Citizens Advice responds to Ofcom's affordability of communications services update
Matthew Upton, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said:
“Social tariffs could be a lifeline for those struggling most with mobile and broadband bills, but millions are missing out on saving £144 each year.
“An extraordinary 97% of eligible households are still not benefitting from these lower-cost tariffs, meaning they’re losing out on more than £585 million in savings. This is nowhere near good enough.
“The cost-of-living crisis is only gaining pace, while the number of people struggling to afford their telecoms bill has doubled over the last year. Firms must stop dragging their heels and do more to help people move onto social tariffs. If there isn’t a significant increase in take-up soon, Ofcom and the government will have to step in."
Notes to editors
- Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
- Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
- We helped 2.4 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2020-21. And we had 40 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
- Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,600 service outlets across England and Wales.
- You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.