£100 more down the line for phones and broadband

MILLIONS of mobile and broadband customers face paying an extra £100 a year thanks to inflation-busting price rises.

Consumer charity Citizens Advice says the industry wants to charge 13 million customers an extra £2. billion.

It found that nine out of ten broadband customers and seven out of ten mobile customers have contracts with prices that can be raised at the halfway point. They are likely to see huge rises, potentially more than 1 per cent, from next April.

Small-print details let firms put up prices by the Retail Price Index rate of inflation in January, plus 3.9 per cent. Recent Bank of England estimates predict this inflation figure could hit 12.6 per cent.

Average monthly bills are £22.60 for mobile and £33.10 for broadband. Citizens Advice estimates they may rise by £40 and £60 respectively. Chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: ‘We want to see them cancel mid-contract price rises this year.’

Watchdog Ofcom has also asked the companies to voluntarily cancel the inflation-plus increases but it has no legal powers to control or cap retail prices.

Spokesman Lindsey Fussell said: ‘We face a generational crisis in the budgets of homes and businesses across the country. And while telecoms bills may only represent a fraction of household energy costs, every bill matters.’