Annual broadband and mobile statements could save people £2bn a year

People in the UK are struggling to make ends meet with rising bills becoming a cause for concern.

However, uSwitch has said individuals could save significant amounts of money by receiving their statements annually.

Indeed, according to the independent price comparison and switching service four in ten mobile and broadband customers could reduce their outgoings using this method.

As a result, the firm is calling on Ofcom to follow the energy regulator's lead and force telecoms providers to introduce annual statements.

New research has shown savings of up to £257 a year could be made by switching mobile and broadband services and so annual statements could actually mean consumers retain more than a staggering £2 billion a year collectively.

This money would be incredibly useful to pay for all the other daily living expenses, such as food, and fuel as well as rent and debt payments.

Nine in ten of consumers (87 per cent) would like annual statements to show when their contracts end. This could help the third of people (31 per cent) who are not happy with their broadband provider but decide against switching because they do not know when their contracts expire. 

Furthermore, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of those who did not leave when their contracts were up saw their bills increase, so reminding consumers of this information could help individuals collectively save over £500 million a year.

Annual statements could also benefit those who do not want to switch as paying for line rental upfront can save an average of £51 a year. 

However, only a quarter of consumers do this and 40 per cent do not know they can even make this saving. 

If this option was to be made clearer on an annual statement, customers could save more than £120 million collectively.

Marie-Louise Abretti, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, said: "Keeping on top of bills is getting tougher for many consumers – especially those who no longer get paper copies. And, although many people know there are savings to be made by switching broadband or mobile deals, we often don't get that gentle nudge to remind us."

By Amy White