Sky Mobile to hike prices for out-of-contract customers by up to £36 a year – but you can leave penalty-free

Sky is also changing its data rollover feature called 'Sky Piggybank', meaning unused data will expire after one year instead of three from 1 April 2024.

We explain what you need to know below. To compare the latest mobile deals, including Sim-only and handset plans, use our Cheap Mobile Finder tool.

Most affected Sky Mobile customers will see increases of £1 a month (£12 a year) – but some will see bigger hikes

How much your mobile costs will rise by depends on your data plan:

• "The majority" of plans with 20GB of data or below will increase by £1 a month (£12 a year). More than three quarters of customers affected by the price hikes are on these plans, according to Sky Mobile.

• Those with a data package of 25GB or above (Sky Mobile doesn't offer packages of between 20GB and 25GB) will see their costs increase by £2 a month (£24 a year).

• A "small number" of customers – 3% of those affected – will see a price rise of £3 a month (£36 a year).

About 1.3 million Sky Mobile customers are affected, with the average increase being 3%. This is below the current Consumer Prices Index rate of inflation of 3.9%. Last year, the firm increased prices by an average of 9%.

If you're affected, Sky will contact you to let you know how much your bill is going up by. If your payment date is on or after the 17th of each month, you'll see the increase in your February 2024 bill – otherwise, you'll see it from your March 2024 bill onwards.

You WON'T be affected if you're within your minimum contract period as Sky Mobile does not raise prices mid-contract.

Your unused Sky Mobile data will now expire after 12 months

Sky Mobile's data rollover feature, Sky Piggybank, automatically saves any unused data you have left at the end of each month. You can then use this later if you run out in a future month or exchange it for discounts towards a new phone, tablet, earphones and more.

From 1 April 2024, this will be reduced to 12 months, so any data added from this point onwards will drop off your balance after a year. You won't receive a reminder for this.

However, if you've got lots of old data saved up, don't worry – Sky told us that any data added prior to the change will expire on 1 April 2025, so you'll have plenty of time to use it up.

To find out more about Sky's rollover feature, visit Sky's website.

If you're out of contract, you can leave penalty-free – so check you're not overpaying

As these hikes only affect customers who are out of contract, you're free to leave without having to pay any fees or penalties – so it's worth checking if you can save £100s by switching. Remember, newbies tend to get the best deals.

Here are our quick steps to cut mobile costs:

1. Check if you're out of contract. An easy way to do this is by texting INFO to 85075. This is free, and you should get a text back within seconds showing if you're out of contract (and therefore free to switch).

2. Benchmark prices elsewhere. You can use our Cheap Mobile Finder tool to see what other deals are out there.

3. Ditch and switch. To keep your number, text PAC to 65075. You'll be given a code to send to your new provider, which'll transfer your number for you within one working day (there's usually only a couple of hours of downtime).

4. Want to stick with Sky Mobile? Try haggling. See if your provider will match or beat a deal you've found elsewhere. Our Mobile haggling guide has lots of tips on how to do this. It's also worth bearing in mind Sky Mobile is one of the few providers that doesn't raise prices mid-contract – so if price certainty is important to you, factor this in.

For more tips on cutting the cost of your mobile bill, see our Cheap mobile tips.