A survey of customers in Australia and New Zealand has revealed some interesting new figures around why we switch mobile providers, and how often we do it.
Of the 50,000 customers surveyed in Australia and 12,000 in New Zealand, 14% had switched mobile providers in the last twelve months. The most highly rated reason for changing was in order to take advantage of cheaper call rates, with 40% of customers switching for this reason as opposed to factors like better network coverage, being with the same provider as other friends or family, or to take advantage of a free or discounted handset.
Searching for cheaper call rates speaks of the canny consumer – and someone who has been burned before.
More often than not we sign up for plans based on the large, exciting print we see in advertisements. $700 of call credit! 1.5GB of data! It sounds like a lot, but if call charges hover around the 90c per minute mark, someone who relies on their mobile phone to make a lot of their calls isn't going to find the plan that useful, either hitting their cap too early into the month or – worse – not noticing that they've used up their credit value, and racking up a huge bill in excess usage charges.
It's a good idea to look at call rates before you sign up for a plan. Come into this search prepared: know how many calls you tend to make per month, and how those minutes are going to add up. At 90c per call, that's going to be around 770 minutes of conversation – but that doesn't include the flag fall you're going to be paying per call, which is often around 30c per call. That means that even 15 second calls are going to be charged at $1.20. In addition to that, you'll be charged for text messages (usually around 25c) and often for accessing your voicemail service.
And, while 770 minutes may seem like a lot, that's only about 12 hours of talking. Think about how much you talk on the phone over the course of a month. Would 12 hours cover it?
The search for cheaper call rates is indicative of customers recognising that lots of credit is no longer sufficient if the call charges are going to eat it up in the first fortnight. If the trend of leaving in search of better call rates continues, mobile providers may be forced to lower their call charges, or follow the lead of providers like Amaysim, who are the only Australian provider to include 13/1800 numbers in their great unlimited plan.
For now, though, we recommend trying out Amaysim (1300 791 895), who have a great pay as you go plan option that includes very low priced calls, or Virgin (1300 302 649), who include 19c per minute calls on some of their great prepaid plans.
It seems that second time is the charm, as 81% of customers who had switched providers reported that they were now enjoying a positive experience with their new mobile plan.
The study was commissioned by the New Zealand Telecommunications Commissioner in order to "find out if there were any significant barriers stopping consumers from switching providers... [as] switching barriers lead to less competition, higher prices, poorer services and less choice."
The results of the study were overwhelmingly positive, indicating that there did not seem to be any significant barriers in place.
Of those customers who remained with their providers even though they thought about switching, some of the barriers in place that kept them from switching were: avoiding unnecessary hassle and work (25.6%), avoiding cancellation fees (14.1%), and avoiding paperwork (10.1%).
Some of these reasons for not switching may come from misinformation; most providers will make it as easy as possible for you to move to them as your phone provider. If you want to switch providers, but aren't sure how difficult it will be or even who to move to, call us on 1300 850 518 and we'll be able to sort out what the best plan for you would be.
For now, have a look at some of the best cap plans; or, if you're in the mood for upgrading your handset, check out some of the plans available for some of Australia's favourite smartphones: the Apple iPhone 4S 64GB, the Samsung Galaxy S II, or, to try something different, the brand new Samsung Galaxy Note.