Out of band increases - its a bit vague isn't it

Pete65 — Fri, 30 May 2025 19:34:34 GMT

I just got to my renewal date and have renewed online my BT Broadband and Digital Voice (aka the phone line bit)
All good and I got what I feel is a good deal of Fibre 2 item at £24.99 and Pay as You go item (aka phone line aka Digital voice) at £3, as if you have the phone line facility, you HAVE to take a calls package apparently. Although I do realise that what I am actually paying for here is the ability to make and receive calls hence pay as you go is a bit of a simplified misnomer.
Having looked around at other suppliers in my area, BT are actually competitive at these prices / yearly increases but I appreciate others may have better deals depending where they live.

So then we get into the blurb about yearly increases which is where it gets a bit vague.
The contract says Broadband product increase by £3 every March. All clear and whilst I question the necessity of the amount, at least a value is announced upfront (unlike a certain other supplier whose name rhymes with Pie)

However, where it gets a bit vague is the use of this paragraph
"..Annual price changes
The monthly plan price for your broadband service will increase on 31 March each year by £3, as outlined above. All out of bundle charges will increase by 5% (rounded to the nearest whole pence)."

Now I'm assuming that means the pay as you go product is classed as "out of band " so will increase by 5% each year?
Although nothing in the contract (or price list for that matter) defines what out of band is so I'm guessing that is what it means, as I can't see BT not taking an opportunity to have a March increase for elements they supply.
I'd argue that to a customer / layman, when a Broadband / DV order is placed, because one needs the other, then it is in fact a bundle package and so PAYG shouldn't be called out of band and should be included in the Broadband £3 increase.

If any admins on here can pass this back to BT and maybe get some clarity into the out of band definition on contracts it would be appreciated. Or link me to a page where it does give a definition if one exists.

Re: Out of band increases - its a bit vague isn't it

iniltous — Fri, 30 May 2025 20:53:23 GMT

It’s the price increase attached to the call plan , so if you pay £3 for PAYG then expect to pay a little more next March , and the price per minute should you make a call will probably also increase , as far as your assertion that the £3 should include the telephone, why ? , someone on a standalone broadband faces a £3 annual increase , why should someone with two services get the same £3 increase , in some respects the 5% increase is better , if the telephony element were subject to an fixed increase (say a 25p to 50p annual increase , anything less probably not worth the effort ) would represent a much bigger % increase

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Out of band increases - its a bit vague isn't it

Re: Out of band increases - its a bit vague isn't it