Sky is increasing its landline and call charges by more than 6% – more than four times the rate of inflation – and is to charge £12 a year for its previously free 1571 answerphone service.
The company, which offers telephone services to its 10.7 million pay-TV customers, said the increases would take effect from 1 December.
Sky said its broadband and call-plan subscription charges would not be increased and had remained frozen for more than four years. However, its customers face a big increase if they make chargeable calls. The connection fee for almost all non-inclusive calls will rise from 15p to 15.9p per call; calls to other UK landlines will increase from 8.9p per minute to 9.5p per minute. Calls to UK mobiles, charged at 12p per minute at all times, will climb to 12.7p per minute.
The company said it was following a similar move by BT over the popular 1571 service. At £1 a month, Sky will charge less than BT’s £1.85, however many customers are likely to resent having to pay for a service that was previously free.
Many BT customers were unaware they were being charged when BT introduced the same measure last year. If customers no longer want the 1571 service under Sky, they can stop it by either calling the broadcaster’s helpline or contacting the company online, it said.
A Sky spokesperson said: “We always aim to offer great value and our line rental is lower than BT. Sky’s even better value when customers also take our great value broadband. Sky Broadband Unlimited customers have paid the same low price for the past four years.”
Sky’s increases mirror those announced by BT in August. From 1 December, BT customers will pay £16.99 per month, up from £15.99 per month for landlines – a 6.25% increase.
The price rises are out of kilter with inflation, which last week slumped to its lowest rate for five years, at 1.2% for September.
