Financial expert Martin Lewis has revealed a simple trick to help Brits slash the cost of their phone bill to as little as £4 per month.
In the latest edition of his Money Saving Expert newsletter, Mr Lewis shared ‘a dodgy trick that should be banned’ – but is still completely legal.
If you are one of a staggering 14million Brits out of contract on their mobile phone plan, it could be costing you money every month.
This is because many people forget the end date of their contract before they switch phones, continuing to pay the same each month even if they have already covered the cost of the handset.
The money-saving guru said that – to avoid falling foul of this – you should find out when your contract finishes and start looking for new deals as soon as you can.
Financial expert Martin Lewis has revealed a simple trick to help Brits reduce the cost of their phone to as little as £4 per month
If you are one of a staggering 14million Brits out of contract on their mobile phone plan, it could be costing you money every month
To see if you are able to benefit from a cheaper plan, Martin recommends using a new initiative from Ofcom, which has been created to combat unnecessary loyalty.
This can be done by texting INFO to 85075 – after which you should receive a reply informing you of the best deals available to you.
Answers are typically instant, except for Three customers – who need to prove identity with their date of birth before receiving one – as well as those on ’multiple-phones’ contracts.
If your contract is up, and you don’t need a new phone, you are permitted to swap to a SIM-only deal that comes out as being far cheaper each month.
According to MSE, the cheapest offer currently available is from Lebara, which uses Vodafone signal.
The plan offers 15GB data per month along with unlimited minutes and texts and free roaming in Europe, all for just £1 a month for seven months and £7.90 a month after that – which averages out to an amazing price of £3.90 a month over the first year.
Furthermore, because this offering from Lebara is on a rolling contract, you can cancel at any time – even during or after the seven-month introductory period.
Another cost-friendly deal comes in the form of iD Mobile’s 12-month SIM-only contract, which averages out at a £4.50 monthly cost over the first year.
Connected to Three, the company is giving customers 30MG data per month, unlimited minutes and texts and free roaming in Europe for £4 a month for the first three months.
According to MSE, the cheapest offer currently available is from Lebara, which uses Vodafone signal
While the cost rises to £8 a month thereafter, you can claim a £30 Amazon or Currys voucher when you sign up.
Although there are a number of budget-friendly deals available, you should always check to see which plan is right for you as the average individual uses 5.6GB of data per month, according to Ofcom.
If you are happy to stay with your current provider, you may well be able to get a cheaper deal if you ring them and ask them to you a cut-price deal – which they may do to avoid losing you to a rival company.
Katerina, who took Martin’s advice and switched, said: ‘I’ve now saved £324 a year on my monthly contract price and even managed to stay on the same network.’
