DITCH YOUR PHONE DEAL IF YOU CAN’T GET A SIGNAL

Victory for Mail as Scots in mobile ‘black spot’ areas to be allowed to rip up their contracts

MOBILE phone users will be given the power to rip up their contracts if they cannot get a signal where they live and work. Scots suffer from some of the UK’s worst signal black spots – but the Westminster Government has now ruled that people should not be ‘ trapped’ in lengthy deals, paying for poor service.

the victory for consumers comes just a day after the Scottish Daily Mail revealed that an embarrassing interactive map is to be published highlighting the worst ‘dead zones’ in the country.

Around 14,000 premises north of the Border are in areas without basic 2G coverage, while there is smartphone-friendly 3G from all four providers in only 78.9 per cent of Scotland.

there are road and rail routes where calls cannot be connected and a recent report found that even some urban areas have a signal strength far worse than expected. however, when customers buy a mobile phone, they often enter into a

contract for 18 or 24 months, which means they pay a monthly fee in return for a discounted or free handset. Many who later discover there is a poor signal in their home or office remain trapped in that contract.

Broadband and landline customers can escape at any time if their provider fails to provide a sufficiently r eli able service. Drew Hendry, Nationalist MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, has called for this to be extended to mobile phone deals.

In a victory for the campaign, Ed Vaizey – the Tory minister for culture and the digital economy – and regulator Ofcom have agreed and action is imminent.

Mr Vaizey said: ‘I agree having access to reliable mobile coverage is vital for consumers, businesses and the economy.

‘The suggestion you make – that mobile customers ought to be able to leave their contract if service is unacceptable – is a good one. Mobile customers should not be trapped in contracts if they have no effective signal and an unusable service. My officials will work with Ofcom to identify what needs to be done.’

In a letter to Mr Hendry, Ofcom chief executive Sharon White said: ‘I agree with you mobile customers should be allowed to exit their contract, if they find the service they were promised isn’t provided.

‘We are therefore currently working with the main mobile providers to ensure that they offer appropriate r edress including, where appropriate, a right to exit the contract where the services they provide fall below what the consumer was led to believe they’d receive.’

Last year, a deal was struck in an effort to cut the number of areas with no mobile coverage by nearly two-thirds. The UK Government secured a £5billion agreement from O2, EE, Three and Vodafone to reduce the number of areas with partial signals and ‘not-spots’.

Mr Hendry said rural areas are still plagued by problems.

But welcoming Mr Vaizey’s comment, he said: ‘It’s a fantastic victory for mobile phone users, especially those in rural areas like my own constituency.’ A spokesman for Voda- fone said: ‘ We recognise the importance of mobile connectivity, which is why we spent more than £1billion last year on our network across the country and will spend a similar amount this year. We have also pledged to provide coverage to 98 per cent of the UK population using our 2G, 3G or 4G services, alongside 90 per cent geographical reach.

‘However, we are also very aware that in certain areas of the UK we may struggle to deliver the level of coverage our customers expect.’

A spokesman for EE said: ‘We are working with the Scottish Government to ensure delivery of wider coverage in Scotland.’

Yesterday, the Scottish Daily Mail revealed that an interactive map of Britain is to be published, pinpointing mobile black spots.

That will allow new customers to work out which providers offer the best and worst signal before locking themselves into a deal.