A study of consumers' competence when choosing between complex mobile phone contracts and the regulatory implications of their coping strategies

Dr Peter Earl and Associate Professor Lana Friesen, ARC Discovery Project DP1093840

Choosing a mobile phone contract is a major cognitive challenge because of the huge variety of contracts on offer and the complexity of these contracts, compounded by consumers uncertainty about usage patterns. Suppliers may deliberately use confusion to trick consumers into spending more than they need to. This project will use research methods from behavioural and experimental economics to discover the extent of errors made by consumers in this context, and to investigate which factors most get in the way of optimal contract choices. This will permit an assessment of existing regulatory policies and suggestions for improvements.

Total amount $349,000