HUNDREDS of thousands loyal Three Mobile customers are being “ripped off” by up to £ 156 a year, according to Citizens Advice.
The mobile provider is refusing to sign up tonew industry ruleswhich mean out of contract mobile users will be moved from expensive standard variable rate to Sim-only tariffs from February 2020.
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Telecoms regulator Ofcom says this will save 1.4million out of contract customers £ (a year on average (£) a month), but it can’t force Three to take part.
But rival firms including EE, O2, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Vodafone have all signed up.
Citizens Advice has found that between 154, 000 and 210, 000 Three customers are paying between £ 10 and £ 13 each month in a loyalty penalty – the difference between what existing and new customers pay for the same service.
In the mobile sector this is because customers continue to be charged for the handset at the end of a minimum contract period when they’ve already paid it off.
How to cut your mobile bill
FIRSTLY, decide if you’re happy with your current deal and whether you want a new deal or handset – or both.
If you’re outside the minimum term of your contract then you can leave penalty free – and you might be able to find a cheaper deal elsewhere.
Pay-as-you-go deals are better for people who don’t regularly use their phone, while monthly contracts usually work out cheaper for those who do.
The best way to find a new deal is by checking comparison websites, such as MoneySupermarket and uSwitch.com, which compare tariffs and handset prices.
It’s also worth trying Billmonitor, it matches buyers to the best pay-monthly deal based on their previous three months of bills.
It only works if you’re a customer of EE, O2, Three, Vodafone or Tesco Mobile and you’ll need to log in with your online account details.
MobilePhoneChecker has a bill monitoring feature that recommends a tariff based on your monthly usage.
If you’re happy with your provider then it might be worth using your research to haggle a better deal.
It means that over the course of a year, Three customers are being overcharged by between £ 18 million and £ 32. 4million, Citizens Advice claims.
The charity said that although some Three customers may benefit from being out of contract, it’s calling on the provider to stop overcharging users.
But Three believes the changes aren’t in customers’ best interests as it won’t encourage you to switch for even larger savings.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said Three cannot continue to “bury its head in the sand” and penalize loyal customers.
Will my mobile provider switch me to a cheaper deal?
HERE’S what the major mobile providers say they’ll do for out-of-contract mobiles users:
- EE and Vodafonewill reduce their prices for customers out of contract for more than three months. Both companies will confirm the level of this discount before the end of the year. The discount is expected to take into account the level of savings available if customers switched to a comparable Sim-only tariff.
- O2will reduce the monthly price for its out-of-contract customers to the equivalent 30 – day Sim-only deal. This will apply to its direct customers only, but O2 will discuss options for customers who take out O2 contracts with third-party retailers.
- Tesco Mobilewill reduce the monthly charges for out-of-contract customers who are overpaying to the best available airtime tariff.
- Virgin Mobilewill move its out-of-contract customers to the equivalent 30 – day Sim-only deal.
She added: “While Three claims in its adverts that ‘phones are good’, its customers may find their experience anything but, as their provider falls behind in refusing to end this practice.
A spokesperson for Three told The Sun: “The current proposals are not in customers’ best interests.
“Three has some of the lowest prices and unmatched propositions on the market.
“Applying an arbitrary discount to tariffs will not effectively tackle what really matters – helping them to find a contract which is both best-suited to their needs and priced fairly.
“We are working hard to create a market where customers are engaged and happy, by pushing for easier switching, all handsets to be unlocked, end-of-contract notifications and best tariff advice.”
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Phone, pay-TV and broadbandcustomers must now be warned when their contract is due to expireto stop rip-offs.
Mobile users can also save money byswitching provider using just a text.
As of April this year,broadband and phone customers also get automatic refunds of £ 8 per dayfor lost service.
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