Feeling ripped off

[#1]

Just noticed that my monthly bill is £35.93 when the price when i signed up was £32.50 for Fibre 300. I've never actually paid this price yet as the first month overlapped my DSL contract. The last bill and this one are now £35.93. My contract price now shows £37.18 but I get a referral discount making it £35.93.

I should of noticed this sooner but feel like I've been ripped off a bit as I only took the deal as it was only £2.50 more than the increased price of my DSL contract and is now over £7 more a month. 

The start date of my new contract was 16th March 2023 and prices went up 31st March and feel like this should of been highlighted being 2 weeks away from the price increase. I have just noticed I could save money by upgrading to Fibre 500 at £34.99 with referral on top even though I don't really need the extra speed.

[#2]

Understandable feeling about the price rise a fortnight later but the rise has been in all contracts since last year sometime as Ofcom gave the green light to all the ISPs to pull this stunt. As you say yourself:

I should of noticed this sooner 

[#3]

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@Longliner wrote:

Understandable feeling about the price rise a fortnight later but the rise has been in all contracts since last year sometime as Ofcom gave the green light to all the ISPs to pull this stunt.

But is the price rise date really the 31st March - or is it 1st March?

The Plusnet CPI Plus 3.9% Guide actually says:

On or after 1st March every year from March 2022, we'll take the CPI percentage rate published by the Office for National Statistics in January of that year and add an extra 3.9% to the rate. We'll increase the monthly price of broadband, line rental, call plans, call charges and BT Sport services where that BT Sport service was signed up to on or after 9th December 2020 by the total percentage figure.

So from my reading of this a contract taken out mid-march is AFTER the price rise date, and any contract price should not then rise until the next 1st March. 

I haven't renewed a Plusnet contract recently (and I now never will), so I don't know exactly whether it was made clear that the price to pay was not the price advertised for the contract. 

[#4]

Take the upgrade to 500mb

[#5]

I accepted a "special offer price" to take a new 18 month contract on 26th March.

The new contract started 27th March. As this was well after the 1st March price increase, I naturally assumed that the new contract price included the price increase - after all, the price increase had already happened.

The first two bills after the new contract started were significantly higher than the agreed contract. When I queried that with customer services I was told that it was because of the March price increase and that the contract allows that, despite the fact that the contract was taken out so long after 1st March.

Beware of contract prices given any time in March. They will probably not be honored!

I feel the same as the OP - ripped off by Shady Practice.