UK carrier Virgin Media O2 now provides free access to five financial advice websites

Sadly, the cost-of-living crisis in the UK continues to deepen. To help those most in need deal with their financial difficulties, UK carrier Virgin Media O2 announced that it has zero-rated five additional organizations that offer guidance, such as how to deal with fuel poverty and make better financial decisions.

This means that O2 and Virgin Mobile customers can now access the National Debtline, Business Debtline, Turn2us, Debt Advice Foundation, and National Energy Action for free, without being charged for the data used.

These five sites join websites like Citizens Advice, the Money Advice Service, and the debt charity Step Change that Virgin Media O2 customers can already access without using any of their mobile data allowance.

In its announcement, Virgin Media O2 also shared that according to new research, almost two-thirds of low-income households have been concerned that they would run out of data in the last three months. And half of those have stated that they couldn't afford to buy more, in case they depleted their allowance. According to Ofcom, almost two million households in the UK struggle with data poverty.

The cost-of-living crisis also led Brits to think more carefully when buying a new smartphone. As we recently reported, 45% of the people who participated in a recent study funded by Vodafone will try to find the best deal possible before deciding to purchase a new smartphone. Additionally, 56% of the participants will think ahead and consider the future resale or trade-in value of the device they want to buy.

If you are in the market for a new smartphone, instead of wasting your time hunting for the best deal possible, you can visit our top O2 and best Virgin Media phone deals and choose a device from there. And if you are using the services of another carrier, feel free to visit our best Vodafone phone deals, best EE phone deals, and best Three phone deals.