A Vodafone customer reckons he may have found a way for people to get round the price hike that is pushing up bills for almost 10 million mobile phone customers from this month.

Dan Smith has posted a video on YouTube showing how, when he went on to Vodafone's website to complain about the increase, one of its advisers eventually agreed to knock £1.47 off his monthly bill, later upped to £1.76.

Vodafone provoked a storm of criticism after announcing it was increasing bills for millions of customers on "fixed" contracts by up to 2.4%. The hike took effect on 1 November, and the average price rise per month is 59p – the maximum is £1.55.

Smith, who lives in Nottingham, was "outraged" by the hike. He took out his current two-year phone contract in February, and the increase pushes his monthly bill up from £36 to £36.80.

His video includes a transcript of his "live chat" with a Vodafone adviser, who told him that after "discussing the case with my manager" and because he was "a valuable customer," she was able to offer him a discount – which means he will now be paying less than before. He says other customers should give it a go. When you log on to Vodafone's site and click on "contact us" and then "personal customers", a box usually pops up allowing you to chat live with an adviser.

Vodafone says what happened to Smith "isn't normal practice". It previously said that if you believe the changes may increase your monthly costs by more than 10%, you may be able to end your agreement.