20 September 2007
Households in the UK grossly miscalculate the true cost of their landline telephone bills, a new report has revealed.
According to a study carried out by the Post Office, the average customer using landline and mobile phones estimates around £79 under the real cost of their bills over one year.
The report uncovered that Londoners are the worst offenders for miscalculating bills, estimating £134 less than the real cost.
Meanwhile the best budgeters were people living in Scotland, where people had a combined annual miscalculation of just £58 per household per year.
Post Office telephony manager Stewart Fox-Mills explained that unclear billing processes and hidden charges are the main reasons behind this underestimation.
"Too often telecoms bills are confusing, with complex layers of billing and hidden charges," he remarked.
He also pointed to research which showed that people found it easier to estimate their internet bills than other telecoms costs, with an annual miscalculation of only £3 per year.
"These figures demonstrate that since the introduction of broadband, the public has really benefited from the clear pricing structure of internet pricing. This should be a lesson that all telecoms providers can learn from," he added.
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