Vodafone to hike pay-monthly bills by up to 4.5% from April for millions of customers - what you need to know

Almost all pay-monthly customers are affected, though the exact increase depends on the product you have and when you signed up or last upgraded your plan.

We already knew prices would rise by 4.5% for pay-monthly mobile, tablet and smart watch customers who took out their current deal from 9 December 2020, but we now know prices will rise by 1.4% from April for customers who last upgraded or took out a deal before this date. It's also now been confirmed that most Vodafone home broadband customers will see bills rise by 1.4% from April.

Both sets of customers have price increases linked to February's retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation, which was announced this week. Use our Cheap Mobile Finder and Broadband Unbundled Deals tools to find the best contract for you. 

Vodafone bills will rise by up to 4.5% this year

Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) users, and those on Vodafone's 'Broadband Extra' and 'Broadband Pro Xtra' tariffs, are not affected by the price hikes. The following increases apply to everyone else.

• New. Took out a new mobile, tablet, smart watch or home broadband deal before 9 December 2020? Your bill will go up by 1.4% from April. This is based on the February 2021 RPI figure of inflation as announced in March.

• New. Took out a home broadband deal between 9 December 2020 and 23 February 2021?Expect a 1.4% price increase from April. Again, this is based on February's RPI inflation figure as announced in March.

• Took out a new deal or renewed – excluding home broadband customers – from 9 December 2020? You'll be hit with a hike of 4.5% from your April bill. This affects pay-monthly and Sim-only customers with mobile and tablet contracts, as well as those with Apple and Samsung watch contracts, 'OneNumber' contracts and those with 'Vodafone Basics' plans.

  Vodafone confirmed last year that it would raise prices for these customers from April 2021 using the previous December's Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation (as announced in January) + 3.9%. CPI was confirmed as 0.6% in January, giving an overall increase of 4.5%.

• Took out a home broadband deal on or after 24 February 2021? Prices will rise from April 2022. Your bill will rise based on the December 2021 CPI inflation measure published in January 2022, plus 3.9%.

The price hikes are written into customer contracts, so you won't be able to leave the firm penalty-free unless you're outside your minimum contract term. Vodafone has said it's investing in improving its network. 

If you're out of contract use this as a trigger to check if it's worth switching

Out-of-contract customers, who are likely to be paying over the odds anyway, can leave free of charge at any point by giving 30 days' notice. Benchmark prices elsewhere and switch if you can get a cheaper deal. 

Use our Cheap Mobile Finder and Broadband Unbundled Deals tools to find the best deal for you or you could haggle with Vodafone to see if it'll match or beat a deal you've found elsewhere. See our Haggling with Service Providers guide for some top tips on what to do.

Other mobile providers are also hiking prices

The news from Vodafone follows similar moves by other providers. For example: 

• EE is increasing mobile prices by 1.2% or 4.5% - depending on when you signed up - from 31 March.

• O2 is upping customers' prices by 1.4% from April bills.

• Three is hiking prices by either 1.5% or 4.5% from April and May bills, also depending on when you signed up.

If your bill is about to rise, check out our How to Haggle guide for help on how to negotiate your bills down.