The level of customers defaulting on their mobile contracts has risen in recent months as more consumers start feeling the pinch.

According to senior sources, so-called ‘never pays’ (where customers don’t pay their bills) have increased in recent months. Even more customers are asking networks to drop down to the cheapest tariff in a bid to cut spending. The trend for people failing to pay their bills has increased in the face of the continuing redundancies across the country.

British companies or foreign firms’ UK operations lost over 9,000 jobs last week, edging closer to two million unemployed people in the UK – the highest level in 11 years. That figure is expected to top three million by the
end of 2009.

Independent retailers said they fear a rise in commission clawbacks as more customers do not pay their bills.

‘Like a lot of dealers we’re running our business so tight at the moment and there’s not exactly a lot of connections out there. It won’t take a lot of clawbacks to cause some serious problems for us.’