LONDON, September 19 /PRNewswire/ --     Telecoms bills are a major source of confusion for UK
residents - according to a new report from the Post Office(R) out today.

It revealed that the average household using mobile and
landline phones is around GBP79 out when estimating their bills, meaning the
UK public appears to have little idea of the real cost of chatting.

The report showed the best budgeters to be the canny Scots,
with a combined annual miscalculation of just GBP58 per household. Londoners
languished at the back of the line, with an average miscalculation of GBP134
per household.

Experts have blamed this inability to accurately budget for
telecoms costs on unclear billing processes and surprise hidden charges, as
well as people not thinking about the cost before making a call.

Financial expert Jasmine Birtles of moneymagpie.com said:
"Budgeting for technologies such as mobile phones can be a bit of a
nightmare. It used to be a lot easier - you just had one bill from one
company that provided a single telephone line.

"Now, there are so many different products and suppliers that
the choice is overwhelming and confusing.

"People don't think enough about phone costs - particularly
the young. For example, I often hear about people using their mobile phone at
home - which can work out much more expensive than a landline. Having lots of
different lines and mobiles in one household can make the bills mount up too
because it is hard to work out how much calls actually cost."

Post Office(R) telephony manager Stewart Fox-Mills said: "Too
often telecoms bills are confusing, with complex layers of billing and hidden
charges. The Post Office(R) aims to provide telecoms services that are easy
for people to understand.

"Not only are our bills simple, but our call charges are fully
transparent with just one easy tariff."

"With the Post Office(R) HomePhone service, it couldn't be
easier to move to a reliable and trusted supplier. You can keep your number,
make free evening and weekend calls(i) and all other calls cost just 3 pence
per minute."

The research also showed that people found it easier to
estimate their internet bills than other telecoms costs - with the average
home connected to the internet miscalculating bills by only GBP3 per year.

Stewart Fox-Mills said: "These figures demonstrate that since
the introduction of broadband, the public has really benefited from the clear
pricing structure of internet pricing. This should be a lesson that all
telecoms providers can learn from."

Work is underway by the Post Office(R) to launch a broadband
service in the autumn that will compete head to head with the major players
in the market by offering a great value for money deal.

The Post Office(R) offers a whole portfolio of telecoms
products, characterised by simple clear pricing structures. These include
HomePhone, E Top-ups, international phone cards the directory Enquiries
service 11 88 55.

HomePhone has already won more than 400,000 customers with the
lowest line rental prices of any major provider. To find out more call 
+0800-092-0500, visit http://www.postoffice.co.uk or ask at any of our 
14,000 Post Office(R) branches.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample
size was 2,188 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14th - 16th August
2007. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and
are representative of all UK adults, including Northern Ireland (aged 18+).

(i)Applies to calls made in the evenings between 6pm and 6am and at the
weekend between Friday 6pm and Monday 6am to UK landlines up to 60 minutes
long; they are charged at standard rate of 3p per minute at all other times.
Customers can redial after 60 minutes during the free periods to avoid
incurring any charges.