Very confusing bill April 2022

[#1]

sigh...

Well it would be jolly nice if they bothered to answer the bloody phone or responded to their other 'prefered' route, a dm on bleedin' Twitter! 😞

For a communications company, their comuniucations suck. Their school report would say "could do better".

[#2]

@RealAleMadrid

"because there is a backdated amount to be added for one billing month"

I belive this is the cause of the problem for many of the complaints. After all we are used to paying for our contracted services a month in advance. If, when there is a price increase the bill for the month in which the increase is due showed charges separately for the period up to the increas and after the increase. We would continue to be paying for a month's services in advance. There would be no need for refunds at the old rates and rather than having a month with charges higher than that which applies after the rise, there would be one month with a part increase followed by subsequent months at the new rates.

For example for the recent 9.3% increase on 31 March, someone whose billing date was 10 March would pay, for the period 10 March to 9 April,  21/31 of their pre increase rates and 10/31 of the post increase rates, then on 10 April and future months the new monthly rate.

This scheme has the advantage that the increase for all, except those whose billing date coincides with the increase date, would have a stepped incease instead of greater increase on the month following the rise.

[#3]

@DelT 

Agreed up to a point; however the full details are in the bill, but I suspect few read them.  Your idea is one of the suggestions the SUs raised to the business.

Such might be clearer, achieve the same result, but needs "ready to go" on price increases to be competed earlier ... yet might equally bring about complaints of "Why do I have to pay now for a price increase which is not due until later...?".

I hope that it will be different next year in respect of the process ... but I expect that there will still be complaints but for a different reason ... My bill went up last month and its gone up again (in the following month) - why have I had two price  increases?

[#4]

@Townman

complaints of "Why do I have to pay now for a price increase which is not due until later...?"

Every month we "pay now for services we have not yet received".

[#5]

@DelT , I completely agree, applying the price increase pro rata on the bill covering the price increase not only ensures that everyone ends up being billed the price increase from the same date, but also ensures that no bills are generated which are above the CPI increase, which is clearly causing a lot of confusion.

It's the obvious way to do it.

[#6]

Mine is very confusing this month like the OP.

Not sure I'm fully understanding what is going on - I was paying £24.99 and now got billed nearly £30 - that's nearly a 20% increase on the face of it but I get the impression tfrom this thread that this is more of a one-off back-dated increase?

In lamens terms, i assume next month it will drop closer to £24.99 with a < 10% increase in price?

Thanks in advance!

[#7]

Hiya @TerminatorUK, 

I'm really sorry for the unexpected higher bill this month and for the hassle this is causing. 

The first bill after the price rise will be pro-rata and then it will go down to the new price the following month. You can find out more information here, please get back to me if you need any further help.