Virgin Media hikes prices by 6.7%

Prices are going up for Virgin Media customers, here's how you can avoid paying more.

Virgin Media has announced it will push average customer bills up 6.7% from 1st February 2014.

All customers will see a rise to their line rental of £1 to £15.99 a month, while there will also be hikes to some broadband, phone and TV packages.

Price rises

The price increase from Virgin follows on from Sky and BT which have announced average price rises of 6.2% and 6.5% respectively.

A number of prices are changing across Virgin’s phone, broadband and TV packages, such as the cost of broadband and line rental bundles which will go up by £2 a month. Virgin has not yet confirmed the exact price changes for calls, though. We will update this article as and when it does.

Customers who prepay their line rental won’t be affected by the rise until the end of the the prepayment period. Those paying monthly can save money by paying a yearly lump sum of £128, which works out £63.88 cheaper than the monthly line rental cost of £15.99 over the course of a year.

As customers are billed a month beforehand, price increases will appear on bills from 8th January. Customers will be contacted with exact changes, while newly priced services will be available to buy from 25th November.

Increasing broadband speeds

Internet speeds for Virgin customers are set to get faster from 2014. It’s bringing in ultrafast broadband at 152MB which will make it the fastest widely available broadband in the country. At this speed an HD movie can be downloaded in less than four minutes, while a music album will take four seconds.

The company also says it will increase the speed of broadband in individual households by at least 20MB.

Compare broadband, TV and phone packages at broadbandchoices.co.uk

How to avoid the rise

Line rental price increases are becoming an annual event with the major providers. To avoid paying more you can prepay your line rental. Another way to lower your prices is switching providers. As new customers are often given discounts and incentives when joining a company, the best way to save money is to switch regularly to benefit.

Right now the Sky Broadband Unlimited and Talk Weekends package includes a free Now TV box, while BT is giving away Sainsbury’s vouchers. If you sign up to the BT Broadband and Weekend Calls package you’ll be given a £25 giftcard and this increases to £50 if you opt for the more expensive Infinity 1 bundle.

If you sign up to Virgin Media, through broadbandchoices.co.uk, you won’t pay anything for six months on its Broadband 30MB and Phone bundle.

Checking you’re on the right package for your needs is also important. If you’re going over your data limit each month, for example, it’ll be cheaper to move to another package.

Read Why it never pays to stay loyal to broadband, TV and phone companies

Compare broadband, TV and phone packages at broadbandchoices.co.uk

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