Martin Lewis issued a last-minute warning to mobile phone users.
During a special one-off programme filmed in Liverpool, the Money Saving Expert issued a desperate plea to viewers and audience members. He was critical of the upcoming April price hikes but specifically toward phone bills which are expected to rise by 17%.
Offering advice to mobile phone owners, Martin issued several guidelines to follow. He said: "Even if you are mid-contract, which is something that should be stopped, even including some of the big ones. So what do you do about it? Five steps."
READ MORE: Martin Lewis' 11 tips to save thousands of pounds in new tax year
"First text INFO on 85075 on your current phone, it's free to do, to find out if you're out of contract and free to leave."
Martin went on to advise viewers to get cheap SIM-only deals via price comparison websites rather than go directly to providers as you can often get cheaper deals. The Money Saving Expert then told viewers they can often find a low-price network that uses the same signal as the so-called better providers, the Manchester Evening News reported.
He said that in reality there are only four mobile networks in the UK and these are O2, EE, Vodafone and Three - and all the rest such as Sky just use another provider's signal. The only difference is there may be perks such as 5G or wi-fi calling not offered on cut-price networks, but otherwise, if you get a signal on the parent network, you'll get a signal in your home on the cheap network that uses its signal.
Step four is to get your PAC code by texting "PAC" to 65075. If you have this code, you can request to move your current mobile number to the company you are wanting to switch to.
Finally, according to the Money Saving Expert, the benchmark for getting a cheap deal is to haggle. He told customers to ask to cancel when negotiating and get put through to customer retentions.
This team's specific job is to keep you with them and they will be able to offer you better deals in order to stay.
If you are unable to get a cheaper deal with them and they say they will have to disconnect you, it's time for what Martin Lewis has coined the "wife trick". Martin added: "If they say to you 'I'm sorry we will disconnect you, you say 'I just need to check that with my husband, wife or parrot."
This will allow you time to decide whether you want to cancel and time to check out other deals you can get elsewhere.
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