Money alert: Stolen mobile phones

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice: 'The injustice of shock bills for crime victims must end. The Government must stand up for consumers and cap bills from lost or stolen phones at £50'

There were around 750,000 victims of mobile phone theft in England and Wales last year, according to official figures (Reuters)

Up to 160,000 people a year could be hit by shock bills on lost or stolen phones as there remains no cap on the amount they can be charged, despite mobile companies promising to introduce one by last spring.

Since then people have reported charges from £160 up to £23,000, according to Citizens Advice.

Thieves can rack up huge bills in hours after a phone or SIM card has been stolen, often before the victim is aware their phone has gone.

That’s especially true when people are abroad and may not notice a missing mobile for hours. Indeed, of cases reported to Citizens Advice this year, more than a third concerned phones stolen in Spain.

Ofcom reckons the average bill on a lost or stolen mobile is £65, but Citizens Advice has found that the impact can be much greater, with some victims pushed into debt after being hit by bills of thousands of pounds.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “The injustice of shock bills for crime victims must end. The Government must stand up for consumers and cap bills from lost or stolen phones at £50.”