There’s a well-known saying that tells us that consumers can never have too much choice. It’s wormed its way into the public consciousness to such an extent, that we now accept the statement at face value. More choice we’re told means better service and value for money. However, a group of mathematicians from Oxford would choose to disagree with that contention, particularly when that ‘choice’ relates to mobile telecommunications. They argue that in certain communications sectors you really can have too much choice. The mathematicians formed the group billmonitor.com and analysed the mobile phone habits of over 20,000 customers. Staggeringly what the group found is that 76 percent of private customers and businesses in the UK are on the wrong mobile phone contract, and pay far too much money monthly whilst getting too little value.
The problem is so significant that billmonitor.com and the telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, believe that the country could be wasting as much as £5 billion needlessly every year, simply because they are on the wrong tariff. The reason for such wastage is actually pretty simple as it turns out. The mobile phone world is complex with too many operators and too many contract types: if you add to that equation all the extras, bundles and incentives currently on offer, then what you end up with is a sector with millions of different deals to choose from. No wonder consumers are so confused. Bill Monitor estimates that it’s easier to be on the wrong mobile contract than it is to be on the right one. Is it any wonder so much money is wasted?
How can you tell if you or your business is getting value for money?
What billmonitor.com did was develop a statistical methodology which allowed it to analyse consumer’s online bills. It was able to see how a person used their phone, and then analyse all the contract deals in the market to match the user to exactly the right contract so they paid no more than they needed to. So, how much could mobile users save potentially? Well, if everyone used billmonitor.com to find the right contract, the UK average monthly bill would drop from £36.59 to £24.26, which, for the 76 percent of people on the wrong contract, would equate to a saving of at least £194.71 per person per year on average. Just imagine how much it could potentially save businesses then?
Think 7 always like to stay one step ahead of the communications game. We recognise good ideas and follow best practice. That’s why we now offer this service for all our customers, on top of our other mobile telephony optimisation services. We want to help all our customers to choose the right deal and get the best value for money.
Think 7 mobile telephony services
- All networks provided
- Flexible airtime agreements
- All major phone brands supplied
- Mid- -term contract reviews
Should you require any further information on the services we offer, please feel free to call us on 08448 870270, or complete the online enquiry. We look forward to speaking to you and discussing ways we can help you save money and take your business’ communication technology to the next level.