are being ripped off by mobile phone companies. patricia gibson said many consumers were continuing to pay for their handset after they had covered the cost of buying it. having a mobile phone today has pretty much become a necessity to all of us. even though we may often wish we didn't, we rely on them all to a certain extent. it is just the modern way that we live our lives. and i am sure, like me, the minister is deeply concerned to hear about the report from citizens advice that too many loyal mobile phone customers are being ripped off by their providers. and i use the term advisedly, mr chair — ripped off by their providers. most people pay for their handset over two years of their phone contract. she pointed to research by citizens advice. it seems that 36% of mobile handset customers stay on their previous contract after the 2a month fixed period. on average, people stay on their contract for an extra seven months. however, the chances are, that if you are a customer with one