‌Asda Mobile hiking pay-as-you-go call, text and data costs from today – here's how to beat the increases

We've previously highlighted Asda Mobile as one of the cheapest options for occasional or back-up use, though the price rises mean it's now less competitive. Use our Cheap Mobile Finder tool to compare the cheapest PAYG deals.

The Asda Mobile customers impacted

The price rise affects two sets of customers:

• Those who use Asda Mobile's standard PAYG tariff – where you top up with credit and are then charged for each minute, text and MB of data as you use it. 

• Those who have an Asda Mobile monthly 'bundle', and who go outside of their allowance. With a bundle you pay in advance for a set amount of minutes, texts and data. Here, you'll only be charged the increased prices if you go outside of your bundle allowances.

How Asda Mobile's prices are changing

From today (26 September), prices are increasing as follows:

• Calls will cost 15p/minute (up from 4p/minute). However, it's now free to call voicemail (previously 4p/minute).

• Texts will cost 10p each (up from 4p each).

• Data will cost 10p/MB (up from 4p/MB).

Asda Mobile has confirmed that the price changes will also apply when using your mobile in Europe. In addition, you'll only be able to use 5GB of your bundle data for free when roaming in Europe (down from 25GB) – use more than that and you'll be charged the out-of-bundle rate above (regardless of your allowance).

How to beat the hikes

What you should do depends on how you use your mobile – here are your options:

• If you don't use data and you'd prefer to stay with Asda Mobile, you could try one of its bundles. For example, it currently offers unlimited calls and texts with zero data for £4 a month. However, if you're happy to switch, you can get unlimited calls and texts (with zero data) for £3 a month on 1pMobile, which piggybacks off EE's network. 

• If you regularly use your phone and need data, you might want to consider switching. Lebara's 3GB data Sim gives you unlimited calls and texts for an equivalent £3.68 a month (£2.45 a month for the first six months, then £4.90 a month). And, like Asda Mobile, it uses Vodafone's network, so you shouldn't see any change to your signal.

• If you're an occasional phone user, a PAYG Sim can cost as little as 1p for each minute, text and MB of data you use. The absolute cheapest for low usage mobile users is 1pMobile – but you have to top-up at least £10 every four months in order to keep it active, so if you only very rarely use your phone it's probably not for you. We've full info on other alternatives in our Pay-as-you-go sim deals guide.

If you choose to leave Asda Mobile, you could get a refund of outstanding credit, but only until 26 October

All customers who choose to leave Asda Mobile because of the hikes can do so penalty-free.

You can also claim a refund on any outstanding credit but you only have until 26 October to do that. After that you can still leave, but you may not be able to get your money back.

Note that, if you've got an active bundle, you WON'T be able to get a partial refund of the bundle price if you cancel partway through the month – so you may want to wait until closer to the bundle's expiry date before switching away (you can still get a refund of any outstanding credit on your account).

• To request a credit refund. Complete Asda Mobile's online form or call its customer services free on 2732 from your mobile or 0808 006 2732 from any other phone.

• To leave Asda. Text PAC to 65075 to request a PAC (a code to leave and keep the same phone number), then give the PAC to your chosen new provider so it can transfer your number. If you don't want to keep the number, you can just stop using the Sim, or contact Asda Mobile on the numbers above to close down the account.