We love our mobiles, but why don’t we go for the best deals?

Despite ongoing financial pressures, only 7 per cent of mobile-carrying Brits would change networks in order to secure the best deal, even though more than three quarters (76 per cent) claim that price is the most important factor when deciding on a contract.

Despite this, a third of the UK population spends up to two weeks researching the best deals, according to new research from YouGov and mobile comparison site Recombu.com, which could mean many of us are keen to know how much we should should pay, even if we do nothing about it.

When choosing a new mobile phone package/tariff, mobile contract customers felt that the most important factors were price, the number of minutes and texts available and the brand of phone followed by contract length and network coverage.

“The economic downturn is making it even more important for people to get the most from their money on items like mobile phones, so it’s really surprising to see that so few consumers are changing network get the best deal,” says Hannah Bouckley, editor of Recombu.com.

“For an industry which is full of options, consumers should be challenging network providers in order to get the best value for money.”