Vodafone and Orange Plan Mobile Call Charge Rise

Mobile phone users are preparing to feel the pinch as Vodafone and Orange plan to raise their pay-as-you-go call charges by above-inflation rates. But should you switch providers?

If your mobile is on a prepaid tariff, or you regularly use more than the number of minutes included in your contract, you’ll know just how expensive mobile call charges are.

And if you’re a pay-as-you-go Vodafone or Orange customer, they’re about to go up.

Orange customers will be paying bigger phone bills from Friday, when the company will up its minimum call charge for pay-as-you-go customers from 20p to 25p per minute – a 25% increase.

Meanwhile, pay-as-you-go customers on Vodafone will see an increase in the cost of a text from 10p to 12p, while call charges to both mobiles and landlines will go up from 21p to 25p.

If you’re a Vodafone customer, you have until July 14 before the’s new charges come into effect.

With Vodafone and Orange both raising their tariffs, other operators such as O2 are likely to follow suit, helping them to regain lost revenue from reductions in contract length imposed by Ofcom and the European Union.

With more expensive pay-as-you-go costs, contracts – with their inclusive minutes and texts – are likely to become more desirable to customers.

Moneyhighstreet says: “This is bad news for pay-as-you-go mobile users, who will be facing even higher call charges.

“With other companies likely to raise their prices as well, prepaid customers need to be careful when seeking  the best deal. It might also be a good time for prepaid customers to switch to a contract, taking advantage of inclusive minutes and texts and a free or subsidised mobile or smartphone handset.”