NEARLY half of adults on a mobile phone contract would rather stick with their existing provider because it’s easier and more comfortable – even if there was a cheaper option available.
Of these, they would need to save at least £127.68 a year – or £10.64 per month – on their bill to consider switching.
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This would equate to a national saving of more than £3.3billion.
The study of 2,000 adults found that when it comes to swapping and saving money on other bills, people would be happy to change energy providers if they could save £28 a month.
The level of cash saved increases when it comes to mortgages, as homeowners need to bank almost £50 a month before considering a move.
The reluctance to switch is shown as energy bill payers stick with the same utility company for an average of seven years.
Loyalty to the same mobile phone provider averages five-and-a-half years.
A spokesperson for Lyca Mobile, which commissioned the research, said: “There’s no shame in switching things up.
“Whether it’s your mortgage or your mobile, it’s often very easy to let contracts simply roll over once they’ve run their course.
“However, this could be costing Brits a small fortune when they could be getting better deals elsewhere.”
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The study also found 41 per cent admitted there are areas they could be saving money but are missing out mainly due to laziness.
Nearly six in 10 (59 per cent) don’t like the idea of changing things that, in general, are working OK – with half being ‘concerned’ about change.
However, 32 per cent are ‘extremely’ worried about the rising cost of living, with just six per cent remaining unconcerned.
To combat inflation, 44 per cent have considered – or have already changed – where they shop for food, and 40 per cent have done the same for their energy provider.
Loyalty to brands plays a part, with 69 per cent describing themselves as generally loyal people.
But four in 10 would happily drop a company if they could get a cheaper deal elsewhere, while 13 per cent would switch based on customer service.
It also emerged only three in 10 Brits read the terms and conditions before signing a contract, according to the OnePoll data.
As a result, 22 per cent have wound up stuck in a contract for ‘ages’ because they hadn’t really read all the small print.
Lyca Mobile’s spokesperson added: “It wasn’t that long ago that 12 month contracts for mobile phone were the norm.
“That’s now crept up to 24 months, and two years is a long time to be tied into the same network and data deals with great deals coming onto the market all the time.
“With the cost of most things on the rise, taking time to see how you could get your monthly direct debits down is a great way to start taking better care of your finances.”
