Earlier this year, Virgin Media announced it would make a change to its terms and conditions – from April 2024 it will introduce inflation-based price rises that mean the amount its customers pay for their broadband will increase every year.
But we’re concerned Virgin Media’s terms are an attempt by the firm to both have its cake and eat it. As well as applying aggressive inflation-linked annual mid-contract price rises, it’s also maintaining the right to hike bills further at any time.
That discretionary price rise clause has been part of Virgin Media contracts for some time, but the new terms also allow for annual price rises based on the retail price index (RPI) rate of inflation plus an additional 3.9% while removing the right for affected customers to cancel without paying substantial exit fees.
We believe these clauses amount to unfair contract terms and could be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act by creating a ‘significant imbalance’ between the rights Virgin Media has granted itself and those of its customers.
It also means you can’t trust the deal you sign up to with them. I’d have thought that this was a binding contract for the agreed upon duration but apparently not.