Virgin Mobile to hike bills for more than three million customers on July 1

Millions of Virgin Media customers will see their bills rise in July as a new price hike comes into force.

The telecoms giant said the increase will affect three million customers with many to see their phone bills rise 1.5%.

The increase affects sim-only and pay-monthly customers who will see their bills go up in early summer.

The changes affect those who took out a contract with Virgin Mobile before May 5 this year.

However, there is no fixed rise, meaning it will go up depending on your individual price plan.

For example, if you pay £10 a month you will see your bill rise by 15p per month – equating to £1.80 a year.

Customers who pay £40 a month will see an extra 60p a month added to their bills - or £7.20 over the year.

If you cannot afford it, speak to the company as many suppliers are relaxing their rules and support plans for customers during the pandemic (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Unfortunately, as the increase is linked to inflation – a rise referred to in the contract small print – you will not be able to exit your plan penalty free.

If you cannot afford it, speak to the company as many suppliers are relaxing their rules and support plans for customers due to Covid.

Of course, if you are outside of your plan, you can use the rise to negotiate a cheaper deal or move elsewhere.

To do this, you'll need to give Virgin Mobile 30 days’ notice.

New customers who took out a deal on May 5 2021 won't be affected as the price increase has already been factored into their deal.

Virgin Mobile pay-as-you-go customers won't see a price change either.

The network said it started notifying customers about the increase in early May.

A Virgin Media spokesperson said: "We’re committed to delivering the very best for our customers.

"We want to offer the best, most innovative mobile services possible, and to continue delivering the flexibility, speeds and products our customers expect from us, we occasionally need to review our pricing."

Inflation linked increases are written into Virgin Mobile’s terms and conditions so when you sign up to a contract, you automatically consent to it.

The hike is in line with March’s retail prices index measure of inflation, which was announced back in April.

It is the first RPI-related price change Virgin Mobile has introduced in two years.