UK mobile network ‘Three’ has ended its “all you can eat” phone contract and consumers across the country have made it clear that they aren’t happy with the decision.
There are thousands of Three customers across the UK who currently pay £17 a month for unlimited data and calls, but these customers have been told that the cost of their “all you can eat” contract will jump to £30 a month if they decide not to opt out within the next 30 days.
As many as one million of Three could be hit by the price bump.
Many customers went to social media to express their frustration with the mobile network:
@ThreeUK @ThreeUKSupport so i’ve just read that you are changing the all you can eat data plan from £17-£30!! awful! when does this happen?
— Rachel (@soupyrachel) January 30, 2016
If @ThreeUK make me change my contract from £17 a month to £35 then I’ll be finding a new provider. #makeitright 👍🏼
— kelvin Dhorasoo (@kelvindhorasoo) January 30, 2016
Well done @ThreeUK hike the prices of your long standing customers! https://t.co/oPvy6agMEq #makeitright ?
— Dave Clegg (@yetanotherdave) January 30, 2016
All-you-can eat data plans simply aren’t as profitable as they used to be
Ben Wood from CSS Insight was quoted by the BBC as saying that the demise of unlimited data plans was inevitable.
He said: “The networks are seeing huge growth in data consumption as people watch more video content at ever-higher resolutions on their smartphones. At some point certain all-you-can-eat tariffs become uneconomical.”
Three said in a statement: “In March 2014, we introduced new price plans giving customers more options in the size of their data and voice bundles, as well as limits and alerts to prevent bill shock.
“We have a lot of tariffs that we no longer sell and moving customers to one of the new plans will ensure they can enjoy the benefits of these plans.”