MSE News: Ofcom sets out plans to stop mobile users paying for handsets they already own 26 September 2018 at 12:21PM in Mobiles 20 replies 2.3K views

MSE_Sarah

The telecoms regulator has announced new proposals to stop mobile phone users paying for a handset they've already bought. But you don't need to wait for a change in the rules - if you're out of your minimum contract term, check now if you can switch and save £100s a year. ...

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'Ofcom sets out plans to stop mobile users paying for handsets they already own'

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Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Just like Utility and SVR Tariffs, it will cost those of us who switch and move more?

ballyblack

go away 'MSE Sarah' and stop educating the lazy and the stupid!:rotfl:

wakeupalarm

This just forces the prices up for everyone because of the few who are too lazy/rich to check the price of their contract.

Sure showing the price of the phone separately is a good move, but it won't make a blind bit of difference to those who don't bother checking at the moment.

Meanwhile those who do the leg work and find the deals because they need to in order to keep the costs down will now have to pay extra as the mobile companies make up for the lost revenues.

Energy, telecoms, banking, insurance, mortgages, PPI, the list goes on where regulatory involvement has led to general increase in cost for most consumers who bother to do their research.

VT82

To be honest, I think I agree with the regulator on this one. The pricing is fundamentally deceptive, with the initial price for all intents and purposes split into the cost of the handset and the cost of the service, and this split is obvious everywhere apart from where it counts - i.e. in black and white in front of the customer. So it is a different matter to Standard Variable Rates on mortgages and Standard Tariffs on utilities for example, where customers are actually moved onto a different tariff to reflect the fact that an incentive has finished and they are no longer tied in.

System

wakeupalarm wrote: »

This just forces the prices up for everyone because of the few who are too lazy/rich to check the price of their contract.

Sure showing the price of the phone separately is a good move, but it won't make a blind bit of difference to those who don't bother checking at the moment.

Meanwhile those who do the leg work and find the deals because they need to in order to keep the costs down will now have to pay extra as the mobile companies make up for the lost revenues.

Energy, telecoms, banking, insurance, mortgages, PPI, the list goes on where regulatory involvement has led to general increase in cost for most consumers who bother to do their research.

So basically what your saying is you want the lazy and rich to continue paying for handsets that they own outright so that you can have a better deal?

Tough for the Phone companies, if they can create new and wonderful systems to ensure that you pay what you owe them then they can easily create a system that lowers you monthly fee once you paid off the handset.

Wilt

john22 wrote: »

So basically what your saying is you want the lazy and rich to continue paying for handsets that they own outright so that you can have a better deal?

Sounds resonable to me...


Also, looking at how O2 Refresh works it could mean that everyone ends up with hire purchase agreements all over their credit record rather than just a phone contract...

System

Wilt wrote: »

Sounds resonable to me...


Also, looking at how O2 Refresh works it could mean that everyone ends up with hire purchase agreements all over their credit record rather than just a phone contract...

ok so you like rich lazy phone companies more than rich or lazy people because you get something out of it. (shallow and look out for myself)

boatman

All that will happen is customers will get moved on to a standard tariff sim only deal for £5 or £10(with a minimal amount of inclusive allowance 50mins/text/50mb) no doubt with some super expensive out of bundle call/data prices, anyone who doesn't check their bill will be ripped off probably even more than they are now,

e.g out of bundle charges, 50p minute, 40p a text and £3 a day data, will soon rack up!!

System

boatman wrote: »

All that will happen is customers will get moved on to a standard tariff sim only deal for £5 or £10(with a minimal amount of inclusive allowance 50mins/text/50mb) no doubt with some super expensive out of bundle call/data prices, anyone who doesn't check their bill will be ripped off probably even more than they are now,

e.g out of bundle charges, 50p minute, 40p a text and £3 a day data, will soon rack up!!

Ofcom’s own words

This means mobile firms would move customers to a different ‘default’ deal when their minimum contract period ends, so they stop paying for their handset, and instead pay only for airtime.

This could be implemented in a number of ways. For example, providers could move customers automatically onto an existing, 30-day, SIM-only deal at the end of their minimum contract period. Because available deals may not include the same features and services as the customer’s previous tariff, providers could match customers to the closest deal.

Today’s consultation looks at some of the challenges to this approach, including customers objecting to having their service changed without explicit consent; potentially losing certain services; or experiencing unexpectedly high bills if the new deal fails to include the same allowances. We have set out ways those risks might be mitigated, such as giving customers the option to opt out.

Alternatively, providers could reduce the monthly cost of the contract to reflect the fact that the handset has been paid off.

At least there is discussions about what to do. I’d rather have this approach than a negative outlook which is just a lazy way of not trying to solve complicated issues.

Cisco001

I don't see why ofcom need that much of involvement.

All they need to do is get phone company sending a reminding text to inform customer for the date of min contract end around 40 days before contract end.

Then the customer will have sufficient time to decide what they want to do!