Millions of EE home phone and broadband customers are to face price rises in the New Year for both line rental and calls made outside their bundle plans, just three months after the network hiked charges for mobile customers.
The increases - which will take effect from January 23 2017, will see line rental rise by an average of £1.50 a month - or £18 a year - while out of bundle phone connection charges for calls to UK landlines and mobiles will shoot up 3p, to 20p.
Consumers making international calls outside of their package will be also charged an extra 5p - taking the price up to 20p per minute.
The telecoms giant, which was taken over by BT earlier this year, says it’s pushing up prices to pay for continued investment in its network.
A spokesperson for EE said: “We are contacting our Home Broadband customers to inform them of some changes we are making to the cost of line rental and calls made outside of their allowances from 23rd January 2017.
“We are committed to offering our customers the best value and service, including bringing all EE customer service calls back to the UK and Ireland by the end of 2016."
Ewan Taylor-Gibson, broadband expert for uSwitch.com, said: "EE has actually offered one of the cheapest line rental charges on the market, so whilst customers may not appreciate the change, this increase simply takes it in line with other providers on the market.
"For those looking for cheaper line rental, smaller providers such as DST come in at a lower price – so it's definitely worth shopping around. And don't forget to look at the total cost of the package when comparing deals."
However, telecoms experts have warned the price hike, which will hit families on one of the toughest months of the year is "anti-consumer and unjustifiable".
Dan Howdle at broadband deal comparison website Cable.co.uk said: "It is underhand, unnecessary and unjustifiable. To make matters worse, those most affected will be those who can least afford it."
I want to leave EE - what are my rights?
In line with Ofcom regulations, if a monthly tariff increases without warning, all affected customers have the right to cancel their contract penalty-free.
To cancel, customers will have to contact EE customer relations directly within 30 days of receiving notification of the price hike. You'll need your account number and billing information to hand to verify your account.
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