Martin Lewis is urging the regulator to scrap the new rules after new research revealed the potential impact
Martin Lewis is urging UK communications regulator Ofcom to ditch the new rules it introduced in a bid to rein in mid-contract price hikes for mobile and broadband customers. Fresh research from MSE has revealed the regulations may have actually left many customers worse off.
Ofcom brought the new rules into force in early 2025 after millions of customers saw their bills surge by as much as 17% mid-contract, owing to above-inflation linked increases. The new restrictions obliged providers to clearly state any price rises in pounds and pence at the point of sale, yet still permitted firms to hike prices mid-contract, provided they gave customers 30 days to exit penalty-free upon notification.
However, Martin described the outcome as “frustratingly predictable”, adding: “It’s time to just scrap these rules and do the bleedin’ obvious – ban above inflation mid-contract price hikes!”
New research by MSE examined more than 47,000 tariffs and discovered that the majority — three in every four — carried higher costs under Ofcom’s new system than under the previous inflation-linked rules. In almost every case, customers were faced with above-inflation price increases.
Those who opted for cheaper tariffs in an effort to keep their bills down may have borne the brunt of this shake-up. The MoneySavingExpert founder is set to give evidence to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on broadband, water and energy costs this afternoon, June 29.
Martin said: “This was frustratingly predictable. Let’s be plain, it provisionally looks like the regulator’s intervention resulted in most contracts costing more. Transparency only goes so far, we don’t want customers overpaying just because they were told about it first.
“The solution has always been bleedin’ obvious. Just ban above-inflation mid-contract price hikes.
“Of course, many, including me, would prefer a ban on any mid-contract rise, as the price you sign up for should be the price you pay over the length of the contract.
“Yet that risks possible market distortion, as firms may lift initial prices as a provision against unexpected costs mid-contract.”
He went on to explain that, as a result, if Ofcom had introduced a ‘no rises above inflation’ rule, it could serve as a straightforward compromise and would have resulted in lower rises for over 99% of customers had it been put in place instead of the transparency rules.
Martin continued: “There was a chance to fix this last year. The Government called Ofcom and providers around a table to write a ‘Telecoms Charter’ on the back of me and others shouting about O2’s outrageous ‘price hike on a price hike’.
“Yet all that resulted in was firms promising they wouldn’t do hikes on hikes. It didn’t stop the Sky carve-out, which lets it ignore transparency rules, so long as it lets people leave within 30 days of notification.
“If that rule must stay, at the very least there should be two windows – you should be able to leave within 30 days of notification and again within 30 days after the price rise, which is when many people actually notice it. Better still though, just scrap the whole thing and ban rises above inflation.”
