JACKSON Briggs was shocked to discover he had been overpaying his mobile phone bill by hundreds of pounds a year due to an easy mistake.
The 32-year-old found he had been paying a whopping £468 over the odds after doing an audit of his household bills.
Jackson had been caught out by the common “double paying” trap.
He had taken out a mobile contract that included a handset, but didn’t switch to a new deal or SIM-only plan after he had paid it off.
It meant he was still paying for his iPhone Pro 14 as part of his bill each month, even though he already owned it.
Millions of other billpayers around the country are likely making the same mistake.
There are around 2.2 million customers with a combined handset and airtime contract who are out of contract, according to figures by watchdog Ofcom.
Jackson discovered that he was paying hundreds more than he needed to by using AI bill-cutting service Nous.
He was then able to switch to a cheaper SIM-only deal with TalkMobile, with his bill now costing him just £6 a month.
“I’d been with my phone provider for around ten years. The last contract I took out, I regretted,” Jackson said.
“I rushed into it because I needed a new phone, and I didn’t really think about how much it was costing me. It turned out to be too expensive.”
The money saved came just in time as Jackson and his wife prepared to start a family.
He said: “My wife and I are in the process of adopting a child, so any extra money helps, whether it’s getting the house ready or just general living costs.”
He added: “I suspected I was overpaying but didn’t realise how much. I’d seen other phone deals, from friends, family, adverts and stuff, and knew mine was on the expensive side.
“I’d chosen it out of convenience. The phone and service were fine, but it was definitely more than I needed to be paying.”
Ofcom also found that deals that combine a handset and airtime typically cost around 25% more than buying a handset and SIM-only contract separately.
Around 35% of customers are on this form of contract.
The average person with a combination contract overpays by £8.55 per month, or more than £200 over the duration of a typical 24-month contract.
Greg Marsh, household finance expert and chief executive of Nous.co, said: “Millions of people are wasting hundreds of pounds a year on their mobile phone – often because they put off shopping around when their contract ends.
“Bargain SIM-only deals from smaller brands which piggyback on the major networks offer plenty of data for as little as £6 a month.
“If you’re spending much more than that you’re probably overpaying.
“Providers know that most of us don’t have the time or headspace to hunt around for better deals, and rely on the fact their customers don’t notice how much they could save.
“It’s clearly not fair, and it’s why we started Nous in the first place.”
How to save on broadband and TV bills
HERE’S how to save money on your broadband and TV bills:
Audit your subscriptions
If you’ve got multiple subscriptions to various on-demand services, such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Sky consider whether you need them all.
Could you even just get by with Freeview, which couldn’t cost you anything extra each month for TV.
Also make sure you’re not paying for Netflix twice via Sky and directly.
Haggle for a discount
If you want to stay with your provider, check prices elsewhere to set a benchmark and then call its customer services and threaten to leave unless it price matches or lowers your bill.
Switch and save
If you don’t want to stay with your current provider check if you can cancel your contract penalty free and switch to a cheaper provider.
A comparison site, such as BroadbandChoices or Uswitch, will help you find the best deal for free.
