MILLIONS of customers with the Big Four mobile providers can save more than £200 a year by switching to a cheaper deal.
It comes as households have seen monthly bills go up by as much as 17% this month.
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BT, EE, iD Mobile, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone all hiked monthly bills by more than inflation, which was 13.4% when the hikes were announced.
Only Sky, giffgaff and Tesco Mobile customers’ bills stayed the same.
Consumer group Which? said some customers with EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone could save over £200 a year by switching when their contract ends.
Which? found that EE customers whose deal has ended pay an average of £23.80 a month.
By switching to Smarty’s 4GB offer they could potentially save £225.60 a year, some £18.80 a month.
Vodafone customers pay around £22.20 a month and could save £206.40 or £17.20 a month by switching to Smarty’s 4GB offer.
O2 and Three customers on variable tariffs would also make savings worth just shy of £200 a year.
Check your contract
Not all customers can switch now – millions are still trapped in fixed-term contracts.
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They face the choice between paying the higher bill until the contract ends or paying a hefty penalty fee to get out early.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: “Anyone not in contract should be thinking about making a switch or at least haggling for a much better deal from their current provider.”
For those stuck in contract, Concha said Which? is fighting to get the regulator Ofcom to ban or cap exit charges.
Cheapest mobile phone deals
Before choosing a deal, think about how much data you use and whether you need a new phone or could go for one of the best Sim-only deals.
Hélène Barnes, cost of living expert at Comparethemarket, said: “The mobile phone market is competitive, especially when the latest phones get released.
“Make sure you shop around and compare deals to avoid paying more than you need to.”
Which? listed its top picks as of 12 April.
The best low data deal is a Sim-only from Smarty offering 4GB for £5 a month.
iD Mobile has a 20GB Sim-only deal for £7 a month and if you use a lot of data, iD Mobile will give you 200GB for £14 a month Sim-only.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch, said switchers should consider giffgaff.
The network was voted customers’ favourite earlier this year and also won best value for money at Uswitch’s annual awards.
“The provider offers deals from just £6 a month for 2GB of data and eight out of ten customers said they were satisfied with the overall service and value,” Doku added.
Before you switch mobile deals
- Use Ofcom’s Mobile Checker to make sure you have coverage in your area.
- Check out what extras are on offer – O2 customers get a free weekly Greggs’s coffee, sausage roll and a breakfast roll, plus a free weekly Odeon cinema ticket.
What mobile providers had to say
Statements from both EE and Vodafone said their policy is to remind customers to look at the best deals on offer when their contract ends.
Virgin Media O2 said its customers’ bills automatically drop when the cost of their handset is paid off.
However, both Virgin Media and O2 networks will impose a 17.3% rise in the cost of in-contract bills and the rise will apply to monthly bills after the cost of the handset is paid off.
Three declined to comment.
