Mobile phone companies accused of hiking up call charge prices by stealth

Mobile phone companies are quietly slipping in small-print price rises, pushing up the cost of using handsets for millions of customers.

Vodafone is putting up minimum call charges by 25 per cent for contract customers from September 1, it has been revealed.

The firm, which has 18.4million customers, will raise the cost of calls not covered by a monthly contract from 12p a minute to 15p.

It is also increasing the cost of calling some premium numbers by 25 per cent, while dialling an 0871 number rises 40 per cent to 35p a minute.

The move comes as Vodafone's rivals - O2 and T-Mobile - have also slipped in rises for some customers in recent weeks.

Industry analysts say the increases appear to be a retaliation against orders to cut the cost of using mobile phones overseas, known as roaming charges.

Last year, the European Union imposed a cap on the price of making calls abroad.

At the time, industry insiders warned they would be forced to make up for any lost income by increasing the cost of using a mobile in the UK.

Vodafone has hidden away the price rise in the small print of a note sent to contract customers headed: 'Things will be changing a little.'

Nowhere in the information does it spell out that call charges are actually rising.

Although it lists the new charges, it does not show the old prices - meaning customers cannot see they are going to rise.

The note also gives the impression that the changes are insignificant and customers can safely ignore them.

It states: 'These small changes shouldn't affect you much, so there's nothing for you to do.'

In June, Vodafone also put up the minimum call charge on its 'Pay As You Talk' phones from 12p a minute to 15p without any press announcement or fanfare.

Anna Fielder, of the National Consumer Council, said: 'These are very large increases, which will especially hit pay-as-you-go customers and those on contracts with limited minutes in bundles.

'We would call on the operators to come clean and give customers clear comparative information regarding pricing structures, stating before and after prices when costs are being increased.'

A spokesman for Vodafone said the increases were the first for two years and were partly a response to 'regulatory pressures' - apparently a reference to the EU's decision to cap roaming charges.

They had been matched by savings in other areas, for example, improved internet and email access, he added.

O2 said it was unable to say how many of its 11.5million customers with pre-pay phones are paying the higher charges. 'We have updated our prices in line with our competitors,' a spokesman said.

source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/