Published at 14:11, Friday, 13 April 2012

Not being on the correct tariff to match your mobile phone demands can be a costly business.

Figures released this week show that £5bn a year is wasted by being on the wrong rate every year.

The findings followed a survey by Carphone Warehouse that revealed nearly half of those who took part were unaware of their data allowance and number of free minutes and texts on their contract.

Of the £5bn wasted, £173m came from additional data charges.

Carphone Warehouse chief executive Andrew Harrison said: “When the UK is facing one of the hardest financial times in living memory, it seems crazy that £5bn is being wasted on phone bills.

“We want people to enjoy their smartphone without costing them an arm and a leg.

“We’ll compare every network and phone combination and give independent advice. The cost of data charges is a growing issue and this is only going to increase as more people convert to smartphones.”

Video calling a friend through the Skype app, logging into Facebook through an app and having a Twitter app stored on the phone, though not in use, all contribute towards a data allowance.

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk