Cost of living mobile phone change could save you up to £360 a year

The cost of living crisis is spiralling, with even more of a squeeze expected for many households from April. But some people are missing out on saving hundreds of pounds a year by not switching their mobile network provider.

According to new research by iD Mobile, the mobile virtual network operator from Currys, a third of Brits could be wasting money by not doing anything when their phone contract ends. People could be losing out on £156 a year on average - and in some instances up to £360 - by not switching their mobile network provider.

Most contracts will encompass the price of the mobile phone itself (handset) and the minutes, texts and data included in the package (inclusive usage). However, the cost of these contracts on a like-for-like basis (same phone and usage inclusions) can differ immensely across networks – sometimes as much as £30 per month.

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Additionally, the price you pay doesn’t always automatically decrease once you have finished the minimum term and have effectively paid off the phone element of the contract – meaning you’re paying more for the phone than you need to, reports Wales Online. Despite it being a legal requirement for network providers to inform their customers when their contract is up, a fifth (18%) still have no idea when it ends.

And even if they do, 28% plan to keep everything exactly as it (same phone on the same plan) without assessing their options – with a fifth of Brits (20%) under the impression it would be cheaper than switching to a new provider. A further 18% won’t be upgrading their handset or switching networks as they think it is too much of a hassle – effectively paying more