While mobile companies claim to tailor user packages to individual spending patterns, contracted mobile phones deals encourage users to waste 912 inclusive texts and over 19 hours of minutes every year, moneysupermarket found.

T-Mobile customers waste 170 unused minutes each month while 3 Mobile customers waste 99 texts monthly, almost half their monthly allowance of free messages.

Too many phone users are “spending way over the odds for inclusive text messages and voice minutes they are not using”, Rob Barnes, head of mobiles at the price comparison website, stressed.

Moreover, more than one fifth of mobile users say their monthly bill is regularly or always higher than expected, suggesting it could be time to shop around for a more suitable deal.

As many as 37 per cent of T-Mobile customers were regularly or always surprised by their bills, but 3 Mobile customers never were.

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© Adfero Ltd