21st October 2009

British parents are counting the cost of having to pay for their teenager’s mobile phone calls with a third admitting they struggled financially to pay for their teens’ calls. 

The 'bank of mum & dad' bails out UK teenagers' phone bills to the tune of £374 million a year, with nearly half (48%) of parents paying their teen’s mobile bill.

For many teens, running up costly phone bills has become a way to increase their pocket money by stealth from parents. 

Of the 2000 parents of 16-19 year olds surveyed by Tesco Mobile almost half (43%) of parents confess they feel under pressure to pay their teenager’s mobile phone bills.

Temper tantrums if they don't pay (34%) and concerns about their teens’ safety (34%) are the top reasons parents cite for footing the bill.

With the growing popularity of mobile add-ons and the increase in ways to pay for services via mobile phone (premium subscriptions and text voting) the opportunities for teenagers to run up higher bills than expected are ever greater.

Tesco Mobile has launched a brand new ‘Cap Your Mobile Spend’ service which gives all the benefits and value of a Pay monthly tariff but with the control of Pay as You Go top-up.

Customers choose to receive a set amount of Pay monthly credit each month and when the credit is used up they simply top-up just like Pay as You Go, without the risk of running up a large bill. 

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms commented:

“This is a great way to avoid bail out banking.

“Mobile phones are a central part of our lifestyles, and an important way to keep in touch but not at the cost of getting into financial difficulties.

“You can set a cap on your own mobile or any other Tesco Mobile phones you pay the bill for.”

The new capped tariff is available to all Tesco Mobile customers


-ENDS-

Notes to editors.

*Research undertaken by OnePoll for Tesco Mobile, September 2009.

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30 July 2009

Tesco Mobile today unveils a brand new credit crunch-beating Unlimited tariff, allowing people to talk and text as much as they want without worrying about their monthly phone bills.

The SIM only, pay monthly deal, gives people unlimited minutes, texts and browsing for just £30 a month. With everyone watching their wallets, this means no more worries about going over your free minutes and getting bill shock at the end of the month.

Research from Tesco Mobile showed that in this financial climate, worry over the cost of monthly bills frequently led to people spending less time on the phone to friends and relatives as they would like to.

59% of Brits said they would spend more time on the phone if they had unlimited minutes.

Over half of all respondents (52%) also claimed they had friends or relatives who cut short phone calls to keep costs down.

Nearly half admitted doing this themselves (49%) despite it being voted one of the most annoying breaches of ‘mobile phone etiquette’.

With over 85% of the population now owning a mobile phone, mobile use has developed its own ‘rules’ for behaviour. Asked to name the most unacceptable and annoying mobile phone habits, the majority were a result of people worrying about their bills. The top 5 worse offenders were:

• 1. Talking to other people in the room whilst on the phone
• 2. ‘Drop calling’ – calling then hanging up so people have to return the call
• 3. Texting people to ask them to call back
• 4. People not picking up voicemails to save money
• 5. Cutting short phone calls to cut down on bills

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms said:

“Ours is the only pay monthly deal that gives consumers truly unlimited calling and texting. You don’t have to choose if you’re a chatterbox or a texter, you can use your mobile as much as you want without having to worry about the cost.“

“We believe that this will change the way people use their mobile phones. The new tariff aims to give people a simple, guaranteed way to have unlimited calls, texts and browsing. It takes away the concern and uncertainty about your monthly bill as it’s fixed at £30, meaning you can talk, text and browse freely, and avoid the annoying habits revealed by our research.”

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17th September 2009

Tesco Mobile, one of the UK’s fastest growing mobile networks, has announced it is launching an innovative new campaign to promote its unlimited pay monthly tariff.

The campaign takes a different approach to traditional Tesco Mobile advertising while keeping with the Tesco tone of voice and focusing on being warm, open and humorous.

