Ofcom has opened a consultation on the situation where mobile customers on bundled handset and airtime deals do not take action at the end of their minimum contract period and therefore end up overpaying and not necessarily on the most cost effective tariff. Ofcom is concerned that some customers are paying for the cost of a handset they have already paid off. Ofcom estimates customers could be paying as much as £300m unnecessarily each year. The regulator had asked the industry to make voluntary commitments but was not satisfied with the action taken. The proposal could result in a ‘fairer default tariff’ that would apply at the end of the minimum contract period.
