Loyal customers pay again for phones

Mobile phone customers who do not change their tariff after their contract ends may be paying subsidies for a handset they have already paid for, a consumer group warns.

Many mobile phone users take out a contract with the cost of the new handset included in the overallprice of the fixed term deal, with the majority paid off on a monthly basis over two years.

At the end of the fixed-term contract, consumers can stay with their network on the same contract, take out a new contract, or switch to another provider.