Beware Mosh Pits, Portaloos and Mud: Lost and Broken Mobile Phones Cost UK Festival Goers £130 Million Per Year

Beware Mosh Pits, Portaloos and Mud: Lost and Broken Mobile Phones Cost UK Festival Goers £130 Million Per Year PR Newswire LONDON, August 30, 2012 LONDON, August 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As festival season begins to near its end, new research reveals that one in ten music fans have lost or damaged their mobile phones at festivals this year. In a study of over 1,000 festival-goers, SIM-only mobile network giffgaff found that over £130 million worth of handsets are lost, damaged or stolen during festival revelries each year. giffgaff's research, released today, reveals that: 1. Mobiles are the third most likely thing to lose at a festival with clothes (22%) and friends (19%) leading the lost list 2. On average close to 650,000 phones are lost or damaged at festivals each year, an equivalent of over £130 million worth of handsets* 3. An estimated £14 million worth of lost call credit is left behind with misplaced phones 4. One quarter of respondents claimed it would cost them over £300 to replace their phone or handset if it was lost or damaged The party mindset leads to carelessness for many festival goers: misplacing a mobile is the most common reason for loss. Of those who lost or damaged phone their phone, more than one in four (27%) say they misplaced it or it fell out of their bag; a fifth (20%) say they accidentally dropped it and smashed it; while 15% said their phones were stolen.