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Ofcom to ban inflation-linked mid-contract price rises on phones, pay-TV and broadband
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2024
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Phone companies, broadband providers and subscription TV services will be banned from imposing inflation-linked price increases in the middle of contracts from next year, the telecoms regulator has confirmed.
Under plans being introduced in January 2025, Ofcom will force providers to tell customers upfront, in “pounds and pence”, about any expected rises throughout the duration of their deals.
The move comes after a number of big UK phone and TV providers changed their terms in recent years to include mid-contract rises linked to the retail prices index plus about 4%.
Pressure had grown on the regulator to act after a media campaign, including a Guardian investigation last summer into how the UK’s largest mobile and broadband companies were pushing through the biggest round of price rises for more than 30 years, prompting accusations they were fuelling “greedflation”.
Cristina Luna-Esteban, Ofcom’s telecoms policy director, said: “With household budgets squeezed, people need to have certainty about their monthly outgoings.
“We’re stepping in on behalf of phone, broadband and pay-TV customers to stamp out this practice, so people can be certain of the price they will pay, compare deals more easily and take advantage of the competitive market we have in the UK.”
The original article contains 482 words, the summary contains 200 words. Saved 59%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!