Letters
Tell us what’s on your mind
Banning mid-contract rises would lead to higher prices
You’re probably right to predict that more people will call for a ban on mid-contract price rises in 2025 (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 701, pictured right).
But all this will do is force internet providers to increase the upfront cost of the contract.
Companies need to be able to react to the peaks and troughs of inflation by raising prices, otherwise they’ll simply go bust. At the moment, mid-contract rises let companies set increases proportionate to the existing financial circumstances. If Ofcom bans this, it would effectively be asking companies to predict what their running costs will be in two years’ time. That’s hard for a company to do, so they’ll protect themselves by whacking up the basic cost of contracts.
Andrew Fry
A ‘device tax’ would help pay for electronic waste
Arthur Mansfield misses a crucial point in his Star Letter (‘Forcing Amazon to pay ‘e-waste’ bills will lead to higher prices’, Issue 701). He ignores the fact that dealing with the environmental cost of electronic waste is already a financial burden and will only get worse. These costs are huge compared with, say, an extra £50 on the price of a laptop.
A more effective solution would be to implement a ‘device tax’ on every new product manufacturers make. This would give them an incentive to design products that last longer and can be repaired, while funding recycling efforts.
Neal Proctor
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