I've only just been informed that my O2 contract price is going up in 18 days for a contract I signed up to TODAY.
Cancelled the contract immediately. All other provider is saying prices will go up in 2027 for brand new customers, O2 truly are a bunch of scumbags.
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O2 will try find a way to blame oil prices for the contract rise
I'm half expecting water companies to increase bills due to the strait of Hormuz getting mined.
I mean yeah? Do you know how much oil the employees need to drink every day to keep the COVID fresh in the 5G?
My giffgaff has been £10 a month for the last almost 14 years and they've given me more data in that time :)
This is the way. A phone contract in 2026 is nuts.
Same here. I went with o2 for a while but unfortunately switched at a time right before the price increase and suddenly my bill jumped after about 4 months. When I called o2 to discuss the plan and how the advertised “no mid contract increases” was somehow being bypassed the...
Lebara are also great. Goodbye EE 👋
There is no justification at all for annual price rises for mobile contracts, and the bullshit CPI+2% trick they pulled is even worse. I bet their staff haven’t had above inflation rises…
> and the bullshit CPI+2% trick they pulled is even worse They're illegal now, they have to specify the exact amount they go up and when.
They're part of the CPI so their +2% also increases the base
O2 is part of VM, which is now VMo2. They off shored (fute’d?) 700 perm staff earlier this year. https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/01/virgin-media-o2-uk-outsourcing-700-roles-to-tata-cs-and-tech-mahindra.html
Make sure you screen shot all the emails canceling the contract I ended with a nightmare with O2 after they delivered the wrong phone 3 times and cancelled the contract and 2 years down the line they wanted the full wack there a nightmare
I got the cancellation conformation email.
Apparently [ID Mobile ](https://share.google/Mz5ZrM49D69k2fkY7) dont do in-contract price rises. Chuck O2 in the bin and switch Edit: apparently this only applies to Sim-Only contracts.
I’ve had an £8 per month ID Mobile SIM for 5 years and the price hasn’t risen once. They roll over unused data, too, so most months my 50GB is actually 80+ GB. Unfortunately, though, they use the Three network, which is absolutely dreadful where I’ve moved to. Going to switch ...
Id mobile has been great for me. Only thing to watch for is upgraded sim-only contracts when they become available as they don't automatically upgrade. Moved from 1.5gb to 4gb with no price change few years back.
I’ve used ID mobile for years with zero problems.
Yeh, these contracts tend to have rises built in every april. Would say it is silly to get one in march, but its silly to get one full stop and you already know that.
Lebara on the other hand haven't put my prices up in like 4 years now. Still paying like £6.50 a month.
I just got one from Talkmobile in February as they don't increase this April since you just joined. Most providers exempt you from the April rise if you bought it after January.
Nothing silly about SIM only deals at all.
If you can get the upfront funds I really would recommend buying a phone outright and doing PAYG. I pay £5 a month for 11gb of data, and that hasn't changed since 2015 when I signed up. You obviously don't get the benefits of a contract, but how often do you want to change pho...
I buy my phone outright and get a sim only 30 day rolling contract but it doesn't avoid this problem. It's the cost of the airtime plan that goes up every april, not the cost of the device. Whether it goes up just depends on provider.
that really depends on what phone you want and what deals are about. sometimes its outright cheaper to get a phone on contract than to buy it sim free even before you account for needing a phone plan to go with the sim free.
It says in their Ts&Cs the prices go up in April annually
Same with Three. Contract ended in Feb, if I took a new contract sim out with them they were still going to put the price up in April. Fucked them off and went sim-only with ID.
If I was signing up for a contract in March 2026, I wouldn't expect a price increase in April 2026 as a result though, that's just scummy as fuck, especially as it's still within the cooldown cancellation window.
Doesn't make it ethically right at all
When I was switching from O2, they were a fucking nightmare. There was a problem that I had to phone O2 up for and they were trying to get me to stay with them by saying they can offer the same data for the same price at the company I was moving to. I asked if they'll increase...
Yeah, I dumped O2 years ago. Sim only contracts are the way to go now. Buy a refurbed phone and be free.
Especially considering there's less and less difference between a new phone and the previous model as the years go by. You can buy an iPhone 14 or a galaxy S22 and it'll be practically identical to the current models in any way that matters.
You're inside the 14 day cooling off period so you can tell them to stick it.
Which is why they "cancelled the contract immediately."
They carried on charging me for 3 months after I moved to another country and had the line disconnected, and their customer services confirmed that it was disconnected.
