AROUND 1.3million Sky Mobile customers will soon pay more as the provider has announced it is hiking its prices.
From February 14, bills for Sky’s out of contract customers will increase by £1 a month, or an average of 9%.
Its the first time Sky has hiked prices in five yearsAlamy
“The majority” of Sky’s phone tariffs will increase, so you probably will see a rise.
Sky will contact all customers affected prior to the change coming in.
The hike will come into effect from February 14 – this means that if you pay your phone bill on the 20th of every month, you’ll pay the extra amount from February 20.
Those still in contract will not be affected.
Sky said the rise follows the current rate of inflation, which is 10.7%.
Most mobile phone providers increase their prices slightly at the start of the year, although this is the first time in five years that Sky has raised the prices on any of its mobile plans.
A Sky Mobile spokesperson said: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly.
“We try to provide our customers with as much value as possible which is why our data plans have not increased in price for five years.
“However due to increased cost pressures the majority of our mobile tariffs are increasing by £1, with the average percentage increase being below levels of inflation.”
If you’re unhappy, then you can leave penalty-free
If you’re not happy with the change you could leave.
Only out of contract customers are affected, so that means you’ll be able to leave penalty free if you wish.
You’ll be able to leave at any time leading up to or after February 14.
Of course, do shop around for the best deal – these can be found on comparison websites such as MoneySupermarket and Uswitch.
You could also check on Smartphonechecker which lists all phone deals currently available.
How to haggle your bills
It’s also worth trying to haggle with Sky to see if it’ll give you a better deal.
If you think your bills are too high and want to drive them down, the first thing to do is find out what the cheapest deal on the market is.
You can use this rate as a bargaining tool to get a better offer with your provider.
Get in contact with your provider to see if they can match this rate – if not, you might want to switch instead.
For more ways to cut your phone bill, we’ve got eight tips for slashing costs.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]