The number of people owning a phone is constantly increasing day by day. Out of 10 Brits, 9 own a mobile phone. These days there are a large number of different plans provided by the networks. This has increased the options available to the customer and at the same time it has also made the selection of the right plan more complex. Chances are that you could be paying a substantially higher amount for your mobile phone bill than you need to. Here is a list of points that need to be followed to ensure that you don’t end up spending unnecessarily on your mobile phone bill.
Get the Right Tariff
The most common mistake people make is that they opt for the wrong tariff plan. This results in under-utilisation or over-utilisation of the calls, texts and data limits. In either case, the amount of bill can be reduced substantially by selecting the right tariff plan. To select the right tariff plan you should first analyse the usage during past few months. This analysis will help you understand your average usage of the various services. If there are unused limits, then you should opt for a cheaper plan with lower limits. If you have exceeded you limits then you should opt for a plan with higher limits. The rental for the increased limits would be far less than the cost that you shell out for the additional usage over and above your plan.
Check the Extras
Networks also offer various add on services for additional cost. You may have subscribed to services that you don’t really require. You may be paying an additional amount for insurance or warranty for your brand new phone which may be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty or under home insurance. These services should be stopped immediately. Network providers keep coming up with new schemes and offers from time to time. Evaluate these schemes properly before to subscribing them. Make sure you keep a track of these plans and select the plan and the network that suits you the most.
Use Apps Not Minutes
Now that smart phones have become so popular and increasingly affordable, the majority of people have a smart phone. A smart phone can help in reducing your mobile phone bill to a great extent. Free applications such as Skype, Viber and Whatsapp allow the user to make free calls and send free texts. So the customer can cut down on the limits of calls and texts and can communicate through such applications. Also, there are applications for navigation which are free of cost and paid navigation services provided by the networks need not be activated. Now you can get any information you want by using the internet on your phone. This eliminates the need to use premium paid services to get information such as dialling 0870 numbers.
There are many other ways that will help you in reducing your mobile phone bills. Whenever you are in a Wi-Fi enabled zone, switch to Wi-Fi. This will save your data limits for later. Network providers send you updates about your total usage during the month. This usage data will help you understand just how much you use and will help you in controlling your bill. If you are on roaming, avoid using your phone as roaming charges are significantly higher than normal charges. And don’t forget to switch off data roaming before you go abroad to avoid getting shocked when you receive your monthly bill.