Martin Lewis says people can cut their mobile phone bills (Image: ITVX)
Martin Lewis says millions of mobile phone customers in the UK could slash their monthly mobile phone bill by sending a single text and giving their date of birth.
Martin returned this week on his ITV1 and ITVX The Money Show Live, dishing out advice on, among other issues, how to reduce the cost of your monthly mobile phone bill.
The founder said that as many as 14 million people are currently out of the locked-in contract period on their mobile, meaning that they are free to switch but are still paying the same rate as before even though they already paid off their phone handset.
:
He urged people to check whether they are able to switch or not, and then to identify how much you could save by switching.
First, you need to send one free text message to find out if you’re in contract. Depending on what network you’re on, you may need to confirm your date of birth as well before you can get the information.
said: “14 million people are out of contract on their mobile phone bills and are free to switch.
“How do you find out? Well it’s easy. You text INFO for free to 85075 to check.
“Now, if you’re on (or ID Mobile or Smartie) you will need to confirm this by entering your Date of Birth once they message you on the text.
“That’s fine, that’s part of the process don’t worry about it.”
Martin then added: “Those of you still in contract, you can’t switch at the moment, you’d have to pay a termination fee.
“Those of you who aren’t, well you’re a free agent, you can go and get the cheapest deals.
“You can cut your costs.”
Martin then advised people to do a cheap SIM only deal comparison as most of the cheapest deals are not available direct from the networks but instead have to be found on price comparison websites.
For example, a 5GB SIM only deal from Lebarra (which uses Vodafone signal) is just £4 a month and has unlimited minutes and texts.
Or, ID Mobile has a 50GB SIM only deal on Three signal, between £3-7 per month when you factor in some of the freebies added to the deal like Amazon vouchers.
Martin added that once you’ve found the deal you want, you can even keep your number by sending another text. Simply text PAC to 65075 and they will give you a PAC code. You then give this code to your new provider and they will transfer your old number over to your new contract, allowing you to keep the number from your old contract, free of charge.
The latest Martin Lewis Money Show Live episode is still available to watch via ITVX.