McDonald's price hike leaves fans outraged as cost of popular menu item rockets

McDonalds fans have spoken out about the 'outrageous' price hike of its cheeseburgers.

The fast food chain, which has sold cheeseburgers for 99p for the last 14 years, is has announced plans to increase the cost by 20p - meaning a cheeseburger will now cost £1.19, while a price rise will be added to some other menu items "impacted most by inflation."

McDonalds follows in the footsteps of Amazon Prime (opens in new tab)and Netflix (opens in new tab) who are also raising prices as energy prices continue to rise (opens in new tab).

The news comes as a blow to many, who are used to using the McDonald's menu hacks (opens in new tab) or trying the new summer menu items (opens in new tab) as they risk forking out even more for a meal. 

But some fans are unhappy with the increase during the current cost of living (opens in new tab) crisis - with some concerned that the burger might be some children's "only hot meal that day."

The chief executive of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, Alistair Macrow, said it was committed to selling food at affordable prices but cost pressures meant it was having to “make some tough choices”.

He told the Guardian (opens in new tab), “This summer our restaurants will be adding between 10 and 20p to a number of menu items impacted most by inflation. From today we’ll be increasing the price of our cheeseburger for the first time in over 14 years, taking it from 99p to £1.19.

“We understand that any price increases are not good news, but we have delayed and minimised these changes for as long as we could.”

McDonalds often changes its menu, bringing back popular items by public demand but this latest price change is unlikely to be reversed, however McDonald's has launched a rewards app, giving loyal customers deals on meals.

But that hasn't eased the blow. One disgruntled customer warned, "As if McDonalds doesn’t make enough money to be able to sell a couple of items at a very low profit margin or even at cost price. At the McDonald’s I use you quite often see young kids coming in with a £1 coin and getting ch/burger. Who knows that might be their only “hot meal.”

And added, "Plus, if your cheese is costing you £0.30 per slice then I think you need to find a different supplier..."

Another unhappy customer said, "McDonald’s raising the cheeseburger to 1.19 are u havin a laugh, fuming" (sic)

And a third fan added, "I remember when a cheeseburger was 59p"

It's thought that McFlurries could also see a price rise and that the option to 'go large' with meals could double to 60p.