Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has issued a two-month warning to broadband users, urging people to take action immediately.

The consumer advice expert warned that “very worrying” changes are coming in March which will affect everyone with a broadband account.

The MoneySavingExpert founder said price rises will come into place in spring, with your bill possibly going up even if you already have a contract in place.

Firms can introduce mid-contract price rises equivalent to a 15 per cent increase, with many companies hiking bills in line with the rate of Consumer Price Index inflation or Retail Prince Index inflation.

The Argus:

Martin Lewis warned: “If they enact them this year, and the likelihood is they will, this could mean 15%ish hikes this spring.

“This usually happens in April for most of the major broadband providers, which is going to be another hit for many people. If you’re paying £40, that’s £6 a month extra.

“Even switchers’ deals will probably do this but of course, it’s £6 a month extra on £40 or if you pay £20 a month, it’s only £3 a month extra.”

Speaking on ITV’s The Martin Lewis Money Show, the expert offered some advice on how to lower your costs.

Martin urged households to check if they can cut their broadband bills now, with roughly seven million people paying too much for their internet as a result of the best deals being saved for new customers.

He added: ““It’s your new firm who sorts it out for you and they’ll cancel your old provider. Some of you… don’t want to switch, you like where you are, in which case: haggle.

“As a loyal customer, the first thing I would do is, I’d get on the phone and I’d say: I’ve seen what you’re charging new customers.

“I’d make sure you’ve seen what other providers are charging in your area, because it’s postcode dependent, and say I’m not willing to pay that amount, can you offer me a better deal? If they say no, you say I want to go through to customer disconnections, this is where they can do the big deals.

“Always be polite and if they don’t give you that price, I would be pretty annoyed and I’d want to ditch and switch and go elsewhere.”