Phone, BB costs: Annual Inflation+ pricing to be banned?

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www.independent.ie

Plans to ban automatic price rises linked to inflation by broadband providers

The Government is considering banning broadband and mobile phone service providers from using a pricing model where they impose annual price rises that are linked to the rate of inflation.
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie
[Might be behind a paywall to access]

Anyway, looks like the Govt may ban phone/bb providers from automatically raising prices annually based on Inflation + 3%

This type of pricing has crept in recently, and would push prices up significantly after a few years.

Do they want people to shop around every year, i wonder?
 
I would agree to a policy of a yearly automatic price rise based on the inflation rate for any goods and services.
But only under one condition:
Wages, salaries, SW rates and pensions MUST be treated in the same way!:p
 
I cannot see how anyone could justify an annual increase of inflation plus a percentage.
 
While doing my annual 'shopping around for a better deal' i noticed some (not all though) providers have this in the small print - T&Cs - under their 'special offers'.

With CPI at 4.6% to Dec 2023 [from CSO], this would be a 7.6% rise in subscriptions. Every year at least. After 5 years that would be a hefty increase.
 
I'm all for protecting consumers where it is needed but the banning these contracts is possibly counterproductive.

I see an argument for banning certain products but are these particular complex contracts that people find hard to understand?

For basic products like this Government policy should aim to promote transparency and the use of cost comparison sites. Give people the information in clear and concise language to make informed choices.

Ultimately people should be treated like adults and be expected to make their own choices.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
Price controls for goods and services is generally a bad idea.

Shop around folks.
Click to expand...
In general, I agree.
But it's not necessarily easy to shop around properly when certain markets involve such a range of slightly different offerings (deliberately designed to bamboozle the customer?) that the consumer struggles to make sense of them and identify the best deal for their needs.
E.g. health insurance, energy providers (especially with the increasing number of smart plans), phone/broadband providers etc.
 
ClubMan said:
In general, I agree.
But it's not necessarily easy to shop around properly when certain markets involve such a range of slightly different offerings (deliberately designed to bamboozle the customer?) that the consumer struggles to make sense of them and identify the best deal for their needs.
E.g. health insurance, energy providers (especially with the increasing number of smart plans), phone/broadband providers etc.
Click to expand...

We are not totally devoid of useful services to help wade through the options.

For health insurance the HIA provides a comparison tool which I go to (almost) every year.

For utilities (gas and electricity) the likes of bonkers and switcher.ie are approved (or were last time I looked) by CRU to provide comparisons. I make an annual pilgrimage to these sites to figure out who to change to. They're also pretty good on broadband and phone.
 
skrooge said:
For health insurance the HIA provides a comparison tool which I go to (almost) every year.
Click to expand...
I've tried to use that and always end up only marginally less bamboozled than before. The plethora of plans, often with only small differences in cover, seems deliberately designed to obfuscate and confuse the consumer.
skrooge said:
For utilities (gas and electricity) the likes of bonkers and switcher.ie are approved (or were last time I looked) by CRU to provide comparisons.
Click to expand...
Bonkers (at least) doesn't list all providers/tariffs on the market so could easily mislead consumers. Switcher doesn't deal with all providers/plans but at least provides an option (disabled by default though) to see the ones that they can't switch a customer to.
 
@ClubMan

On health insurance I agree. There are 300 plans on the market and I honestly think someone qualified both as a physician and an actuary couldn’t make an informed purchase.

For gas, electricity, and broadband it is more akin to a commodity and it’s not hard to make an informed choice.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
There are 300 plans on the market and I honestly think someone qualified both as a physician and an actuary couldn’t make an informed purchase.
Click to expand...
The main reason for so many plans existing is to penalise existing customers who don't shop around. Look what each provider is advertising on their websites as a guide to their best value plans. These are priced to win new business unlike the potentially hundreds of other plans they have for renewals.
 
ClubMan said:
Bonkers (at least) doesn't list all providers/tariffs on the market so could easily mislead consumers. Switcher doesn't deal with all providers/plans but at least provides an option (disabled by default though) to see the ones that they can't switch a customer to.
Click to expand...
Bonkers - which I'm more familiar with - does allow you the option to include plans you can't sign up for. I'd be surprised if they didn't have all plans available but neither am I here to defend them.

There are a number accredited commission websites and there are also a list of principles that that must meet to be accredited. One of them is providing a full list of tariffs available from licensed providers.

Price comparison websites | CRU.ie

When switching, it can be hard to pick the best supplier. That's why price comparison websites help you get the best value price plan.
www.cru.ie www.cru.ie
 
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