More than 45,000 people have supported our Unlock Mobiles campaign, and the mobile provider Utility Warehouse supports it too. Here’s Simon on why you should have more control over what you spend on mobiles.
The rise of the mobile phone, and its use in every aspect of our lives, has been nothing short of extraordinary. Since the first mobiles were bought in 1984 (weighing a kilo and costing almost £3,000) they have become indispensable to our daily routine.
We use them for work, to connect on social media, to watch videos, to play games, and to read the news. Soon, we’ll use them to pay for our shopping. They store our emails, our diaries, our photos and our contacts. And we may even occasionally use them to speak to somebody!
Keeping up with the times
In such a fast moving market, we need to ensure our service doesn’t get left behind, like some of the early handset manufacturers who didn’t move with the times. And this is especially important for Utility Warehouse, as we don’t spend a single penny on advertising in newspapers or on TV. Instead, we rely upon existing satisfied members to recommend us to their family and friends, so we really need to stay ahead of the game.
That’s why we never lock our handsets, why we clearly show members the cost of our Price Plans separately from the cost of our phones, and why, if we introduce a cheaper tariff for new members, all existing members benefit too.
These are all reasons why we’re delighted to support Which?’s campaign to unlock better mobile deals for customers. Which? wants to make it easier for you to switch mobile deals when you come to the end of your contract. So, going forward, we’ll write to members before they reach the end of their contract with information on alternative deals; if they do nothing, we’ll continue to automatically reduce their monthly charge once their contract has ended and they have paid for their handset.
Putting customers in control of what they spend
As well as talking to Which?, we’ve been talking to our members. There were three messages which came back really clearly. Firstly, people want to be in control of their monthly bills, but don’t always like Pay-as-you-Go. Secondly, they hate getting a big bill if they, or one of their children, have been over eager on Instagram or calling their friends. And thirdly, they feel it’s unfair to find themselves stuck on the wrong price plan if their lifestyle changes.
Based on this feedback, we’ve introduced three features. Firstly, we have a free benefit called Budget Control, which ensures our members can’t spend more than their inclusive allowance of calls and data in any given month, unless they choose to do so. Secondly, we always text members to let them know when they have hit their calls or data limit for the month, so that they can adjust their use if they want to. And thirdly, members can change price plan, even if it’s in the middle of the month.
But enough about us! Have you ever faced an unexpectedly big bill at the end of the month? Are there any other features you’d find useful?
This is a guest post by Simon Thompson, Telecom Services Director at Utility Warehouse. All opinions are Simon’s own, not necessarily those of Which?
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