The new campaign starts by emulates the style of some TV advertising creatives that focus on philosophies and dreamy, imaginative worlds, but ends with a straight talking down to earth guy who simply and honestly tells the viewer the deal and value on offer.

This style of execution allows Tesco Mobile to show consumers how it offers an alternative to the complexity of the mobile world and as a network is all about value, honesty, simplicity and ease of use. 

The nationwide campaign including TV, outdoor, press and radio, focuses on the unrivalled amount of free calls and texts that Tesco Mobile gives its customers for just £30 a month.  

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms said:

“This is a humorous and light-hearted campaign but at its heart there is a serious message – that Tesco Mobile is on the side of the consumer.

“We’re not going to tell people that there’s a philosophy behind our tariffs.  This campaign is an antidote to fluffy messages.  It simply focuses on what we can give our customers, which is unlimited calls and texts for £30 a month.”

Andy Chisholm, Business Director at The Red Brick Road said:

“This is an exciting new campaign which challenges some traditional mobile advertising and really appeals to what people want in the present climate – simple, great value deals and an honest and open approach.”

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30 July 2009

Tesco Mobile today unveils a brand new credit crunch-beating Unlimited tariff, allowing people to talk and text as much as they want without worrying about their monthly phone bills.

The SIM only, pay monthly deal, gives people unlimited minutes, texts and browsing for just £30 a month. With everyone watching their wallets, this means no more worries about going over your free minutes and getting bill shock at the end of the month.

Research from Tesco Mobile showed that in this financial climate, worry over the cost of monthly bills frequently led to people spending less time on the phone to friends and relatives as they would like to.

59% of Brits said they would spend more time on the phone if they had unlimited minutes.

Over half of all respondents (52%) also claimed they had friends or relatives who cut short phone calls to keep costs down.

Nearly half admitted doing this themselves (49%) despite it being voted one of the most annoying breaches of ‘mobile phone etiquette’.

With over 85% of the population now owning a mobile phone, mobile use has developed its own ‘rules’ for behaviour. Asked to name the most unacceptable and annoying mobile phone habits, the majority were a result of people worrying about their bills. The top 5 worse offenders were:

• 1. Talking to other people in the room whilst on the phone
• 2. ‘Drop calling’ – calling then hanging up so people have to return the call
• 3. Texting people to ask them to call back
• 4. People not picking up voicemails to save money
• 5. Cutting short phone calls to cut down on bills

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms said:

“Ours is the only pay monthly deal that gives consumers truly unlimited calling and texting. You don’t have to choose if you’re a chatterbox or a texter, you can use your mobile as much as you want without having to worry about the cost.“

“We believe that this will change the way people use their mobile phones. The new tariff aims to give people a simple, guaranteed way to have unlimited calls, texts and browsing. It takes away the concern and uncertainty about your monthly bill as it’s fixed at £30, meaning you can talk, text and browse freely, and avoid the annoying habits revealed by our research.”

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Influential Which? Report places the fast growing mobile network as number one for customer satisfaction

May 2009 - Tesco Mobile has once again proved that it puts customers first by beating all other leading networks to scoop the top position in the prestigious mobile satisfaction survey from Which? Magazine for the fourth year in a row.
 
The authoritative survey of over 5,000 people found that Tesco Mobile was the favourite mobile operator for Pay as you go, with customers nominating the network for services including its wide handset range, affordable tariffs and exceptional customer service.
 
Tesco Mobile’s handsets were also applauded with the Nokia 2610 highlighted as ‘cheapest best buy’ and the Nokia 5310 as ‘best buy under £80’.
 
Tesco Mobile’s Pay as you go tariff which rewards customers with free triple credit, was also given a special mention by Which?, who called it the ‘best top-up incentive’, beating other mobile networks’ top up bonuses for value.
 
The Which? report is backed up by other recent mobile surveys including the 2009 Aura Mobile Customer Survey which selected Tesco Mobile as the top operator for customer satisfaction.
 
Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms said:
 
“This is a powerful endorsement for our brand and we are delighted that Which? members have voted for Tesco Mobile.
 
“Customer service is crucially important to mobile users who will often select their operator on the experience they have had.  Its great news for us that consumers have chosen Tesco Mobile over the other networks for four years in a row and shows that people are prepared to shop around to get the very best in customer care.”

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Consumers spend £10 and get £40 of credit back

24 February 2009

Tesco Mobile has launched a credit crunch buster of a tariff, responding to the many people concerned about their financial outgoings in the current economic climate.

The new SIM-only tariff is a £10 pay monthly deal which will help mobile users who want to stay on a contract but have a bit less money to spend at the moment.
 
Customers get quadruple credit with the new deal which equates to £40 of flexible credit to use how they like, when they spend £10 a month.

This amount of credit provides up to 400 minutes of calls or 800 texts a month*.

Additionally, it is a rolling one month contract – so customers are not tied into a 12 or 18 month contract.

The deal is the only £10 contract offering available in Tesco stores and means consumers can bypass contract commitment and high costs at a time when they want flexibility.

Research from OFCOM highlights that the average monthly cost of a mobile phone contract is £33.06 and that 40% of mobile phone users say they don’t use all their minutes each month**.

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms said:

"We know that people see their mobiles as a necessity and won't give them up for anything."

"With this new tariff we're helping customers who want to keep on calling and texting as much as they used to but
need to spend a bit less."

Customers simply need to pick up a SIM pack from store, online at www.tescomobile.com or by calling 0845 301 4455.

* When calling or texting 5 favourite numbers at 5p a text and 10p per minute a call.
** Ofcom Communications Report, August 2008.

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6 October 2008

Tesco Mobile today announces a move to broaden its appeal to millions of Tesco shoppers with the launch of its first ever Pay Monthly service and a brand new flat rate Pay as you go tariff.

The new services offer customers radical alternatives to other tariffs available, providing flexible credit for customers to spend as they choose on calls, texts and browsing 1.

Both tariffs also offer customers the same flat rates for calls and texts, half price calls and texts to five favourite numbers and 3 Clubcard points for every £1 spent on credit.

Tesco Mobile Pay Monthly

With Tesco Mobile's new contract offering, a customer paying £15 per month, for example, will receive a bonus of £45, giving them a total of £60 credit.

With just a one month pay monthly contract, the tariff offers maximum flexibility.

Tesco Mobile Pay as you go

With Tesco Mobile Pay as you go, a customer spending £15 a month on top-up, for example, will receive a bonus of £30 free airtime, giving them a total of £45 in credit to spend as they choose.

Customers are free to move between tariffs as their phone use changes. Research carried out for Tesco Mobile shows that despite the tough economic climate, consumers see mobile phone use as essential, and aren't cutting back on their calls. Allowing customers to swap between Pay Monthly and Pay as you go allows will give them maximum control of their budget.

Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Mobile said:

"We believe that we now have the most flexible and the easiest to use tariffs in the market and are truly a genuine mobile choice for all.

"As a retailer, we know how people like to shop for their mobiles and with the launch of our first every pay monthly service and our new pay as you go tariff, we plan to be the number one choice for consumers by focusing on simplicity and great prices.

"Tesco Mobile's success is based on listening to feedback from our customers. We aren't going to force them to pick and choose from a huge number of complicated tariffs or limit them with bundles of calls and texts.

"We are simply going to give our customers unbeatable rewards of flexible credit which makes us a serious alternative to the traditional networks."

Tesco Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture between Tesco and O2. The company sells exclusively Tesco Mobile branded services in Tesco stores across the UK using O2's technology and network. The service gives Tesco Mobile customers value, simplicity and choice, offering them supermarket style offers and the chance to earn Clubcard points when buying handsets and call time.

