The UK Mobile Report

Is Flext the best deal?

Has T-Mobile hit upon the best tariff system yet?

It's clearly doing something right. Yesterday it reported that T-Mobile contracts in the UK jumped 25% to 3.6m during the three months to September 30. This translated into a 9% boost in UK revenues to £792m during the period.

Flext allows users to say how much they want to pay per month, which is a lot simpler than many of the other tariff systems. Perhaps it's time for other operators to follow suite.

I liken this to the annoying scenario when you go and buy petrol. Most of the time I just want to spend £20, £30 or £40. I also have the cash to make it a quick transaction. But alas, most petrol stations are determined to force me inside the shop, to queue up, and to wait for change just to do this simple transaction. They would also rather I fiddled around at the pump trying to hit the right amount and invariablly failing. It's an antiquated system that needs an overhaul, but it is based on the addiction forecourts have on value-added sales. Personally I now visit my local petrol station at unsocial times - anything to avoid the queue hassle.

Could it be that this country has  such a high percentage of Pay-as-you-go subscribers because most people hate the complex and confusing tariffs as well as the bad record that some retailers and operators have of releasing customers quickly? I think that the industry could up its contract percentage if it allowed customers to switch tariffs easily when they want as well as to remove themselves instantly if they wish. I have heard too many stories of subscribers finding it difficult and time consuming when they wanted to cancell a contract.

Roaming madness goes on and on

According to a report by Moneysupermaket.com, 3 is the worst offender when it comes to roaming charges. It charges £1 per minute to a UK landline from spain. Meanwhile O2 pay-as-you-go customers are charged 94p just to receive a call in mainland Europe.

Verdict: If you talk to the operators they always point to the fact that they have special opt-in roaming tariffs that bring the price down somewhat. This they may have, but why should it be an opt-in just for the privelidge of reducing the costs? It is just another ruse to get round the accusation that they are fleecing us, while continuing to levy high charges on those customers that haven't opted in because they are unaware of it. Is'nt this a bit like mortgage firms that reduce their rates only for new customers?

Cost comparison sites

I am naturally suspicious of cost comparison sites. I have yet to find one that is transparent in that it reveals its relationship with the suppliers it lists. Funny thing is the media loves some of these sites because they are seemingly ahead of the curve on cost comparison. What is clear is that to the average punter they look like a fair broker but often are getting a transaction fee for every punter they push in a certain direction. So they have a vested interest in you moving from one supplier to another, which  though not necessarily a bad thing  can lead to some tweaking of the results. 

I have long thought that it would be good if there were an effective online service to compare mobile phone deals. So I was interested to see that myfinances.co.uk were making a stab at it. The site seems to be far to ambitious, letting you select every minute detail of what you want. Sure enough it couldn't handle my first enquiry which specified the phone I wanted. If I left it open to any phone it came up with a list of options, cheapest first.

I have no idea how accurate or up-to-date this is, but I will keep an eye on it.