Written question asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour) on Friday, 5 December 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 19 December 2014. It was answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Conservative) on Thursday, 11 December 2014 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Mobile Phones

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure people are not trapped in unfair mobile phone contracts.

Answer: Ofcom, the UK Regulator for Telecoms, oversees the General Conditions of Entitlement (GCEs), the rules under which Telecoms companies must operate in the UK. GC 9.6 provides consumer protection in the event of mid-contract variations. Under GC 9.6, providers must give customers notice of contract modifications (e.g. price rises) likely to cause ‘material detriment’ to them and the right to exit the contract without penalty in response. Ofcom published guidance at the start of this year clarifying these rules and further enabling competition in the market to deliver a choice of competitive tariffs for the consumer in the UK.
Major telecoms companies have also agreed to work with the Government and Ofcom on ways to improve transparency in contracts in line with the principles underpinning the Ofcom guidance. The Government and the Regulator will continue to work with the industry to promote further ways of ensuring that consumers have the best possible information to help them make informed choices about the communications services they purchase.

Secondary information