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The advertising watchdog has ruled against six of the UK's biggest broadband providers after none of them failed to make mid-contract price rises clear to consumers.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media Broadband misled consumers by placing important information about price increases separately from main prices and in less important areas on their websites.
The ASA ruled that the adverts should not appear again and asked the six providers to ensure they made it sufficiently clear that their broadband contracts would be subject to mid-contract price increases, and that information about the nature of such increases will be presented prominently.
The rulings are part of the regulator's broader work on mid-contract price increases and follow guidance for companies that sets stricter standards for the prominence advertisers must give to important information about future increases.
The new advertising guide, which came into force in December after a six-month grace period, advises that information about any price increase should be “direct and prominent”, and that the total price the consumer will pay in the future must be included in pounds. and pennies.
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “After working closely with the ASA to update our website and provide prominent advice on any price changes, we are surprised and disappointed by their decision.
“Consumers visiting our website are greeted with a prominent message at the top of the page explaining in large, bold type how and when price increases take effect, and this explanation is also always visible when consumers they move around, ensuring they are not fooled.
“While we are confident in the steps we have taken to repeatedly provide consumers with clear, easy-to-understand information about any price increases, we will carefully review their judgment and implement any necessary changes.”
A spokesperson for BT, EE and Plusnet said: “The ASA has acknowledged that all relevant information explaining the price increases was included on our websites, but has asked for even greater prominence.
“We take compliance very seriously and are now updating all of our websites in line with the ASA findings. “We want customers to be clear about what they will pay throughout their contract, which is why we were the first provider to move away from inflation-linked annual price increases in favor of a simpler and safer pound and pence increase.”
Many of the largest broadband companies increase their monthly bills each April for the duration of the contracts according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Retail Price Index (CPI) plus an additional fixed amount of around of 3 percent to combat rising business costs.
This typically means a price increase of around 4 to 5 percent each year, regardless of the original cost of the deal. However, with the inflation rate still stabilizing after hitting a 30-year high in 2023, price increases remain higher than normal.
As a result, many suppliers increased prices by up to 7.9 percent in April. Virgin Media increased its prices by 8.8 percent.
Customers who want to avoid these increases may be charged punitive exit fees to cancel their contract early. This will change from next year after Ofcom banned broadband providers from linking their annual price increases to inflation, meaning new customers can start seeing a fixed annual increase when they sign up.
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