UK Regulator to Offer Accreditation to Price-Comparison Websites

A price comparison service that allows consumers to get cheaper mobile phone deals by monitoring their online bills was has been accredited by the UK's telecoms regulator, Ofcom. BillMonitor's price comparison calculator has been awarded the Ofcom price accreditation scheme logo for meeting the terms of a rigorous independent audit. The audit checks whether the information provided to consumers is accessible, accurate, transparent, comprehensive and up to date.

BillMonitor is the first mobile price comparison service to have their calculator accredited by Ofcom.

BillMonitor analyses historical usage patterns to predict future usage and can keep consumers updated on the money they could save as the networks change their price plans. Ofcom research shows that 57 per cent of mobile users are more likely to shop around if there is information available to calculate the cheapest supplier based on usage and 50 per cent are more likely to trust an accredited price comparison website.

New price accreditation scheme logo

A new Ofcom price accreditation scheme logo has also been unveiled today which all accredited services can use to show that their price comparison calculators have been verified by Ofcom as up to date, transparent and reliable. Ofcom has previously accredited Simplify Digital – which compares fixed line, digital TV and broadband services – and Broadband Choices, which compares broadband services.

Ofcom Chief Executive, Ed Richards, said "It's important that consumers are able to access clear mobile pricing information. Consumers can now be sure that when they use BillMonitor's price comparison service they are going to be getting accurate and up to date pricing information to enable them to choose the best mobile deal for them."

Posted to the site on 21st May 2009