Research carried out by OneCompare.com in November 2005 showed that the average mobile phone user was on a lower price plan than they actually needed, costing the customer over ?120 per year on top of their line rental charges! This has continued to be an issue into 2008.
The results show that either customer's look at the monthly line rental cost rather than considering the amount they use their mobile phones each month or networks/retailers are selling customers the incorrect tariffs for their usage.
Retailers in the past have only received commission for the monthly price plan the customer has signed up to, whereas networks benefit from the price plan they are signed up to as well as any over spend outside the customer's inclusive minutes and text messages. It seems now networks are taking note of this and O2 are offering selected distributors commission on minutes and messages used outside of the customer inclusive allowance. It is rumoured that Vodafone may follow in O2's footsteps and also start to give commission for customers over spend.
This is not good news for the consumer, as sales staff will be encouraged to sell customers lower price plans and then make commission from their over spend. Therefore the customer loses out and ends up spending more than they need to and the retailer receives more commission for the customer's misfortune.
OneCompare advise customers to do their research before purchasing a deal. Make sure you know how many minutes and messages you use per month, if you are unsure T-Mobile's Flext tariffs or Three's Mix and Match tariffs are a good start as they give you credit on your mobile phone to use on minutes or text messages each month, therefore you are not tied to a set amount of minutes and text messages each month. For example Flext ?35 12 month contract gives the customer ?90 inclusive credit each month to spend as they choose too, with calls being charged at 20p per minute and text messages at 10p each.
Always choose a tariff that includes your usage of minutes and messages, if you are in between two different tariffs go for the higher tariff, for a few extra pounds each month you will get a lot more minutes and messages. It is important to note that networks will let you upgrade to a higher tariff anytime throughout your contract but they will not let you lower it at anytime. Some networks only allow you to downgrade your tariff in the 11th month of your 12 month contract!
