EE to hike cost of out-of-bundle calls and texts

The cost of an out-of-bundle call to a UK number will rise by 10p from 55p to 65p from 19 August, while the cost of a text will increase from 15p to 16p.

And charges for international calls are rising steeply too – the price of a call to a phone outside Europe is increasing from £2 to £3 per minute, with calls to some destinations doubling from £1.50 to £3.

However if you regularly use services outside your phone plan, you may be able to leave your contract penalty-free as long as you contact EE within 30 days of being told about the price rise.

See our 30 Cheap Mobile Tips for more on cutting the cost of your mobile phone.

How are prices changing?

The new higher prices will kick in from 19 August, and EE says affected customers will be contacted by email, letter or text to tell them about the increases.

The rise affects pay-monthly customers, but costs for pay-as-you-go customers will stay the same.

Here's how the prices are changing:

My prices are going up – can I leave penalty-free?

EE says that as the majority of its customers are on tariffs which include unlimited calls and texts, most won't be materially affected.

But if you suffer "material detriment" as a result of the price increase, you CAN leave your contract without paying an early termination charge.

EE says it's contacting customers who are materially impacted by the change to let them know they're eligible to leave penalty-free. You'll need to contact EE within 30 days of receiving your notification about the price increase.

Or if you'd prefer to stick with EE, this could be a good opportunity to haggle a better deal – see our Mobile Phone Haggling guide for full info.

If you regularly use out-of-bundle services, you may also be better off changing your plan to include more calls or texts. Or if you make lots of international calls, check our Cheap UK and International Calls guide to see if you can do it more cheaply.

If you're not contacted, but believe you will suffer "material detriment" as a result of the change, contact EE to ask to be able to leave penalty-free.

What does EE say?

An EE spokesperson said: "The vast majority of these customers have unlimited UK texts and calls and these small changes ensure we can continue to invest in offering the best service to our customers."