The rules changed; scheduled increases still exist
Ofcom says new contracts from 17 January 2025 cannot use inflation-linked or percentage-based price-rise terms. Where specified increases are included, providers must show the amounts in pounds and pence and make the timing clear before signup. Earlier contracts can still carry older terms. This is a transparency rule, not a promise that the monthly charge never changes. [1]
The same guidance distinguishes an agreed increase from one not specified, or larger than the contract allows. For the latter cases, Ofcom describes at least 30 days' notice and a 30-day opportunity to leave without exit fees. Read the notice and applicable contract before assuming that any annual increase creates that right. [1]
That makes the contract summary a budgeting document. A salesperson's opening price can be correct while still being insufficient for your decision. Keep a copy showing the initial charge, the later charge amounts, their effective dates and the minimum commitment.
Provider guidance demonstrates why the contract date matters
BT's public annual-price-change page lists a £4 monthly increase for broadband plans in its pounds-and-pence terms, alongside different amounts for some other products. Its separate explanation says customer communications confirm the timing of the March 2026 change. These pages explain policy; they do not establish a new customer's starting price or every component of a bundle. [2] [3]
Virgin Media's guidance checked for this article says customers joining under its current terms face a £4 increase each April for main services, unless told otherwise. It also distinguishes the £3.50 cohort for contracts taken between January and October 2025 and older inflation-linked terms. Its guidance directs customers to their own contract forms for the applicable first increase. [4]
Those statements are not a BT-versus-Virgin price comparison. We have not entered a household address, confirmed service availability or obtained two contract summaries with the same package. A household should not transplant an existing customer's increase into a different new-customer offer simply because the provider's name matches.
A fictional 24-month comparison reverses the opening-price ranking
Assume two imaginary services start on 1 October 2026 and run through 30 September 2028. Plan A starts at £28, rises to £32 on 1 April 2027 and to £36 on 1 April 2028. It has a £30 setup charge. Plan B stays at £31 for the full term and has no setup charge. Neither includes cashback, extra equipment charges or a promotional gift.
The dates and prices are assumptions created for this calculation. In particular, Plan A's April schedule is not a quotation from either provider mentioned above, and Plan B is not an advertised fixed-price product.
| Period | Months | Plan A | Plan B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026–Mar 2027 | 6 | 6 × £28 = £168 | 6 × £31 = £186 |
| Apr 2027–Mar 2028 | 12 | 12 × £32 = £384 | 12 × £31 = £372 |
| Apr–Sep 2028 | 6 | 6 × £36 = £216 | 6 × £31 = £186 |
| Setup | Once | £30 | £0 |
| Total | 24 | £798 | £744 |
Plan A opens £3 lower but costs £54 more across the term. Its average monthly cost including setup is £33.25, compared with £31 for Plan B. Multiplying the opening price by 24 would have understated A's cost by £126: £96 of later monthly increases plus the £30 setup charge.
A £50 unconditional bill credit would narrow A's total to £748, still £4 higher. That does not mean any advertised £50 reward belongs in your comparison. A reward requiring a separate claim, a qualifying subscription or continued eligibility should be shown separately until its conditions are clear. A gift you would never otherwise buy is not necessarily worth its retail label to your household.
Count the months on each side of every change
A two-year term does not always mean twelve months at one price followed by twelve at another. An April increase is anchored to April, not automatically to the anniversary of signup. A contract beginning in autumn can have a short opening period and two increase dates before it ends.
Make a row whenever a scheduled amount changes. Check that the row counts add to the entire minimum term. If billing periods straddle an increase, ask how the provider prorates the first affected bill. The simplified example uses whole calendar months so no daily proration is hidden in the totals.
Keep the price after the minimum term in a separate box. It matters if you stay, but adding an arbitrary year at that price would answer a different question. A useful reminder is the date when you should review the service before the commitment ends, together with the notice or switching process described in your agreement.
Price cannot answer the service questions
Before choosing the lower total, put the two contract summaries side by side and check the household requirements that the arithmetic holds constant:
- Can each service be installed at the exact address, and when?
- What download and upload figures are promised for that address, and what minimum-speed commitment is documented?
- Are a phone service, television package or paid extras required to obtain the quoted price?
- What equipment must be returned, and what happens if you move during the term?
- What early-termination charges could apply if the commitment no longer fits?
These are comparison questions, not claims that every provider answers them the same way. No speed testing or reliability ranking was carried out for this article. A small saving may be poor value if installation leaves the household without a usable connection during a critical week.
When a move triggers the broadband decision, add confirmed setup and overlap costs to the wider cost of the new home. The related guide to hybrid commuting and ticket costs applies the same habit of checking the payment schedule before multiplying a headline price.
Method and limits: The arithmetic assumes uninterrupted service for 24 months, two stated increases and no early cancellation. No private bills or customer contracts were used. Provider policies and individual offers can change; repeat the calculation using the dated documents available when you sign.
Read the underlying guidance.
- Telecoms price rises: what are your rights?Ofcom · checked 2026-09-28. 17 January 2025 rule, disclosures and exit rights for unspecified or greater increases; updated 29 June 2026.
- BT annual price changeBT · checked 2026-09-28. Published pounds-and-pence broadband increase policy; not a matched offer.
- BT price changes explainedBT · checked 2026-09-28. Customer communications and March 2026 changes.
- Our annual price change explainedVirgin Media · checked 2026-09-28. Annual change cohorts and need to check contract forms.
Source and arithmetic checks by the producing AI, followed by a separate AI editorial review. Human English editing and subject-specialist review have not been completed. Address-specific eligibility and matched contract summaries; real bills; human consumer-law and English review.
