TARIFF-IC DEALS ; Mobile phone charges are rising.. switch now to avoid 'bill shock' [Sunday Mirror (England)]

(Sunday Mirror (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MOST of us have got carried away chatting, texting or surfing the net at some point... and ended up with an eye-watering mobile phone bill.

In fact Ofcom says as many as 1.4 million customers on contracts may have suffered "bill shock" in the past six months.

The telecoms regulator wants providers to let customers set up spending limits and alerts that are triggered when their charges reach a certain level.

It is also reminding providers that they must be transparent about their tariffs and charges.

With several companies putting up prices, now is the perfect time to make sure you are not paying over the odds - and avoid getting one of those nasty bill shocks.

T-Mobile is the latest provider to announce increases. It blames the 3.7 per cent hike for some of its monthly plans, which comes into effect on May 9, on rising business costs.

The move, which follows Orange's 4.3 per cent price hike in November, will add 55p a month to a pounds 15 monthly plan. Call, text and data rates are not being changed.

Dominic Baliszewski, of Broadbandchoices.

co.uk, said: "T-Mobile's price hike is disappointing in light of the news that customers will not be given the chance to leave their contract early if they are unhappy with the increase.

"If you are out of contract or your contract is due to expire soon, shop around and see what deals are currently available.

"The most important thing is to consider your needs as a mobile phone user and then tailor the tariff accordingly." First, HTC and work out roughly how many calls you make each day and for how long, how many texts you send and how long you spend on the internet.

Then use a comparison site such as uSwitch.com or Gocompare.com to help you find the right mobile phone tariff.

iPhone Our table (above) shows some of the most competitive contract deals currently available, depending on whether you are a light, medium or heavy mobile phone user.

Remember that if you are tied into a contract, there is likely to be a penalty for moving.

You might be better off waiting until your current deal is up before switching. If you do decide to go ahead, moving to a different tariff is not complicated and you should be able to keep your phone number.

All you need to do is to ask your provider for a nine digit code called a PAC, which has to be given to you within two hours of you requesting it. It is then valid for 30 days and ready to be activated.

Also bear in mind that if you plan to keep the phone you already have, a "SIM-only" deal is likely to be the cheapest option. The SIM is the card that fits in the back of your phone and activates it.

Calls and texts are often much cheaper with a SIM-only deal than on a contract, as the network is not subsidising the handset cost.

Also consider a pay-as-you-go telephone. These let you control exactly how much you spend, as you have to top up the phone with credit to use it, but call and text charges tend to be higher than with contract phones.

C t y Case study I'm saving pounds 20 every month KRZYSZ SZTO TOF Ma M rszalek saved pounds 240 40 a year KRZYSZTOF Marszalek saved pounds 240 a year by switching his mobile phone tariff.

The web developer said: "I was with O2 for 18 months and was paying about pounds 35 a month. I lost my phone while in the middle of the contract and bought myself a new one on eBay." When the contract ended, Krzsysztof, 30, from Wood Green, North London, realised he would be better off keeping his phone and getting a SIM-only deal.

He said: "I used uSwitch.com to find a tariff that suited me with the network provider 3, which costs me about pounds 15 a month.

"It offers 300 minutes of calls, unlimited texts and 1GB of data, which is really useful for contacting friends abroad.

"I've saved about pounds 20 a month by moving to a SIM-only tariff and found the whole process pretty straightforward." (c) 2012 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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