Smartphone owners can check if they are overpaying for their handset using a new tool launched by Virgin Media O2.
The phone giant estimates millions of people are overpaying to the tune of more than £200 a year — costing a total of £530 million.
You can easily overpay for your handset if you continue to make payments towards it through your phone contract after you have paid it off.
Contract length: You can easily overpay for your handset if you continue to make payments towards it through your phone contract after you have paid it off
Some phone operators bundle together costs for minutes, texts, data and the handset so customers do not realise when they have paid off the handset element.
The new tool allows you to input details about your handset and mobile network provider to find out whether you are overpaying and by how much at o2.co.uk/overpayment-calculator.
Gareth Turpin, at Virgin Media O2, says: ‘Charging consumers for phones they already own is just wrong.
Armed with our overpayment calculator, we’re putting clear information into consumers hands, helping demystify bundled contracts and exposing how costly they can be.’