Martin Lewis shares 'cheeky' text tip to help you save hundreds on mobile bill
The personal finance expert shared his top tips for mobile customers in a video on the Money Show Live
Martin Lewis has urged his followers to undertake a "cheeky" test by texting a five-digit number, which could lead to substantial savings. The financial whizz outlined "four steps" to help you cut down on mobile phone expenses.
In a recent update on his website, the Money Saving Expert highlighted the importance of sending a straightforward text message, particularly as SIM-only deals are currently very affordable.
This means those on pricey monthly contracts post-phone purchase should consider switching. Often, customers have finished paying for their device and aren't obliged to continue with an exorbitant contract, he noted.
"There are four steps to slashing your mobile phone costs, and right now SIMs are dirt cheap, so if you're out of contract, it's worth doing," Lewis detailed.
"But what's interesting is the final step, which sounds like it's a technical step, does have a hidden bit of money saving magic.
The last step in the process once you know where you want to shift your mobile phone custom to, is to text PAC to 65075, it's free, reports the Express.
"What that does is request your porting authorization code from your existing mobile phone provider that you can give to the new one so you can move your number across."
The personal finance guru went on: "Often when you do this, if you're out of contract, your existing provider will say, please don't go, and we'll actually include in that an offer to keep you.
"It's virtually a way of haggling. So sometimes people go, oh, I won't bother leaving, you're offering me 20 quid a month off.
"So if you're very cheeky and while I'd prefer you to do all four steps, if you're out of contrast, you could text PAC to 65075, pretend that you're leaving, and see if they offer you a better deal to stay."
It comes after Lewis shared his top tips for mobile customers looking to reduce their bills, highlighting that 14 million people are out of contract and thus have the freedom to switch providers.
He pointed out an "easy" method to determine if you're one of those individuals.
To find out your contract status, Lewis advised: "You text 'info' for free to 85075 to check."
For Three customers, he mentioned they would need to provide their date of birth as well. He explained those still under contract may face termination fees, but anyone else is at liberty to hunt for the best deals.
"You're a free agent - you can go and get the cheapest deals, you can cut your costs," he added.
"Next you do a cheap sim comparison. Most of the deals are not available direct from the mobile phone companies because then they might have to give them to existing customers and are only on comparison sites.
"And they tend to be short-lived."
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