An agreement has now been reached between the government and four mobile phone companies which means we may not be liable for the cost of calls made by thieves.

Vodafone, EE, Virgin Media and Three have agreed in principle not to punish customers when their phones are stolen up to an agreed level.

According to consumer expert Sarah Pennells (savvywoman.co.uk) the level of the cap isn’t set yet, but the plan is to introduce the measures in the spring.

At the moment, we’re liable for the cost of calls or downloads made until we report any theft.

It's estimated about 300,000 mobile phones are stolen in the UK per year with Edinburgh being the place where most are stolen.