The broadband provider which finished rock bottom in a recent customer survey has increased the amount extra it charges each year
Many Virgin Media customers will see their bills jump by £4 a month in April 2026 as the company increases its mid-contract price hikes – meaning services will cost £48 extra.
It comes less than 12 months after the broadband and TV provider said bills would go up by £3.50 a month each April.
This year the telecoms giant came joint last in a Which? survey of broadband providers and was outperformed by smaller rivals. The consumer champion’s survey found the biggest providers, such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, were easily outshone by providers including Zen Internet, Plusnet and Utility Warehouse.
Which? surveyed more than 4,000 broadband customers about their broadband experiences, compiling a ‘customer score’ for each firm. Virgin Media received the lowest score out of the ‘big four’ firms – coming joint last with NOW Broadband in the survey, with a customer score of 60%.
Virgin was rated poorly for several areas, including ease of contact, customer service, communication, technical support and value for money.
Virgin Media also fared poorly in Which?’s most recent customer service research, and was named the worst broadband firm for customer service. Customers rated it particularly poorly for how long it took to get in touch with a person that could help.
The increase will apply to all new and re-contracting customers signing up from today. Virgin Media shifted to 24-month minimum contracts earlier this year, meaning customers will be hit twice by the annual price rise.
The cost increase comes as the company refreshes its offering, including Netflix with ads as standard on its plans over 500Mbps and faster speeds with TV bundles.
Ernest Doku, a broadband expert at Uswitch, said: “For customers considering taking out one of these premium plans, this may offset the £48 yearly price rise.”
But, he urged customers who have a plan coming up for renewal to consider their options.
“It only takes a few minutes to run a comparison, and many regional broadband providers such as YouFibre and Trooli have pledged not to raise prices mid-contract,” he said.
Virgin Media was criticised for charging the highest annual price rise for standalone broadband – and that was before the new £4 charge. Virgin Media customers then faced an increase of £3.50 per month – adding £42 per year to their bill. The company is also being investigated by Ofcom for its complaint handling and customer difficulties when cancelling contracts.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “This 13p a day rise represents excellent value for connectivity customers use more than ever and is greatly outweighed by the £5m we invest every single day into our networks and services to ensure we continue to provide the fast, reliable connectivity our customers expect and rely on.”
Chordbusters said: “The company has bumped annual price rises from £3.50 to £4 per month, while simultaneously adding Netflix to more packages and finally upgrading Sky channels to HD at no extra cost.
The changes, which affect new and re-contracting customers from today, paint a complicated picture. While some headline prices remain unchanged and certain bundles now include valuable extras, other packages have become noticeably more expensive.
“Entry-level broadband has jumped by £2-£3 per month with nothing new to show for it, and that higher annual increase means bills will climb faster year after year.