Reflector

I received a letter in the week to inform me that the price of my Virgin Media services was going to increase by £4.50 per month. This is pretty annoying as I had renewed only last month after negotiating a discount.

Money Saving Expert had done a 50% discount on SKY for an entire year, this would have been significantly cheaper than Virgin  so I was all geared up to cancel the service. However Virgin offered a new deal including a price match. That was great until this price rise (which starts in February).

Fortunately Ofcom have recently decreed that price rises inside contracts represent  "materially detrimental" to customers.

This Guidance sets out that:

• Ofcom is likely to regard any increase to the recurring monthly subscription charge in a fixed-term contract as ‘materially detrimental’ to consumers;

• providers should therefore give consumers at least 30 days’ notice of any such price rise and allow them to exit their contract without penalty; and

• any changes to contract terms, pricing or otherwise, must be communicated clearly and transparently to consumers.

Therefore I have 30 days to find a better offer, or suck up the price rise.