Calls for clarity on contracts for phones

A CONSUMER group has called on mobile phone companies to improve the transparency of their pricing after finding that customers are losing billions of pounds on the wrong contracts.

Customers are collectively overpaying by £5.42 billion a year because they are on the wrong contract for their requirements, a study for Which? suggests.

The overpayments occur when customers are charged for texts, minutes and data they do not use or are billed for extra charges because their phone package is too small.

The consumer group found 72 per cent of mobile customers could save an average of £159 a year by switching to a contract which better suited their needs, while 77 per cent could save at least £50 a year.

Almost half of those with a mobile phone contract (42 per cent) thought there was a better value tariff for them.

However, research for industry regulator Ofcom shows that 48 per cent of mobile customers have never switched supplier.

The Which? poll, for the group’s Unlock Better Mobile Deals campaign, found just 28 per cent of people trust mobile phone services.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “It’s shocking that consumers are overpaying by billions of pounds for mobile phone contracts that just don’t suit their needs.

“Mobile phone companies must do more to help people get the best deal, making switching hassle-free and ensuring that pricing is transparent. If we don’t see mobile firms making voluntary improvements then we will ask the regulator Ofcom to step in.”

Ofcom said its priority was to ensure that “communications markets work well for consumers”.