O2 | Price changes | Pay Monthly Tariff changes

Retail Price Index (RPI) and your Pay Monthly airtime tariff

Each year, your Pay Monthly airtime tariff will be adjusted according to the Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of inflation. This rate is announced in February and your bill will be adjusted by this amount in April.

RPI is a widely recognized measure of the general level of inflation and several industries use it as a guide on whether to adjust prices, as well as by how much. If you're on O2, RPI can impact your Pay Monthly tariff, including your O2 Refresh Airtime Plan (but not the Device Plan), your sim only tariff, standard tariff and mobile broadband tariff.

For Business customers, RPI can impact all eligible mobile voice monthly line rental charges, Business Essentials airtime plan (not device plan), SIM only tariffs, mobile broadband tariffs and Pop Up Office tariffs.

This year's RPI was published on 13 February 2018 and was 4%.

If you joined or upgraded before 13 February 2018, you would've received a message from us telling you about the adjustment and how it impacts your contract. If you joined or upgraded after this date, we'd have told you about it before you'd signed up.

From April 2018 onwards, as well as changes to your monthly airtime bill, we also increased charges for calls outside your monthly allowance (not applicable to business customers). Charges for international calls and other additional services were also changed – unless you have a business tariff or mobile broadband tariff.

What you need to know about RPI

RPI and your O2 contract

If you signed up before 23 January 2014

Our terms and conditions allow us to adjust your monthly subscription charge by no more than RPI, only once every 12 months. These terms are compliant with the body of general consumer protection law. Ofcom's guidance for price rises in fixed term contracts is only applicable to contracts made on or after the 23 January 2014 and does not apply to contracts that were entered into before that date.

Our advertising also said 'tariff prices may go up' since January 2013.

If you signed up after 23 January 2014

You would have been told when you signed up, that your monthly subscription charge is going to be adjusted by the RPI rate published each February and that the adjustment will appear on your April bill. This year’s RPI was published on 13 February 2018 and was 4%.

If you've got an O2 Refresh tariff or a Business Essentials tariff

If you're on O2 Refresh or business essentials, your Airtime Plan is subject to RPI, but your Device Plan is not. That's because your device is on a credit agreement, and not part of your monthly airtime subscription charge.

***For example, if you're on an £22 O2 Refresh Airtime Plan, the increase of 4% would have resulted in a new monthly Airtime Plan cost of £22.88.***

Discounted tariffs

If you’re on a promotional tariff, RPI will be applied to the non-discounted amount, before your discount is re-applied. For example, if you’re on a £22 tariff with a £5 discount, your new tariff will be £22.88 minus £5.

Everybody else on Pay Monthly

***If you're on a sim only tariff, or one of our non-O2 Refresh Pay Monthly tariffs, RPI is applied to your monthly subscription charge (your tariff amount). For example, if you'e on a £27 per month tariff, the increase of 4% would have resulted in a new monthly subscription charge of £28.08.***

Ofcom's guidance

Ofcom's guidance for contracts formed or made on or after 23 January 2014 sets out their interpretation of General Condition 9.6 - this states that they think a mid-contract price rise is "a materially detrimental change to a customer's fixed term contract which should entitle them to terminate that contract without penalty."

However, that guidance does not apply to contracts made or signed before 23 January 2014. Ofcom has also said that a clear price rise in line with inflation which a customer is told about when they're signing up would not entitle them to terminate. Our contracts from 23 January 2014 are in line with this revised guidance. And our previous terms and conditions stated that we are entitled to increase your monthly subscription charge by no more than RPI and no more than once every 12 months. So you cannot end your contract mid-way through because of the RPI adjustment.

For more information read through Ofcom's updated guidance on material detriment in relation to price adjustments in fixed term contracts.

Out of bundle calls and charges

From 1 April 2018, we’ll be making changes to some additional charges. These changes do not apply to business customers at this time.

	Before 1 April 18	After 1 April 18
Calls from UK to Ireland landlines	65p per min	£1 per minute*