TalkTalk customers to be hit with price hikes

The telecoms giant is upping line rental by 75p/month from 1 December, taking prices from £15.95/month to £16.70/month (see our Cheap Home Phones guide for the best buys).

The following prices will also increase from 1 December:

• Plus Calls and Broadband package price will increase from £15.50/month to £18.50/month.

• Anytime UK Calls boost will increase from £5/month to £7.50/month.

• International Calls Boost will increase from £3.50/month to £5.00/month.

• Some SMPF packages, which are legacy packages where customers have broadband or home phone with TalkTalk but not both, will increase by £5/month. The current prices vary.

And from 1 January 2015:

• The standard call connection fee will increase from 15p/call to 16p/call.

Costs for TalkTalk's Simply Broadband, Essentials TV and Plus TV packages will remain the same.

Earlier this month Sky also announced it is upping line rental by £1/month from 1 December, taking prices from £15.40/month to £16.40/month (see the Sky customers to be hit with line rental price hikes MSE News story).

Value line rental price rises

The provider is also increasing its value line rental, which is where you get a cheaper deal by paying upfront for the whole year rather than paying monthly, for the third time this year.

From 30 November the price for new and renewing customers will rise from £172.20/year (equivalent to £14.35/month) to £180.36/year (equivalent to £15.03/month).

TalkTalk last increased the price of its value line rental on 9 August, when prices rose from £141/year (equivalent of £11.75/month) to £172.20/year. Before that it upped the price on 29 April, when prices rose from £126/year (equivalent of £10.50/month).

Can I leave my contract penalty free?

Affected customers can leave penalty free as a result of the price rises by contacting TalkTalk within 30 days of receiving their price notification letter.

A TalkTalk spokesperson says: "Our customers are talking, watching, streaming and downloading more than ever, not just at home but on the go. To meet their growing needs, we're adding more to their packages.

"Mobile now comes as standard for our Plus customers, as we've included a free SIM worth £90. We're also introducing more ways for customers to save money on their bills each month.

"As we continue to invest in improvements to our service, some prices will increase. TalkTalk still remains Britain’s lowest price, offering a saving of up to £184 a year in comparison to BT."