The cost of ‘mobile’ ignorance

Despite the fact that mobile phones have become an essential part of modern day life, many people have little idea of how much they are paying or even which call plan they are on.

These are the key findings from a report by SimplySwitch.com, the price comparison and switching service, which examined people’s attitudes towards their phones.

The survey, which questioned over 1,000 people, also found that nearly a third of people never check their phone bills. This is an unwise move, as the survey found that only 83% of those that do check their paperwork consider their bills ‘always accurate’.

Key findings from the report:

Over a third of those surveyed (36%) admitted to not knowing what type of talk plan/tariff they were on.
29% never check their mobile phone bills.
4% of those that check their bills need to make corrections ‘often’ or ‘always’. 13% need to make corrections ‘now and then’.
61% don’t know how much they pay for UK calls that fall outside their call plan, e.g. 0800 and 0870 numbers.
77% have no idea how much it costs to make or receive calls oversees.

Karen Darby, from SimplySwitch.com, comments: “Mobile phone bills now make up a sizeable portion of most people’s monthly outgoings, so it seems like common sense to find out how much you’re paying and what’s included in your call plan. Someone on an unsuitable tariff could save a small fortune by switching to a better deal. However, the research indicates that many people have little idea of how much they’re currently paying.”

One of the big ‘unknowns’ for customers is the cost of calling ‘08’ numbers. Most people know that 0870 numbers can be very expensive. However, many fail to realise that 0800 numbers are only free when called from landlines and can be expensive when called from a mobile. 0800 numbers are not included in mobile networks’ inclusive minutes so calls from a mobile can easily cost 50p per minute.

Darby says: “To help this situation, telecoms regulator Ofcom is introducing ‘03’ numbers later in the year that can be used by businesses instead of ‘08’ numbers. These will cost the same as calls to normal landlines and will be included as part of call packages. Before that happens, however, people should find out exactly how much they’re paying and make sure they’re on a suitable tariff.”