Post Office to hike phone and broadband prices

The Post Office is the latest in a series of telecoms companies - including BT and Sky - to raise its prices.

To compare broadband, phone line and TV prices use our free tool.

How are prices increasing?

If your prices are increasing, the Post Office will be contacting you by post. But here's a summary of the changes that will take effect from 1 May.

How are Post Office's prices changing?

If you're on a fixed deal, you WON'T pay more

If you're currently signed up to a fixed broadband or home phone promotional offer, Post Office says it can guarantee your package price WILL stay the same throughout the duration of your contract.

However, confusingly you may see a price increase on your bill - but if so, the size of the discount you get will be increased to cancel it out.

For example, if you're currently on Post Office's £19/mth Unlimited Broadband promotion:

• Your monthly package price (including line rental) will currently be £28/mth, and you’ll be getting a £9/mth discount on your bill which gives you your £19 promotional price.

• From 1 May 2018 your monthly charge (including line rental) will increase to £29/mth. However the monthly discount you get will also increase to £10/mth to offset this price rise for the duration of your remaining contract.

You CAN escape your contract penalty-free

Bear in mind that providers across the board regularly hike prices, so there's little point leaving simply because you're annoyed.

But if you can find a cheaper deal elsewhere (compare deals with our Broadband Unbundled tool or see our Cheap Broadband guide for help), the good news is those affected by the hikes should be able to escape their Post Office contract penalty-free.

Post Office says that early termination charges won’t apply if you cancel within 30 days of receiving your price change notification letter. Its confirmed to us that any customer detrimentally impacted by its changes to price is free to leave.

Want to stay with Post Office? Try haggling

Price hikes are always good ammunition if you want to haggle a better deal - so if you're willing to stay with the Post Office, this may be a good way to beat the hikes.

The best tips for doing this including benchmarking the best deal as a bargaining chip and telling Post Office you're considering leaving - see our haggling guide for more tips. You can call the Post Office on 0345 373 0041.

What does the Post Office say?

A Post Office spokesperson said: “Changing our packages and pricing is never a decision we take lightly, but we’re committed to bringing our customers the best value products and services – and for our home phone only customers, we currently offer some of the lowest line rental and cheapest call rates in the market.

"We combine that with advantages like in-person, cash bill payments through our branch network; longer talk time in the evenings and at weekends; and free caller display and voicemail service.

“When it comes to our broadband service, we are one of the only providers to offer our customers a fixed low price plan with the guarantee that their broadband monthly charge won’t change over the length of the customer’s contract. That means that both new and existing customers can opt for a low price contract between 12 and 24 month, and feel confident in the knowledge that there won’t be any changes to their monthly broadband charge for the duration of that contract.”