A major mobile phone firm has warned mobile or broadband bills are set to be hiked next month. Sky Mobile has confirmed that customers who are out of contract will see their monthly bill rise by £1.50 a month, which adds up to £18 extra a year.
This will come into force from February 14 for pay monthly and SIM-only customers. Sky Mobile customers who are out of contract will therefore see their monthly bill increase but those who are still within their contract will not see any price change.
Sky Mobile is also hiking the cost of calls to the EU and EEA by 4p to 25p per minute, while calls to the rest of the world will be increasing by £1 to £3.50 per minute. The cost of sending an international text message outside of Europe will rise by 20p to 95p.
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The cost of sending picture messages to UK phone numbers will be going up by 15p to 95p, while International Saver Plan customers will see a price rise of £1 to £4 per month. A Sky Mobile spokesperson said: “We always aim to provide an outstanding service alongside some of the best value plans on the market.
“To ensure we can continue to invest in our services and deliver a great experience, the majority of our out of contract customers will see their monthly bill increase by £1.50 in February.” It comes after inflation-linked mid-contract price rises on phones, pay-TV and broadband was banned by Ofcom.
Tom MacInnes, the interim director of policy at Citizens Advice, said it was right that Ofcom was taking action but he was critical of how long it had taken. “In the time it’s taken to reach this decision, billions have been added to bills at a time when we know so many are struggling,” he said.
“While we welcome steps to ban inflation-linked hikes, the announcement today falls short of a full ban on prices rising mid-contract. This means that customers might still end up being caught out by above-inflation rises in April next year.”