For further information please contact: Joanna Kinloch - Joanna.kinloch@tescomobile.com - 07770 435 943

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23 July 2008

Fantasy Phonebook Poll Topped by British Alpha Males

Chatting about pleasantries and the weather is a thing of the past, with Brits ready to swap PC chit-chat for a good old-fashioned rant, according to a new survey from Tesco Mobile.

The poll reveals that the five celebrities Brits would most like to call from their mobile phone are strong-headed alpha males, famous for their opinionated views.

Business tycoon Richard Branson tops the chart, with 21.2 per cent of the vote, followed by no-nonsense TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, with 20.8 per cent.

And loud-mouth chef Gordon Ramsay was also in demand for a chat on the mobile, gaining 18 percent of the vote.

The top five fantasy phonebook entries are:

But despite male TV presenters topping the poll, the research shows that people actually spend a lot of time on the phone to their mum (11 per cent). Dads meanwhile are the least dialled numbers, with only 1 per cent of the vote.

And despite living under the same roof, the most commonly dialled numbers are to other halves (21 percent).

Tesco Mobile has conducted the research to celebrate the launch of a new tariff, which offers half price calls and texts to customers' five favourite numbers. Research from Tesco Mobile shows that existing customers make 80% of their calls to five numbers. So from now on these will cost just 10p per minute for most of their calls, and 5p for texts.

Noel Burrows, Head of Marketing at Tesco Mobile, comments; "These results highlighting the popularity of male celebrities have really surprised us. Whether that's because they want to hear more from them, or want the chance to challenge them to a debate, remains to be seen!"

- ENDS -

Editor's Notes

The survey was conducted for Tesco Mobile by YouGov, using a representative sample of 2,551 participants.

Further Research Findings:

Overall Favourite Five:

Favourite artists:

Favourite actors / actresses:

Favourite Royals:

Favourite Politicians:

Favourite Business people:

Favourite Sports people:

Favourite TV personalities:

Top 5 numbers people call:

About Tesco Mobile:

Tesco Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture between Tesco and O2. The company sells exclusively Tesco Mobile branded services in Tesco stores across the UK using O2's technology and network. The service gives Tesco Mobile customers value, simplicity and choice, offering them supermarket style offers and the chance to earn Clubcard points when buying handsets and call time.

For further information please contact:

Hill & Knowlton: Darja Noren - darja.noren@hillandknowlton.com - 020 7413 3238
Tesco Mobile Press Office: 01707 360349 or 07510 534 502

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9 July 2008

Tesco Mobile today announces the launch of an inflation-busting pay-as-you-go tariff, offering half-price calls and texts to five favourite friends. Existing Tesco Mobile customers make 80% of their calls to five numbers, so this means that they will pay just 10p per minute for most of their calls, and 5p for most of the texts they send. Other calls will cost 20p per minute and texts will be 10p each.

The new tariff replaces the four existing call plans, in a bid to make life simpler for customers. However, existing customers can choose to remain on their current tariff if they wish.

As an additional bonus, customers topping up by £15 or more in any month will receive 150 free minutes or 500 free texts - this is over and above their £15 top-up.

The free texts and call-time can be used to contact any UK mobile or standard fixed landline number, regardless of network or time of day. So users won't face any restrictions on when they use their bonus time or which networks they call or send texts to, as is the case with some other providers.

The new tariff has been designed with help from customers, who told Tesco Mobile that they wanted simple, relevant benefits that represent real value for money. Listening to its customers has earned Tesco Mobile its prized status as No. 1 Pay as you go Mobile Provider for Customer Satisfaction in the UK.*

Customers will also earn 4 Tesco Clubcard points for every £1 they top up. The points can be redeemed in vouchers for anything from discounts on the weekly shop, to days out with the family at theme parks and attractions, or even Airmiles.

David Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer at Tesco Mobile, comments; "Right now, everyone wants to make their money go further, so we've been looking for ways to help our customers save.

While many of us have a long list of contacts in our phones, the reality is that we only call five of them on a very regular basis. Half-price calls to five favourite contacts will make a big difference to the amount customers spend on their phone calls."

