020, as well to those whose contract started before 1 September 2020 and will come to an end by April 2022."

And, Vodafone will do the same....."Your agreement provides for an increase in your monthly bill effective each April, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 3.9%"

And, yes, you guessed it, TalkTalk will do the same! TalkTalk prices will increase for customers each year in line with the UK rate of inflation, plus an additional 3.7%. As these are annual set price hikes, they are written into TalkTalk's terms and conditions. So while this means you shouldn’t be taken by surprise by upcoming price changes, it also means you also won't be able to use the jump in fees as a reason to cancel your contract without paying a penalty fee.

Sky are doing something similar, but there's one significant difference that consumers should be aware of, as this could be your get out of jail free card!

Sky has announced that it will be increasing its broadband and TV prices by around £43 per year for millions of customers on 1 April 2022. It comes during a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed, with inflation reaching its highest point in decades and other household bills like energy also seeing significant price hikes.

However, Sky is one of the few broadband providers that doesn’t include annual inflation-based price increases in its contract terms and conditions. So it's likely that, if Sky is increasing your monthly rate, you could be within your rights to leave your contract early and switch to a new broadband deal without paying an early cancellation fee.

There may be another handy loop-hole if you want to get out of a fixed term agreement without a penalty. If you are in receipt of means-tested benefits, you could be allowed to switch to Lightning Fibre's Social Tariff without paying your current provider an Early Termination Charge (ETC). This is because of Ofcom advice that 'if your provider does NOT offer a social tariff, they should allow you to switch to a provider that does without paying ETCs'. Call us to find out more 01323 380260.

Lightning Fibre have built a brand new, independent Full Fibre network which delivers symmetric (as fast up as it is down!) hyper fast broadband to the South East. We do NOT impose mid contract price rises and we're rated Excellent on Trustpilot.

If you're sick of annual price hikes, switch to Lightning Fibre, the Alternative Network for the South East. 01323 380260.