Virgin ups broadband prices AGAIN, says customers can leave

Virgin broadband customers are being lumped with a £1.50 per month price increase but customers will be able to ditch the provider immediately if they don’t the price hike. The latest increase comes a year after Virgin upped prices by £2.50 per month.

Any Virgin Media broadband-only customers who signed up before May 2014 will be hit by the latest hikes, with the increase being added to bills from October. Virgin has started writing to customers to inform them of the price rise.

The changes only affect Virgin Media broadband-only customers and not people who get Virgin broadband as part of a bundle. Under new Ofcom rules anyone who doesn’t like the price hike can leave their contract immediately, with no financial penalty.

Ofcom’s new rules only apply to people who signed up for contracts since 23 January 2014, but Virgin has said that any customers unhappy with the latest price increases will be able to leave their contracts without paying an early cancellation fee.

Last October Virgin announced a £2.50 per month price hike, with the latest increase adding to already pricey monthly broadband bills. Virgin’s lowest-priced broadband-only packages now starts at £26.50 per month for 50Mbps on a 12-month contract.

Virgin didn’t explain why the latest price increases only applied to broadband-only customers, with the company saying the hikes were part of a review of its services.

“Virgin Media is the only major provider able to supply broadband without a phone line because of our unique cable network and so we remain unbeatable value for money,” the company said.