Customers can join Tesco Mobile by visiting their local Tesco store or buying online at www.tescomobile.com. Top-ups can be made at checkouts in Tesco stores, over the phone, online or at over 100,000 further locations in the UK that carry the top-up logo.

-ENDS-

J.D. Power and Associates 2008 United Kingdom Mobile Telephone Customer Study, based on 3,340 consumer responses, measuring 7 providers about opinions of wireless service subscribers surveyed in February 2008. Your experiences may vary. jdpower.com

About Tesco Mobile:

Tesco Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture between Tesco and O2. The company sells exclusively Tesco Mobile branded services in Tesco stores across the UK using O2's technology and network. The service gives Tesco Mobile customers value, simplicity and choice, offering them supermarket style offers and the chance to earn Clubcard points when buying handsets and call time.

For further information please contact:

Hill & Knowlton: Darja Noren - darja.noren@hillandknowlton.com - 020 7413 3238
Tesco Mobile Press Office: 01707 360349 or 07510 534 502

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1 July 2008

Tesco Mobile has announced it is reducing charges for customers sending texts or browsing the internet from abroad in time for those taking a summer holiday overseas.

From 7th July, data roaming charges from within the EU will be reduced to £4 per megabyte. Customers outside the EU will pay £8 per megabyte.

On 28th July, the price of sending a text message back to the UK from within the EU will fall to 25p from 40p.

Customers will be advised of the new rates by SMS. However, they will not have to opt-in to receive the price cuts as the new benefits will immediately be made for all.

Noel Burrows, head of marketing for Tesco Mobile, commented: "Last year, Tesco Mobile was the first operator to reduce the price of making mobile calls from abroad. By reducing rates for texting and browsing the internet from abroad before the end of July we're making sure that customers will automatically get the benefit in time for their summer holidays."

-ENDS-

For further information please contact the Tesco Mobile Press Office on 01707 360349 or 07510 534502

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About Tesco Mobile:

Tesco Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture between Tesco and O2. The company sells exclusively Tesco Mobile branded services in Tesco stores across the UK using O2's technology and network. The service gives Tesco Mobile customers value, simplicity and choice, offering them supermarket style offers and the chance to earn Clubcard points when buying handsets and call time.

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7th May 2008

- J.D. Power and Associates 2008 UK Mobile Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study

It's official - Tesco Mobile is the number one pre-pay mobile telephone provider for customer satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 UK Mobile Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study.

Now in its 11th year, the authoritative industry study measures customer satisfaction with pre-pay and contract plans among the leading UK mobile network providers.

Tesco Mobile scored particularly high scores for call quality and coverage, cost, handsets and customer service. The study also found that Tesco performs well in satisfying customers through "green" initiatives, such as efficient handset recycling.

The J.D. Power and Associates study backs up other industry polls that also show Tesco Mobile leading the industry. For example, CFI Group has ranked Tesco Mobile as number one for overall customer satisfaction and telephone customer service for two years running.

A spokesperson for Tesco Mobile commented: "Tesco Mobile is all about great value and exemplary customer service, so it's great news to have such a powerful endorsement to show we're getting it right for customers."

The J.D. Power and Associates 2008 UK Mobile Telephone Customer Satisfaction StudySM is based on responses from 3,340 pre-pay and contract mobile phone customers throughout the UK. The study was fielded in February 2008.

-ENDS-

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About Tesco Mobile:

Tesco Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture between Tesco and O2. The company sells exclusively Tesco Mobile branded services in Tesco stores across the UK using O2's technology and network. The service gives Tesco Mobile customers value, simplicity and choice, offering them supermarket style offers and the chance to earn Clubcard points when buying handsets and call time.

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The European headquarters of J.D. Power and Associates is located in Guildford, UK. With world headquarters in Westlake Village, California, U.S.A., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion.

Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

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