Ofcom wants to hear consumers' bill-shock stories

Ofcom has put a call out for anyone who has received a higher-than-expected communications bill in the last year to tell their story to the regulator.

On Tuesday, Ofcom said its research has shown six percent of UK consumers had received such a bill for mobile services within the last 12 months, with 18 percent of those people finding at least £100 of that bill to be unexpected. Five percent of landline customers received an unexpectedly high bill, with nine percent of those customers' bills being at least £100 more than planned for.

Now, the telecoms regulator wants to find out the specifics of one-off shock bills, to see whether further action should be taken by Ofcom or communication providers.

"Ofcom is also talking to communications providers about the steps they already take to protect their customers from unexpectedly high bills," the regulator said. "As well as responses from individual consumers, Ofcom would also like to hear from other interested stakeholders."

Those who wish to tell Ofcom about their story can do so through this link, and must do so by 14 June.