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TalkTalk to hike loyal customers' broadband bills by up to £36/yr – how to beat the rise

TalkTalk has confirmed it's increasing prices for hundreds of thousands of out-of-contract customers from next month, after EE announced mid-contract price hikes for broadband customers  but if you're affected, you can switch to a better deal penalty-free.

TalkTalk customers who are out of contract will see the price change kick in on Saturday 1 June. 

  • Fast Broadband customers will see a £3/month increase to £30/month.
  • Faster Fibre customers will see a £2.50/month increase to £36/month.
  • Faster Fibre Speed Boost customers will see a £2.50/month increase to £41/month.
  • Ultra Fibre Optic customers will see a £2.50/month increase to £36/month.

The telecoms firm started to contact customers via email or letter earlier this week.

Are you affected? You can leave penalty-free

If affected, you can cancel your contract penalty-free by giving 30 days' notice, by calling 0345 172 0088.

It's worth noting that customers who are out of contract can leave penalty-free at any point, regardless of the current price rise - you just need to give 30 days' notice. 

Use this as a bargaining tool to haggle

If you're out of contract there's a good chance you're paying over the odds, so check if you can find a better deal using our Broadband Unbundled tool – you don't need to wait for notification from TalkTalk of the price hike to do this.

As an example, TalkTalk's Fast Broadband offers 11Mb average speeds and will cost £30/mth from 1 June, but our top-pick deal from Shell Energy, which offers the same speeds, is an equivalent £11.66/mth over an 18-month contract. 

Alternatively, if you want to stick with TalkTalk you're in a great position to renegotiate a better deal. If you do haggle a better deal, always check the length of the contract you're signing up to. In our latest poll, 69% of TalkTalk customers who tried to haggle bagged a discount. 

Check out our Haggle with TalkTalk guide for full help and tips on how to do this.

What does TalkTalk say?

A TalkTalk spokesperson said: "Our customers are using more broadband than ever before, with usage up 40% from last year. We've been investing significantly in improving our network and making our products and services even better to accommodate the increased demand."

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