Broadband bills hiked by £234

MILLIONS of households face price hikes of up to £234 a year when their broadband contract ends, new figures reveal.

For customers with standard broadband, the average increase is £152 a year — a 63 pc rise, claims research by comparison site uSwitch. Households with faster fibre broadband face a 53 pc increase, or an extra £158 a year.

BT broadband customers who fail to switch will see monthly bills soar from £24.99 a month to £45.49 a month — an 82 pc increase or an extra £234 a year. Telecoms giants Sky and TalkTalk raise their prices by more than £100 a year when the customer is out of contract.

Sky’s Unlimited Broadband package usually costs £18 a month. But once the contract expires the price jumps to £30 — an extra £12 a month.

When TalkTalk customers reach the end of their Unlimited Fast Broadband deal the price increases from £17 a month to £27.

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom estimates that more than 20 million people pay over the odds for broadband as their contract has ended.