Last Updated: 21/05/2007  08:44

Mobile users 'wasting' call allowances

Mobile phone owners leave on average 20 hours of their "inclusive" calls each year unused, according to research released today.

This wasted allowance amounts to around £50 (€73.3) per user annually, according to price comparison site Uswitch.com. Mobile phone users also leave on average 73 "inclusive" texts unused every month, the survey found.

The figures relate to contract customers who pay a fixed monthly tariff in return for a set allocation of inclusive call minutes and texts.

Uswitch.com said Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and Virgin refused to roll over unused minutes and texts to the following month.

Despite paying a fixed monthly fee, the average mobile phone contract customer pays an extra £6.01 (€8.78) per month in addition to their tariff. This is because they are charged for making calls and sending texts after their "inclusive" allocation has run out - usually during peak times.

Off-peak inclusive allocations cannot be offset against phone usage during peak times.

PA

© 2007 ireland.com