Ofcom to address mobile network selling practices

Mobile networks fail to offer consistent advice to new customers leaving people confused and often on the wrong deal, according to research from the leading price comparison website moneysupermarket.com.

The extensive mystery shopping survey highlights a huge disparity in the way mobile networks sell monthly contracts. As a result, moneysupermarket.com is presenting these findings to Ofcom, urging them to look into the selling practices of mobile networks.

The mystery shop

One hundred calls were made to each of the networks posing as a pay-as-you-go customer who didn't know their usage and was looking for advice on a contract.

How are deals being sold?

The study shows all providers failed to ask the customer what their current usage and spend was in every call, yet still offered them a tariff supposedly matching their needs.

57 per cent of customers were not asked about their current usage at the beginning of the call

Orange asked about usage more than any other network (95 per cent of calls)

Virgin Mobile failed to ask a third (32 per cent) of customers what their usage was

Vodafone asked about handsets over usage in almost half the calls (43 per cent)

Nokia is the most popular manufacturer offered at the point of sale across all networks

What tariffs are being sold?

Despite the mystery callers asking for a standard allowance, the research shows there is a vast difference in what monthly allowances are offered to the customer, even amongst the deals offered by the same network.

The average amount of texts offered per month range from 118 (Orange) to 631 (O2)

The average amount of minutes offered per month range from 188 (Virgin Mobile) to 458 (Vodafone)

The average cost for each tariff was also fairly wide ranging - £16.51 (Virgin Mobile) to £24.53 (Vodafone)

The most expensive common tariff came from Vodafone, 600m/unlimited texts at £25 (18 month contract)

Vodafone's offers ranged from 100m/50 texts for £10 (18 month contract) to 1500m/unlimited texts for £55 (18 month contract)

James Parker, manager of mobiles and broadband at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Presented with the same customer scenario the networks should have all offered similar deals, but the reality is the networks are looking at profits before customer needs. I am shocked at the complete disparity of advice offered by the mobile networks.

"Ofcom needs to look at how mobile phone contracts are sold because the first question to someone looking for a new deal should not be which handset they want, but what their current usage is. How can the network know which tariff is best for a consumer if they don't ask what their current usage is?

"If Ofcom can introduce a code that says broadband providers have to advise customers of their speed before buying a product, then they should introduce a code that says mobile networks have to ask a customer what their usage is in every case and before offering a handset."