Mobile and broadband companies are engaging in “murky” practices to make it hard for consumers to find good deals that could save them up to £325 a year on their bills, according to a report by Citizens Advice.
The charity found that three-quarters of people trying to negotiate a better renewal deal face difficulties, including being left on hold and having to navigate confusing call menus.
Up to three million mobile and broadband customers are paying more than they should be when they renew their contracts, the research estimates. Citizens Advice is calling on companies to automatically offer existing customers their most competitive prices.
On average, people who do call to negotiate for money off can save more than £325 annually across their mobile and broadband bills, the charity found.
Loyal customers who do not opt to negotiate are losing out on £28m in savings every month, it said. Almost one in five consumers do not negotiate or switch.
Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “For too long, mobile and broadband providers have forced consumers to go through the charade of pretending to leave in order to access hidden renewal deals.
“Millions of people are still paying over the odds for something as essential as mobile and broadband because of this murky practice.”
The research found that 78% of people who try to negotiate by phone find at least one of the steps they have to go through to be difficult. More than half said this difficulty involved being put on hold, and 43% said they were forced to navigate confusing call menus to speak to the right person.
Earlier this month, Ofcom, the media and communications regulator, said its “One Touch Switch” process to make it easier to change provider had helped 1.6 million people in its first year.
Ofcom said the service helps broadband and landline customers to “switch seamlessly”, with more than 300 providers signed up to One Touch Switch.
Ofcom has previously clamped down on practices such as mid-contract bill increases. A Guardian investigation in 2023 exposed “greedflation” in the telecoms sector, with millions of people facing mid-contract rises in monthly payments of up to 17.3%
Citizens Advice is calling on Ofcom to make all telecoms pricing transparent.
“We want to see Ofcom clamp down on long-overdue transparency on pricing, closing the gap between what deals are on the table and what’s kept under the counter,” said Moriarty. “Ofcom has taken some welcome steps to strengthen protections for consumers, but this loophole needs to be closed.”
