{"id":32408,"date":"2017-10-23T14:04:01","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T13:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cawatford.org.uk\/internal\/?p=32408"},"modified":"2017-10-22T14:11:08","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T13:11:08","slug":"3-largest-mobile-phone-providers-overcharging-loyal-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cawatford.org.uk\/internal\/3-largest-mobile-phone-providers-overcharging-loyal-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"3 of the largest mobile phone providers are overcharging loyal customers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

3 of the largest mobile phone providers are overcharging loyal customers<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Sticking with your plan can mean paying for a phone you\u2019ve already\u00a0bought<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Last week Citizens Advice released analysis showing how 3 of the largest mobile networks routinely overcharge their customers. 6 out of 10 people in the UK are on a contract which includes a phone or tablet. If that includes you, you could end up paying hundreds of pounds more than necessary.<\/p>\n

Currently, most providers don\u2019t tell you how much of your monthly bill goes towards the phone and how much is paying for the calls or data. But by comparing handset inclusive deals with equivalent SIM-only contracts, we\u2019ve calculated that for an average handset, people pay around \u00a322 a month towards their phone.\u00a0At the end of a 2 year contract, you\u2019re free to move plans, or to switch providers. Or, if you\u2019re happy with your handset and plan, you can just stay and keep everything the same. But there\u2019s a catch.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re no longer paying for the handset \u2014 but your price stays the\u00a0same<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re with Three, EE or Vodafone (who collectively account for 59% of the retail mobile market), the price you\u2019re charged each month won\u2019t change.<\/p>\n

You will continue to pay for your handset each month, even though in theory you already own it. And this continues indefinitely, unless you actively choose to change your plan.<\/p>\n

Our research found that 36% of mobile handset customers stayed on their previous contract after the 24 month fixed period. On average, people stayed on their contract for an extra 7 months.<\/p>\n

Even taking into account the proportion of the market that doesn\u2019t charge this penalty, people with a low or mid range handset could still be paying \u00a3111 more than they should.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not enough to tell people to\u00a0switch<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We want all providers to reduce their customers\u2019 bills when they stay in the same contract past the end of a fixed deal, to reflect the cost of the handset being paid off. It should not be people\u2019s responsibility to prevent themselves being overcharged, and there are several reasons many people may not take immediate action to change their contract by themselves.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. People don\u2019t always have time to switch<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Choosing a mobile phone contract is a difficult decision. There are around\u00a07 million tariffs to choose from<\/a>, and each provider presents their deals slightly differently. This leaves people with a huge number of decisions to make.<\/p>\n

    How many minutes and texts? How much data? Which handset? Is a larger upfront cost better than higher monthly payments?<\/p>\n

    Added to this, a mobile phone is an expensive, high stakes purchase. Whatever choice people make, they\u2019ll have to live with it for 24 months.<\/p>\n

    And that\u2019s a long time. Direct debit payments become part of a monthly budget, and people forget that their plan will eventually end. Considering how complex it can be to shop around, it\u2019s not surprising many people don\u2019t do it the instant they get the chance.<\/p>\n

    2. Providers don\u2019t tell you how much money you can save<\/strong><\/p>\n

    We don\u2019t think of these contracts as paying for the phone \u2014 because providers don\u2019t present it that way. If there is no separation between the phone payment and the plan payment, there\u2019s no reason to think that you\u2019re still being charged for something you\u2019ve already paid for.<\/p>\n

    Phone companies do send messages to tell people their contract is up \u2014 but these usually tell people that they are now able to \u2018upgrade\u2019 to a new handset. If someone is happy with the phone they\u2019ve got (or waiting for the new version to be released), there\u2019s no reason for them to realise they are losing money by not acting straight away.<\/p>\n

    3. Switching won\u2019t necessarily save people money<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Providers have entire teams dedicated to retaining customers. When people ring up to switch or change contracts, they often end up being upsold instead. And this is reflected in the language we use. We\u2019re encouraged to upgrade, even though a 2 year old phone might still work perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

    Previous research by Citizens Advice<\/a>\u00a0shows that mobile phone firms are selling people expensive contracts they don\u2019t need. On average, mystery shoppers were sold contracts worth 130% more than the most appropriate tariff.<\/p>\n

    Mobile handset contracts need to\u00a0change<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Smartphones are an increasingly important part of modern society. And spreading the cost over 24 months is often the only way people can afford one. It\u2019s not fair that people are penalised for that.<\/p>\n

    Mobile phone companies need stop routinely overcharging their customers. They should also separate out the cost of a handset from the cost of mobile phone services. This would make it clearer when the handset has been paid for. It would make it easier to compare the price of contracts. And it would be easier for people to make the right decision.<\/p>\n

    \"Go<\/a><\/div>\n
    \n
    Caroline Rogers<\/a><\/div>\n
    Policy Research Assistant for Citizens Advice<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    3 of the largest mobile phone providers are overcharging loyal customers
    \nSticking with your plan can mean paying for a phone you\u2019ve already\u00a0bought<\/p>\n

    Last week Citizens Advice released analysis showing how 3 of the largest mobile networks routinely overcharge their customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"protect_children":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3 of the largest mobile phone providers are overcharging loyal customers - Watford<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cawatford.org.uk\/internal\/3-largest-mobile-phone-providers-overcharging-loyal-customers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 of the largest mobile phone providers are overcharging loyal customers - Watford\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"3 of the largest mobile phone providers are overcharging loyal customers Sticking with your plan can mean paying for a phone you\u2019ve already\u00a0bought Last week Citizens Advice released analysis showing how 3 of the largest mobile networks routinely overcharge their customers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cawatford.org.uk\/internal\/3-largest-mobile-phone-providers-overcharging-loyal-customers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Watford\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-23T13:04:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-22T13:11:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1400\/0*JlRZOecPEVKPxGXq.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Catherine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Catherine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cawatford.org.uk\/internal\/3-largest-mobile-phone-providers-overcharging-loyal-customers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cawatford.org.uk\/internal\/3-largest-mobile-phone-providers-overcharging-loyal-customers\/\",\"name\":\"3 of the largest mobile phone providers are overcharging loyal customers - 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