Vodafone to hike broadband bills and increase some mobile call costs

The firm's Superfast 1 and Superfast 2 broadband packages will increase by £2.50 a month in December for most existing customers. The rise only applies to contracts taken out before 30 June this year.

Vodafone has confirmed that affected broadband customers can leave their contract penalty-free. 

For mobile customers, some international calls will be hiked from £2 to £3 a minute, while international texts are rising from 35p to 65p. The access charge for premium-rate and non-geographic calls is being increased from 55p to 65p.

Use our Broadband Unbundled tool to find the best deals.

Beat the hikes 1 – leave your broadband contract penalty-free (but not mobile)

If you're a Vodafone broadband customer affected by the hike, you can leave penalty-free within 30 days of being notified of it.   

Vodafone says it's sending the notifications out now and you can contact its customer services on 0808 040 8408.

Bear in mind that several providers have been hiking prices so there's little point simply leaving because you're annoyed. But check to see if you can find a cheaper deal elsewhere (compare broadband with our Broadband Unbundled tool or see our Cheap Broadband guide for help).

Those affected by call changes generally won't be able to leave penalty-free, as the price rises are unlikely to cause 'material detriment'.Rules from the communications regulator Ofcom say you may be able to leave penalty-free if you're mid-contract and there's a change to the price of additional services, which you frequently use, causing you 'material detriment'. But in this case, it's unlikely many people will frequently make these types of calls and so this rule generally won't apply. 

Beat the hikes 2 – haggle, haggle, haggle

If you're willing to stick with Vodafone, this is a chance to haggle a better deal – especially as you'll have the right to leave penalty-free if it doesn't give you one.

See our Haggle with Service Providers guide for detailed tips, but for starters here are a few...

• Benchmark the best deal elsewhere so you ask for a realistic discount (compare broadband with our Broadband Unbundled tool).

• 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.

• Problems mean discounts, so if you've had issues with Vodafone in the past – eg, slow broadband – politely tell it when you haggle.

• Never go with the first offer. Chances are, it's not the best deal. Remember, be firm.

• The salesperson may push you to agree because it's a 'limited-time offer' – don't feel pressured into agreeing to the new price or deal unless you're certain.

• Vote with your feet. If you don't get what you want you should seriously consider leaving.

Beat the hikes 3 – extend your broadband contract

Vodafone says that those who opt to renew their contract (for a minimum of 12 months) WON'T be affected by the broadband price hikes.

This means that if you choose to commit to a fresh contract, you can keep your current tariff.

Beware that if you do this, you'll be locked in to your deal for a set number of months, so you won't be able to move to a new deal without paying an exit fee.

What does Vodafone say?

A Vodafone spokesperson said the firm is continuing to invest in its home broadband service, adding: "To ensure that we can keep delivering the best service to our customers, we are increasing the price of our home broadband packages by a small amount to customers who took out a contract before 30 June 2019."