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Mobile phone customers are being ‘hung out to dry’ with shock bills

Lucinda Beeman
Written By:
Lucinda Beeman
Posted:
Updated:
14/03/2014

Shock mobile phone bills, phantom charges and billing errors are driving people into debt, according to Citizens Advice.

The advocacy group, which logged 28,000 complaints about mobile phones and contracts last year, said customers can steer clear of large charges by keeping track of their calls and data use.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Mobile phone companies are hanging their customers out to dry with shock phone bills. Some people are facing bills of hundreds or thousands of pounds. Others are being driven into debt as they struggle to cope with these unexpectedly large bills. It’s time that the industry looked at how it could banish bad behaviour and help customers avoid large bills.”

Citizens Advice recommends caution when using mobiles abroad, relying only on Wifi, turning off any phones that aren’t in use to avoid charges for receiving texts and calls and avoiding heavy downloading or streaming-including social media like Facebook and Twitter.

A raft of horror stories – from £2,000 bills for using data abroad to punitive contracts and poor customer service – has Citizens Advice calling for more transparency and creativity from providers when it comes to helping customers avoid unexpected charges.

Consumer minister Jenny Willott has proposed a measure to cap bills when phones are lost or stolen and curb unexpected mid-contract price rises.

Guy said: “Phone providers could help people by sending them text messages with reminders about the costs and any limits they have. There is also an opportunity for firms to be innovative be creating tools for people to keep day-to-day track of their charges, calls and data use. Consumers can also take steps to steer clear of running up a large bill abroad, including checking costs with their network before they travel or getting a local sim card.”