British telecom regulator Ofcom has released a proposal in its effort to ensure transparent prices for mobile customers who pay for mobile phones and charges for voice and data as part of one contract.
Ofcom says around two in three pay-monthly mobile customers are on a contract that bundles the cost of a mobile phone with the calling and data charges.
A significant minority pay the same price after the end of their minimum contract period of 18 or 24 months. 1.5 million consumers face this situation, and pay instalments towards a handset that many have already paid off.
Mobile service providers are not transparent about the costs of the mobile phone and the calling and data charge.
“Consumers should be able clearly to identify the goods and services they are paying for, so they can make an informed decision about what to buy – and what to do when the minimum term of their contract ends,” Ofcom said.
TSPs should share information clearly and transparently, at the point of sale, and again at the end of the minimum contract period. TSPs should automatically introduce fairer tariffs at the end of the minimum contract period as a second alternative.
Under the second option, mobile operators would move customers to a different ‘default’ deal when their minimum contract period ends – ensuring that customers do not pay for handset, and pay only for airtime.
“Mobile customers should get the best possible deal. We’re concerned that people are not told, or cannot tell, exactly what they are paying for,” Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom Consumer Group Director, said.
