Consumers are to be hit by a raft of inflation-busting price hikes on 1 April as increases in the cost of household utilities and essentials such as stamps take effect.
Some 11 million households on poor-value standard variable energy tariffs are facing a collective £1.3bn bill increase after 23 suppliers raised their prices to meet Ofgem’s latest price cap.
Up to 3.6 million households with pre-payment gas and electricity meters will also see the cap on their energy tariffs increased by the regulator by an average £106 per year.
The average household in England faces a £78 hike in council tax from April, the second highest increase in the last decade, while they also face an £8 or 2 per cent increase on water bills to £415 and a £4 increase for a TV licence to £154.50.
Three, EE, O2 and Vodafone are all raising their mobile contract prices and customers with Sky Entertainment, Sky Fibre Broadband and Sky Talk Anytime will see an increase of £2 a month for each service.
Prescription costs will go up by 20p from £8.80 to £9, while the NHS charge for a dental checkup will increase by from £21.60 to £22.70.
First-class stamps have already risen in price from 67p to 70p and the price of a second-class stamp has also gone up by 3p to 61p. Posting a small parcel now costs 10p more, up from £3.45 to £3.55.
Air Passenger Duty on long-haul flights of over 2,000 miles is to increase by 10 per cent or £16.
Each household will have to find an average of £240 extra over the next 12 months to cover the increased costs, money.co.uk calculated.
Martin Lane, managing editor of money.co.uk, said: “These price hikes may appear small and nothing to worry about in isolation, but add them all together and they could cost you £240 extra a year.
“You won’t be able to avoid some of the increases, but you can certainly take control when it comes to managing the cost of your energy, phone and broadband.
“The more money you can keep in your pocket the better.
“Check you’re on the best rates and switch providers to get a better deal if you’re out of contract.”
PA
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
