Virgin Media to hike prices by up to £54/year

The telecoms giant is writing to customers to let them know about the changes from today, and affected customers will pay the higher prices from their September or October bills.

The average price increase will be 4.9%, equivalent to £3.30/month or £39.60/year – but some could see increases of up to £4.50/mth or £54/yr.

Those who signed up to an 'Oomph' broadband, TV and Sim bundle from 29 April, and those on Talk Protected plans for over-65s or those with accessibility needs, won't be affected by the increases.

Virgin Media last raised its prices in October and November of last year, when bills went up by 4.5% – and 250,000 Virgin Mobile customers saw increases from this April as part of a tariff shake-up, with some reporting hikes of up to £150/yr.

If your bill's going up, you CAN leave penalty-free

Virgin Media won't release a full list of price changes, but says most customers will see rises of between £2.50 and £4.50/mth, and all those affected will be written to.

It says if you are affected by the price increase, you can leave your contract without paying any early termination charges. You'll need to contact Virgin Media within 30 days of receiving your notification of the price increase.

But there's no point leaving in a huff if your current deal is still the cheapest out there – so check rival providers' prices using our Broadband Unbundled tool, and remember other providers also increase prices from time to time.

If you want to stick with Virgin, you're in a great position to renegotiate a better deal. Our February 2019 poll found 75% of Virgin customers who tried to haggle got a discount.

Check out our Haggle with Virgin guide for full tips on how to do this, but for starters here are a few...

• Benchmark the best deal elsewhere so you ask for a realistic discount.

• Get through to the retentions (sometimes called disconnections) department. They have the most power to slash costs, as their job is to keep you.

• Use charm and be friendly. Aggression or anger will just put their back up.

• Don't panic if they call your bluff and say they'll disconnect you.

• If they won't slash the price, see if they can include any extras, such as a boosted TV package.

Out of contract? Haggle or switch

If you're out of contract there's a good chance you're paying over the odds, as you'll either have been rolled off the cheap introductory deal onto a higher tariff or overpaid from the outset. So check if you can find a better deal using our Broadband Unbundled tool – you don't need to wait for notification from Virgin of the price hikes to do this.

Alternatively, if you want to stick with Virgin you're in a great position to renegotiate a better deal. Check out our Haggle with Virgin guide for full tips on how to do this.

What does Virgin Media say?

A Virgin Media spokesperson said: "Changing prices is not a decision we take lightly. We invest more than £1 billion a year in our network and services to keep giving our customers great value.

"We are committed to giving our customers an incredible service with unrivalled connectivity, great high-quality programming and innovative new upgrades – and our customers can expect much more to come."