Martin Lewis is urging UK communications regulator Ofcom to abandon new rules intended to curb mid-contract price hikes for mobile and broadband customers, after fresh research from MoneySavingExpert (MSE) indicated the regulations may have left many customers worse off.
Ofcom's New Rules Backfire
Ofcom introduced the new rules in early 2025 following widespread complaints about bill surges of up to 17% mid-contract due to above-inflation price increases. The regulations required providers to clearly state any price rises in pounds and pence at the point of sale but still permitted mid-contract hikes, as long as customers were given 30 days to exit without penalty upon notification.
However, MSE's analysis of over 47,000 tariffs found that three in four contracts now cost more under the new system than under the previous inflation-linked rules. In almost every case, customers faced above-inflation price increases.
Martin Lewis's Call for Action
Martin Lewis described the outcome as "frustratingly predictable" and said: "It's time to just scrap these rules and do the bleedin' obvious – ban above inflation mid-contract price hikes!" He is set to give evidence to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on broadband, water and energy costs on June 29.
Lewis argued: "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."
Proposed Compromise and Loopholes
Lewis suggested that a ban on rises above inflation would have resulted in lower increases for over 99% of customers. He also highlighted loopholes, such as the "Sky carve-out," which allows providers to ignore transparency rules as long as they let customers leave within 30 days of notification.
He recommended: "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."
