Warning to everyone with a phone as 'prices not what they seem'

Everyone buying a phone has been urged to "read the small print" as prices may not be what they seem because of little-known changes to some phone contracts. Industry experts are warning people about changes which may seem phone deals appear cheaper than they actually are.

It's to do with contract lengths, with some being made longer by companies. Customers may not be aware that they're locking themselves into a 36-month deal.

So although initial prices might seem appealing, buyers may end up paying for much longer than they anticipated. Experts say this is becoming more common and customers should be aware of this when signing up to a new phone deal.

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Dan Melia, from Mobile Phones Direct, said: "One of the key things to keep an eye out for is contract duration, as many suppliers now promote 36-month contract deals as standard – and three years is a long time in the world of mobile phones. It used to be the norm for mobile contracts to be 24 or even 12 months long, but these longer contract terms give providers the ability to spread costs over an extended period, meaning the costs often appear lower than they actually are.

"A longer contract often means that consumers can miss out on upgrading to the latest device sooner as ultimately, they’re stuck with the same phone for three years - or sometimes more. Something that is often overlooked is that this also means consumers may miss out on maximising the future trade-in value of their phone, as it will not be worth as much after three years as it would after two.

"Consumers should always check the small print on the deals and work out the true value of the handset combined with the contract length to devise a contract that’s right for them." He continued: "Another key point is that you’ll often find that mobile phone deals are reported on from a handset-only pricing perspective.

"This means you’ll likely see a number of deals on the latest phones for seemingly low monthly costs, as it doesn’t include data or minutes."