Three mobile customers hit with 100% price increase!

3 mobile have been sending letters to hundreds of thousands of their 8.8 million customers explaining how they will be massively increasing their bills (often a 100% price increase).

Who is going to get the increase?

• It will depend on your account but often these are old deals (circa 1-4 years old), often they were £8-£15 a month for unlimited data + very high minutes or even unlimited minutes
• Most of those people on the popular ‘The One Plan’ (2000mins, 5000txts & unlimited data, £15p/m) will be seeing an increase
• Only those who have received notifications from Three (check your postal address is correct on your account, otherwise you might be missing your letter!)

What can I do?

• You have 30 days to cancel your contract (no fees to cancel) then go elsewhere (ring 0333 300 3333 to do so).
• See if you can reduce your mobile data usage down
• Speak with them and renegotiate a fairer deal (be sure to compare to other companies deals)
• After 30 days Three will move you to “the closest plan to the one they are on”, the cost will vary but an unlimited data with unlimited call tariff is price around £30-£33
• Complain to Ofcom
• Consider removing / amending things like Mobile Phone Insurance to reduce your monthly phone bill
• Buy walkie talkies or some string and cans? But seriously if you’re always using Wifi then you could get around the month charges by not having any data at all. Remember O2 Wifi is free for all!

What does Three have to say about it?

“We’re always working to make sure we offer some of the best plans on the market, with great value minutes and data that helps our customers get the most out of their phones. But to do this, we have to change our plans every so often.

“As your minimum term has ended and the plan you are currently on is being phased out, you will need to change to one of our new plans. But there’s no need to worry, we’ve got a great range of new plans to suit your needs.

“We’re writing to let you know that we plan to transfer you onto one of our new plans which most closely aligns with your current plan allowances.”

“In March 2014, we introduced new price plans giving customers more options in the size of their data and voice bundles, as well as limits and alerts to prevent bill shock.”

“We have a lot of tariffs that we no longer sell and moving customers to one of the new plans will ensure they can enjoy the benefits of these plans.”