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A new Opinium survey of 2,000 UK people, which was commissioned by Lebara, has found that UK broadband providers (18%) lead the list of contracts consumers are reluctant to leave, followed by mobile networks (15%) and TV packages (14%). But the study estimates that staying loyal to major mobile networks could make consumers £9bn a year worse off.
According to the survey, 56% of respondents stay faithful to their mobile operator even when it’s to their own detriment, while around one in ten stay loyal even when it costs them. And while 11% know there are better deals out there, they’re unsure where to look and 25% don’t even know when their current plan expires. For those who do know they could switch, habit (29%) and laziness (28%) are among the biggest reasons for staying put, while 22% fear being hit with hidden charges when they switch.
Some 31% of mobile customers surveyed said they had stayed with the same network for more than 5 years, while 12% have never switched at all. Yet just 9% strongly feel their loyalty is rewarded, while almost half (45%) suspect major networks deliberately give their best deals to new customers (yes they do, that’s how the model works in a competitive market).