Bills or contracts
Phone
Most people have a mobile phone or a landline. How much you pay for your phone can be worked out in different ways, so it isn't always straightforward to work out what is the best value.
Landline phone bill
A landline phone bill usually has two main elements:
- the cost of the units used (eg call minutes)
- line rental
There are further optional features available, eg caller recognition, call barring, voice mail. These usually cost extra.
Mobile phone - contract
Purchasing a mobile phone on contract means that you agree to pay a monthly bill for a set amount of time, eg a year.
Signing up to a contract will give you a set amount of calling minutes, text messages and data per month. There are usually charges for exceeding your allocated minutes, text messages and data. These are often charged at a much higher rate.
Mobile phone - 'pay as you go'
With this type of plan you pay for only the units that you use. The unit costs are usually higher than a contract mobile but there aren't any fixed monthly fees.
