Slap on the wrist for mobile firms

The Communications Consumer Panel has called on mobile firms to offer consistent guidelines to customers. The appeal follows secret shopper tests that found over half of shoppers were given inaccurate information.



Panel chair Anna Bradley said that consumers must be given simple and accurate information before locking themselves into contracts that they might not be able to leave for up to two years.


The main problem revolves around cancellation policies, which vary dramatically across the industry. The problem worsens when the consumer wishes to cancel the contract because of poor coverage, as some firms allow cancellations due to coverage issues and others do not.


"We are calling for an across-the-board minimum 14 days to cancel contracts where consumers have coverage problems," she said.