Just yesterday I changed my mum off O2 because they were going to increase her airtime only contract (currently £8.79 a month) by £2.50 a month (28% increase) so I wanted to switch her to something cheaper. We changed to one that is less than a fiver a month and no annual incr...
go with giffgaff
Honestly, why aren’t people on the likes of GiffGaff, Voxxi, Smarty etc… I have both my parents and myself on unlimited everything except data (but like 200gb) for less than £30 for all 3 of us… Why are people paying more for less!!
Especially GiffGaff is on the same network as O2. They keep putting my data allowance up and up for the same price as I've been with them for so long.
It would have clearly stated this when you signed up because of the new rules. Looking at their website, it's not like they're hiding it. It is shitty of them for doing this, but it's also on you for not reading what you're agreeing to.
O2s network coverage is diabolical. I moved to them from EE because I go to a lot of concerts and wanted o2 priority. Now I'm counting down the months till my contract ends.
You are able to cancel the contract mid way through when they up the price
Who buys phone contracts these days?! It’s significantly cheaper to buy the phone outright (or 0% finance) and get a sim only deal.
I have a contract for my SIM only deal. Wouldn't recommend anyone "buying" their phone through a contract unless it's the only way they can afford their phone. Even then, I'd suggest getting a cheaper lower spec phone now and saving the difference, so they can buy the one th...
that is very much not always the case and its a good idea to shop around instead of assuming its more expensive, I thought contracts were always more expensive until I actually calculated total costs and factored in the cost of getting things separately after seeing some deals...
I have literally never had a price rise on a phone contract. I'm with Tesco and don't think I've ever switched providers, though I probably should as O2's coverage is shite. I tend to keep my contracts for years and the only change I've had is the big drop once my phones are p...
I've been with Tesco donkeys years, was once 5 pound odd, it's now the big whole 9 quid. Feels like a bargain to me.
That is why I love a rolling contract. Had one for about 10 years at the same price until I changed it.
You have a 14(?) day grace period to cancel Your contact
Cancelled as soon as they said it.
Tesco mobile have a fair pricing structure. They freeze your price during your contract, both for monthly phone and SIM only contracts. Also, when your "phone" contact ends, they *automatically* drop the price to the cost of SIM only. A LOT of providers don't do that, and I...
Yeah their prices go up at the end of every March. Did you read the contract?
Just a reminder -- O2 and Virgin Media are the same company now, and VM are equally as bad at raising contract prices very soon after a new contract. They do however do it *after* the initial period has expired (normally around 3 months in.....).
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I feel like you shouldn’t throw around the word contract. It implies you have read it, this has been in phone contracts for over 20 years.
But it's not in most providers, I juts renewed mine two months early to be told I'll dodge the imminent price increase.
Most of the providers I looked at when I switched at the start of the month said there were price rises in April 2026.
I signed up with o2 a month ago and it does say that it goes up in April before you sign to be fair
I gave up on O2 a few years ago. Their signal gave up around my workplace completely just goes to show they have absolutely no intention of improving the network so any price increase they give is to increase margin.
I think what they do is *technically called* "An absolute piss take".
Honest Mobile
Note: You always have the right to cancel if it's a brand new contract in its cooling off period, or the price has changed by a non-fixed amount (including an amount tied to CPI/RPI or something).
Yup, I said I cancelled straightaway in the post.
I've been with smarty for years. They are currently doing a sim only deal of 40gb data, unlimited texts and calls for £10 and they are doubling the data for a year to 80gb. I stopped using the big names years ago
In contract price rises should be completely illegal. If providers want to reconsider their price structure for new and renewing customers, then fine but the price you agree on day one should be the price it stays till the end of the contract.
Go to money saving expert and find the cheapest Sim only deals. I saved loads of money changing from O2 to Lebara.
So glad my O2 contract finished. I'm now with voxi and save so much money
I switched my broadband provider 2 weeks ago and they’re putting bill up at the end of March!
Total piss take.
So cancel. You have 7 days
I did, and said I did in the post.
Yeah that's how it works. Every April they go up. Time it for just after. However, I'm on ID mobile 15 quid a month frozen forever. Unlimited data.
When you say "frozen forever" does that man literally £15 per calendar month (until you leave, you or they cease to exist) or is it £15pcm rising with inflation? Either way that sounds like a bloody good deal, but I don't see how they make a profit in the first instance.
I always argue with them about this when I renew my contract, I tell them I know it’s going to go up so I’ll accept the price they want AFTER it goes up by them starting me at rate lower but equal to the percentage it would’ve gone up by Usually after some faffing with them t...