Are You Making The Best Use Of Your Mobile Contract?

According to new statistics compiled by the contract analysis service Billmonitor, around 74 per cent of UK phone users are on the wrong mobile phone contract for their needs. The research indicates people have the wrong data allowances, call minutes and texts, causing them to spend far more on mobile phone bills than they should.

Billmonitor, an independent and impartial analysis service set up by Oxford mathematicians and approved by Ofcom, found that 26 million mobile phone subscribers in the UK are on excessive tariffs. On average, each user is wasting £164 a year on allowances that are around three times greater than they actually need and use. Around 8 million subscribers are on tariffs that are too small, causing them to waste a collective £1.66 billion that could be saved by adjusting their mobile plans to suit their needs.

Many mobile phone users may be on the wrong tariff because they simply tried to get the cheapest deal. For example, smartphone fans desperate to get their hands on the new iPhone are likely to have gone for the cheapest iPhone 5 deals, without considering whether the cheapest tariff is actually the most suitable. If you don’t have enough minutes, texts and data for your needs, you could end up going over your allowances and having to make up the difference in your monthly bills. This can make what at first seemed like the cheapest deal into one that is far more expensive.

Are you on the right mobile phone contract?

There are a few ways to check if you are on the right tariff. Most mobile phone companies allow users of both 3G and newer more data-hungry 4G mobile phones to log into online areas or use apps in order to see how many minutes and texts they are using each month, as well as how much data. Using this information, you can monitor your mobile use yourself and see if you need to switch to a more suitable tariff. You can also make use of services such as Billmonitor, which only requires basic details (i.e. your mobile number and tariff information) to let you know how you are using your mobile contract and offer recommendations for more suitable tariffs.

Make the switch

If you are near the end of your current mobile contract, now may be the perfect time to check your mobile use and bills and switch to a better deal. Services such as Which?anduSwitch can make this process easier.