Which? urges Ofcom to stand firm in the face of heavy lobbying from mobile operators and stick to its guns to allow customers to escape from unfair price rises in fixed mobile phone contracts.
Ahead of the results of Ofcom’s consultation on fixed mobile phone contracts, new Which? research finds that the majority of mobile phone customers do not know the rate that their so-called ‘fixed’ mobile contact can increase by.
‘Fixed’ mobile phone contracts allow operators to increase prices as long as it is not higher than the rate of inflation. However our new research reveals nearly half (45%) of mobile phone customers do not know what the Retail Prices Index (RPI) is and around eight in 10 (84%) do not know the current level of RPI, which is the key measure of inflation.
In the last year, every major mobile phone provider has increased monthly bills for fixed contract customers. Millions of customers have had to decide between accepting the rise or paying a penalty to exit the contract.
The Which? Fixed Means Fixed campaign, which has attracted more than 46,000 supporters, is calling for the price and all other aspects of mobile phone deals to remain the same for the minimum term of the contract. If prices rise, operators must allow people to switch providers without penalty – this was Ofcom’s preferred option when it launched its consultation in January.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which? said: “Millions of mobile phone users are being caught out by unfair price rises because of clauses and technical terms buried in the small print of contracts.
“Ofcom must listen to the thousands of people who have supported our Fixed Means Fixed campaign, and stick to its guns and make sure fixed means fixed, or ensure customers faced with a hike can leave their contract without paying a penalty.”
Previous Which? research found that 70% of people on fixed mobile contracts didn’t know that operators could increase prices during the length of their contract.