RPI increase confusion

Question

It's hard work.I'm on 125MB and I've been told the price will rise by £7 a month. So I've contacted support and asked if they could reduce this. I was told yes, I could keep the existing price BUT I would need to sign up to an 18 month contract otherwise there was no way to avoid the rise.&nbsp; I guess it's not too unreasonable, but things change a lot in 18 months.However, the issue really is about this which was in the email:"From April 2024, we are changing our approach so any price rise to your package is always made at the same time every year, and it’ll be linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation plus an additional 3.9%, so the amount of any increase will be clearer, sooner. To do this, we need to change our terms and conditions. The key features of these new rules are:"And in particular this:"As this annual price increase is provided for in your terms, there is no right to cancel given for this price increase from April 2024."Now I asked the customer service agent about this and that was applied during the contract or after the contract had expired. I was told:a) there *might* be a price increase.b) If there was, I could call and see what they could do to reduce the price increase.At this point, I questioned it, got told the same thing, explained what the email said and after a few minutes thanked the customer service agent stating the information she gave I believed was not correct but thanked her for her time.From reading further, it appears that regardless of contract, the price will increase during it and I have no rights to negotiate or cancel based on this.Which means that the information provided by the customer service agent was incorrect surely?

Chris_W1 · Answer

Hi sdrahcir, thanks for the message and sorry to hear that you have been affected by the price increase.&nbsp;
When there is a price increase we would give the option to cancel without any early disconnection fees.&nbsp;
At the moment this is the only planned price increase for the cable services.&nbsp;
You would be able to get a new deal with the customer relations team on 0345 454 1111 if you choose to do so.&nbsp;
Kind regards, Chris.&nbsp;

sdrahcir · Answer

I'm very confused right now.So to be clear, I called about the price increase and was told basically I could have my existing contract without the price increase but only IF I committed to a NEW 18 month contract. I will refer to this as the NEW contract to avoid confusion.That means, from April 2024, I would have in my NEW contact the fact I agree to "RPI rate of inflation plus an additional 3.9%" which means my monthly payment would INCREASE and I have no rights to re-negotiate or cancel as I can right now.When I spoke to the customer service agent about the RPI + 3.9% I was told that during my NEW contract that there "might be a price increase" and "If there was, I could call and see what they could do to reduce the price increase."&nbsp;And now in the reply above, it has been stated:"When there is a price increase we would give the option to cancel without any early disconnection fees. "Now, as far as I'm concerned, RPI + 3.9% is a price increase. A price increase that I agree to and that in your own T&amp;Cs state I cannot cancel. And yet you're telling me I can still cancel during this period without disconnection fees?!

Chris_W1 · Answer

All prices are subject to any price increase and this is confirmed in the term and conditions.&nbsp;
No package changes are exempt from price increases and this affects all customers.&nbsp;
You can change the contract mid term as long as you don't remove a service then this may be subject to an early disconnection fee.&nbsp;
We usually give the option to cancel with out EDF during the price increase.&nbsp;
Chris.&nbsp;

Andrew-G · Answer

Chris_W1&nbsp;wrote:We usually give the option to cancel with out EDF during the price increase.&nbsp;Errrm...what about the changes proposed to terms that will remove that right?&nbsp; Or have I got it wrong, and although there will be a price rise method in the contract, it's going to be voluntary as to whether customer take it?The other thing about the baked in price rise is that it is on the undiscounted price, so anybody on a discount will see higher proportionate increase.&nbsp;&nbsp;

sdrahcir · Answer

Glad it's not just me Andrew-G!In the email (and in the T&amp;Cs but this extract is from the email) it clearly states:"As this annual price increase is provided for in your terms, there is no right to cancel given for this price increase from April 2024."so that means the RPI + 3.4% is classed as a price increase and yet Chris_W1 states:"We usually give the option to cancel with out EDF during the price increase."Which gives the impression it can be cancelled without penalty (eg EDF) which is completely contrary to the T&amp;Cs!

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