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Martin Lewis says 'get off deal immediately' as he exposes 'dirty trick'

You could be wasting hundreds of pounds

[Martin Lewis has issued a warning to anyone on a cheap mobile phone deal]

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Martin Lewis has issued a warning to anyone on a cheap mobile phone deal

Millions of mobile phone users could be quietly overpaying every month for a handset they have already fully paid off and most have no idea it is happening. Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, says a widespread practice among some mobile providers means customers end up locked into paying the same amount long after their phone has been settled, with no automatic reduction and no warning.

In a clip shared on his official TikTok, he called it a 'dirty trick' and explained exactly how to avoid it. Martin said the issue centres specifically on reseller networks, the smaller providers that piggyback on the main networks and often offer some of the cheapest upfront deals. He said he had previously recommended these providers himself, which is exactly why he felt the warning mattered.

He explained the difference between how main networks and resellers structure their contracts. "If you go for a main network, you'll normally get an airtime cost so that's your tariff and a handset cost that you pay for two years when you get a new handset from them. And then after two years, if this is paid off, you just pay the airtime cost," Martin said. That is how most people assume all contracts work. With resellers it is different.

"What a lot of the resellers do is they give you one price that includes the handset and the airtime, and after two years, when you pay the handset off, you keep paying the same amount," he explained. The bill does not drop. The customer continues paying the full combined price indefinitely, with no automatic reduction and typically no reminder that the handset portion has long since been settled.

The numbers Martin gave illustrate just how significant this can be. "You could be getting a SIM that's worth six, seven quid a month and you're paying 30 a month," he said. That is a gap of more than 270 a year, money going out every month for a handset that has already been fully paid for.

On whether this is something customers can challenge, Martin was honest about the limits. "It's not illegal," he said. "It may be immoral in my personal view and that's a subjective opinion but it's not illegal. So you're gonna struggle to get it reimbursed because they just said, this is the amount that you pay with us."

His advice was clear and direct. "Those cheap reseller deals note, when your contract ends, draw a line in the sand and you need to get off it that day," Martin said. The reason reseller deals look so attractive upfront is partly because the provider knows a significant portion of customers will stay on past the contract end date and keep paying the full amount. "That's exactly what happens here. It's why there are huge savings. You're still paying for the handset even though you've already paid the handset off," he said.

Anyone on a reseller deal should find out exactly when their contract ends and treat that date as a firm deadline to switch. Staying even a month or two beyond it means continuing to pay for something that has already been settled.

For those already past their contract end date, the most effective move is to switch now rather than wait. As Martin has previously highlighted, unlimited minutes, texts and data are available for as little as 10 a month in the current market. For anyone paying 25 to 30 a month on an expired reseller contract, the potential saving is several hundred pounds a year.

Financial aid experts vettory.org added: "Mobile phone bills are one of those costs that get set up and quietly forgotten, and that is exactly what some providers are counting on. Knowing when a contract ends and acting on that date rather than letting it roll over is one of the simplest ways to cut a regular monthly expense. The savings Martin highlights are real and the only thing standing between most people and those savings is not taking the time to check."

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