Virgin Mobile to increase prices for millions from July

Below is everything you need to know about what’s happening. 

If you’re unhappy about the price rise, use our Cheap Mobile Finder tool to find the best deal for you or haggle with Virgin Mobile to see if it'll match or beat a deal you've found elsewhere. See our Haggling with Service Providers guide for further info.

Millions of Sim only and pay monthly customers will see prices rise

The majority of Sim only and pay monthly customers will be hit by the price rise from 1 July:

• Last took out a Sim only or pay monthly contract with Virgin Mobile before 5 May 2021? Prices will rise by 1.5%. This is in line with March’s retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation, announced in April.

• Last took out a Sim only or pay monthly contract with Virgin Mobile on or after 5 May 2021 onwards? Your price won’t change. These customers aren't impacted as they're on tariffs with new prices already incorporated. 

• Virgin Mobile pay-as-you-go customer? There’s no price change.

Virgin Mobile wouldn’t confirm average increases or the exact number of customers affected but it’s understood to be millions. It adds that the amount each individual customer’s bill will increase by depends on their existing mobile plan. 

If you're out of contract – check if you can switch and save, or haggle

Customers affected by the price change can’t cancel penalty-free UNLESS they’re are out-of-contract. That’s because inflation linked increases are written into Virgin Mobile’s term and conditions.

If you’re out of contract, you can cancel penalty-free as long as you provide 30 days’ notice. Virgin Mobile says when pay monthly customers' minimum term ends, and they've paid off the cost of the handset, it automatically changes their plan to the equivalent Sim only deal so they're only paying for the airtime.

However, it's still worth using this as an opportunity to check if you can switch and save or haggle for a better price if you want to stay put. Use our Cheap Mobile Finder tool to find the best deal for you or haggle with Virgin Mobile to see if it'll match or beat a deal you've found elsewhere. See our Haggling with Service Providers guide for further info.

What does Virgin Mobile say?

A Virgin Media (the telecoms firm Virgin Mobile is part of) spokesperson said: “We want to offer our customers the best, most innovative mobile services possible, and to continue delivering the flexibility, speeds and products our customers expect from us, we occasionally need to review our pricing.”