A reason they haven't switched to a cheaper provider is habitual behaviour.knowledge This means they have not attempted to find a new provider because they "have been with BT for decades," which has allowed prices for consumers to steadily increase without them realising they have "soared between 23% and 47% in recent years."application Especially given that most of these habitual consumers are elderly, we could suggest that they are less likely to change their behaviour and prefer to stick with the status quoanalysis

However, it could be argued that consumers choose to stick with BT because the cheaper alternatives are inferio.evaluation - has rewrite Based on the evidence as a whole, irrational behaviour is only one reason why consumers do not switch to cheaper providersevaluation

Another reason landline-only customers do not switch is asymmetric information.knowledge The charges and products of alternative providers are difficult to understand, and consumers have a weakness at computation, meaning they are often unable to see whether products will be cost-effective to them, as it is such a complex systemanalysis - has rewrite

However, Ofcom has said it will be helping people to "shop around for better deals with more confidence" in order to reduce the issue of paying these unnecessarily high prices.application If Ofcom regulates the market more stringently through price capping and insists on providers making it easier to switch by communicating clearer charges in a simpler way, consumers may be less inclined to stay with the same provider in the longer termevaluation - has rewrite