By Inspire Telecom · Published and checked 15th October 2026
UK broadband providers can charge an existing customer more than a new one for the same sort of service. The cheap price on the homepage is usually a discount for people who have not signed yet. When that discount ends, the bill goes up, and plenty of people stay on that higher price because switching feels like a chore.
How a new-customer deal works
You see £28 a month. That figure is often for a fixed stretch, commonly 18 or 24 months, and it may sit next to a higher price that applies afterwards. The small print is where the second number lives. Ofcom has required, since 17th January 2025, that any mid-contract rise in a new contract is written in pounds and pence up front, with the date it happens. That rule stops inflation-linked surprises. It does not stop a provider offering a lower price to someone new.
So two households on the same street, on the same speed, can pay different amounts. One signed last month. The other has been with the provider for three years and never asked for a new deal. The second bill is often the bigger one.
What Ofcom makes providers tell you
Providers have to send an end-of-contract notice before your minimum term finishes, with the price you will pay if you do nothing. If you are already out of contract, they must send a yearly reminder of their best tariff for you. Those letters exist so the loyal price is not a secret. They do not force the provider to put you on the new-customer price automatically.
Read the notice. The useful line is the monthly price after the term ends, and the date that price starts. Compare it with what the same provider, and one or two others, will charge a new customer for a similar speed at your address.
What to do if you are paying the loyal price
Check whether you are still inside the minimum term. If you are, leaving early can mean an early termination charge. If a price rise was not in the contract in the way Ofcom requires, you may have a penalty-free exit. Our help page on a broadband price rise mid-contract covers that case.
If the term has ended, you can renegotiate or switch. Call and ask for the price a new customer would get. If they say no, order with another provider. Under One Touch Switch, the new provider contacts the old one. You do not have to coordinate two call centres. How to switch broadband in the UK walks through the order of jobs.
Compare the whole term, not the first month. A £26 intro price that becomes £34 for the second year can cost more than a flat £30 for 24 months. Our hidden costs checklist is the short version of that sum.
What Inspire does on price
Inspire does not raise the broadband price during the contract. The monthly price you sign at is the monthly price for the full term. There is no annual CPI clause and no scheduled pounds-and-pence rise tucked into the term. Current packages are on the broadband page, and the fixed-price guide explains what that promise covers and what it does not.
New-customer deals FAQ
Can broadband providers offer better deals to new customers?
Yes. A new-customer price is a discount for a set period, often 12, 18 or 24 months. It is legal. The monthly price after that discount ends is the one that matters, and it is often higher than the price advertised to people who have not signed yet.
Is it illegal to charge existing broadband customers more?
No. There is no UK rule that says an existing customer must get the same price as a new customer. Ofcom does require providers to tell you when your contract is ending, and to send an annual reminder of their best available tariff if you are out of contract.
Why is my broadband bill higher than the deal on the website?
The website price is usually an introductory offer for new customers. If your minimum term has ended, or an intro discount has finished, you are on a different price. Log into your account or read the renewal letter and compare that figure with what a new customer would pay for the same speed.
Can I get the new-customer price without switching?
Sometimes. Phone the provider, say you have seen the new-customer offer, and ask them to match it. Some will. Some will not. If they will not, you can switch. One Touch Switch lets you order with the new provider and they handle the rest.
Keep reading
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See a price that stays put
Inspire Telecom is rated 4.9 on Trustpilot from 600+ reviews. The broadband price you sign at is the price for the life of the contract.