February Contract Renewal and CPI Increase

[#1]

But it is all baloney, to be frank. There's no reason why our contracts could not be fixed for the term they apply to, and then provide new prices according to the costs of running the business, so the customer can decide whether to continue, or renew, or migrate, or whatever, when the contract expires.

They spout on about the costs rising blah, blah. However, none of it adds up.

I was on an 18 month contract which started at £25.99 (all of this is per month off course), just over a year ago (14 months perhaps). It went up in March last year to £28.40.

This year, I got a message to renew my contract for 24 months at £23.00. It's going up to £26.13 on 31st March, which will be for the next year, until 2024. So they've basically put me back to where I was over a year ago, and now getting less money out of me than the last year or so.

So all that about cost rises is complete rubbish. This is all about marketing, and playing the field with all the other ISPs.

[#2]

Its because OFCOM (in its utter stupidity) decided they could all throw 3.9% out there linked to CPI thinking inflation wouldn't rise so much and the carriers were clever enough to self-regulate. Instead corporate greed yet again raised its ugly head, and he we are today.

[#3]

Will this make a scrap of difference .Price rises to be investigated 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64584641

[#4]

OFCOM, strangley enough, agreed to these terms, when they were first introduced.

[#5]

They did but that was when inflation either RPI or CPI ( different companies use either )  was very low there should have been a maximum increase or no increase during the contract dates  

[#6]

The contract states that there will be an increase of RPI/CPI+3.9% . When you sign a contract, you are understood to to have read said contract. If you haven't, that is no excuse, in law.

[#7]

Or do what I did change to a special deal via USwitch to Lebara who guarantee there will be no annual increases 

The problem is these stupid increases are increases on the top of increases so get bigger every year 

[#8]

That was for a mobile phone contract, not BB, i understand?

[#9]

Yes but the price increases are the same 

Had been with PN since the Life days best thing I did was to do a runner 

All very easy to do

[#10]

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@Scoobydoo192 wrote:

Its because OFCOM (in its utter stupidity) decided they could all throw 3.9% out there linked to CPI thinking inflation wouldn't rise so much and the carriers were clever enough to self-regulate. Instead corporate greed yet again raised its ugly head, and he we are today.

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But that's clearly not what's happening, as I'm now paying them less than I was in the past year, and will continue to do so for the year following the price increase. So all this is just a complete mess of marketing BS, and is completely unnecessary. All it's doing is producing a process that's confusing and irritating for customers.

[#11]

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@Smith7 wrote:

Yes but the price increases are the same 

Had been with PN since the Life days best thing I did was to do a runner 

All very easy to do

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To be honest, I left PN mobile service because the coverage was poor, I am paying a little more with GiffGaff, but get a better service, and they have said they're not increasing prices for all of 2023, so that little more, becomes much less if PN insist on using their +3.9% joker card.

However, historically, mobile tariffs have generally become more and more generous, I get a lot more for my money than I did, even a year ago, and certainly more than a few years ago.

[#12]

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@jab1 wrote:

The contract states that there will be an increase of RPI/CPI+3.9% . When you sign a contract, you are understood to to have read said contract. If you haven't, that is no excuse, in law.

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Indeed so, that's not the issue though. Although, in reality, how many actually read, and fully understand, all of the terms in a contract attached to a product on the Internet?

The issue is, for me, that this is all completely unnecessary. It's proven by the way they offer us 'special' renewal prices to stay in contract for a further period, which then puts us at a lower price again, even after the CPI increase is applied. So the need to continue increasing prices to pay for greater running costs is negated.

If they'd just put me onto a traditional fixed contract, where I know that I'm going to be paying for the next xx months, it's so much simpler, and less annoying for the customer, and would in reality make absolutely no difference to their income from me.

Just because we signed up to the T&Cs, doesn't make them fair or just, if we want an Internet connection, we don't have a choice but to agree, or don't have Internet (as no ISP has anything different in their T&Cs, there is no other choice).

So, all we can do is, sign up, and either just accept it all, or we could voice an opinion about it, and hope it could be made better in the future - if anyone in charge of it all is listening that is!

This is a subject that's been a long running argument for many years, not just for ISPs, but with many things that need renewal, and they never support existing, and many loyal, customers.

The marketing system plays into the hands of those that are greedy for a better deal, and we now have this culture of simply searching for a 'new customer only' offer at every possible chance we have. I hate it. Of course, at the same time, it also exploits those that don't bother to shop around, or those that are less savvy, and simply have no idea about it all.

I spend my early working years at a company that was proud of its long standing customer base, and worked to retain customers, some had been there for a lifetime, at one time their returning customer rate was over 90%. That company is a small family business, and still running well after 90 years, with the same principles in place, of looking after their loyal customers.

Cheers.

[#13]

Absolutely Andy. I guess its exactly the same with Insurance too. Loyalty to your customer base is a thing of the past now. I guess its because when you have such a volume of new customers arriving (on better deals) and old customers leaving because they've found better deals elsewhere it balances things out for the companies involved.

This increase isn't to invest and improve things, its because they can and its that simple.

[#14]

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@Scoobydoo192 wrote:

Absolutely Andy. I guess its exactly the same with Insurance too. Loyalty to your customer base is a thing of the past now. I guess its because when you have such a volume of new customers arriving (on better deals) and old customers leaving because they've found better deals elsewhere it balances things out for the companies involved.

This increase isn't to invest and improve things, its because they can and its that simple.

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Yeah, it just all seems so counter-productive to me, it seems to achieve nothing, and just wasteful of resources - there must be people employed to work out all this stuff (calculating the incoming to outgoing gains and losses etc., and deciding on the marketing strategies).

Of course all of this is completely the opposite to what PN try to sell us in their advertising, with their non-nonsense slogans. The reality is, not much is actually different to any other ISP. Of course I do appreciate the local support team, and the quality of the support from them, but this is not what this is about.

Regards