Martin Lewis urges mobile phone users to send two texts to cut April bill rises

Martin Lewis is urging all mobile phone users to check their contracts and send two key text messages to help save money on bills.

The advice comes ahead of a huge price increase next month, when most mobile phone providers are set to raise their prices by up to 17% from April.

Lewis has previously warned that up to nine million people are likely to be out of contract and overpaying on their current deal, with some even paying for an old handset. The money saving expert stressed the importance of shopping around and said phone users should check comparison sites to see if they can get a better deal elsewhere.

The price hikes will even affect those who are mid-contract, including some at EE, O2, Three, Vodafone and Virgin.

In an end-of-series special of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on Tuesday (21 March) night, Lewis said phone users can cut their bill with five simple steps.

He told viewers that the first move is to send a text to check whether you have termination fees to leave your contract. He said: “First text INFO on 85075 on your current phone, it’s free to do, to find out if you’re one of 14 million who are out of contract and free to leave.”

Lewis said the likelihood is that phone users are paying way too much and if you are, it is worth considering switching your SIM.

Viewers were advised to grab a cheap SIM-only deal via comparison websites rather than going to providers directly, as this often leads to cheaper deals.

Lewis then highlighted a deal available on Three which offers 100GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts over a one year contract for just £15 per month.

For anyone wanting to keep their existing deal over fear of losing their phone signal, Lewis said it is important to bear in mind that only four different mobile phone providers in the UK - EE, O2, Three and Vodafone - and every other mobile provider is just “piggybacking” on their signals.

He explained that the O2 network, for example, is also used by GiffGaff, Tesco and Sky Mobile. The only sticking point is that there may be differences in things such as WiFi calling, 5G and charges, so Lewis advised checking what is offered before making the switch.

If you want to move your current mobile number to the company you want to switch to, the next step is to send a second text message to get your PAC code. He told viewers to text “PAC” to 65075 and this can be used with your new provider to keep your old number.

For those who want to stick with their current provider, Lewis advised that the best course of action is to search for the cheapest deal you can find and phone up your provider to haggle.

He said: “Go to your provider, say ‘I’m out of contract, I want to stay with you but I need you to match the price’. And if they won’t - go to disconnections. Internally known as customer retentions because their job is to keep you.

“So when you go to them that’s when you’ll often get the better deal. And if they say to you ‘I’m sorry, we’ll disconnect you’, here’s what you say: “I just need to check that with my husband, my wife or my parrot” - whichever it is - and you buy yourself a little time.”