Mobile phone companies are quietly raising charges for basic services to offset the cost of providing third-generation handsets, The Sunday Times has found.

News that Orange and Vodafone will soon be able to stock the coveted Apple iPhone had raised hopes of better deals, but consumers are increasingly being stung by their networks’ standard tariff.

Virgin Media last week raised the cost of calls to a UK landline or another Virgin mobile to a 20p a minute flat rate — a big jump from the current 15p a minute for the first five minutes of calls each day and 5p a minute after.

If you make 10 minutes of calls to a UK landline, it will now cost £2 — double the previous amount. Also, you are charged for a minute, even if a call lasts less than 60 seconds.

James Parker of moneysupermarket.com, the comparison site, said: “Although Virgin Mobile doesn’t charge as much as T-Mobile, which is the most expensive provider at 30p a minute, this will be of little consolation for millions of consumers. This could be an ideal time for disgruntled Virgin customers to take stock of other deals on the market.”

Virgin said: “We wrote to all affected customers in mid-July to explain the changes, which include a reduction in the price of calls to other networks and an increase in the cost of calls to landlines and other Virgin Mobile phones.

“Customers will be charged for a one-minute minimum call duration, in line with developments within the industry.”

In August, Orange reversed its decision to increase call charges but now charges £1.47 a month if users want an itemised paper bill. Customers can view bills online free but must opt out of the itemised billing system. T-Mobile and Vodafone charge £1.50 for a paper bill, while O2’s fee is 99p a month.

T-Mobile customers have also been hit with price rises. From tomorrow it will more than double “roaming” calls from America, Canada and Australia.

Research by Moneysupermarket shows that before the change, T-Mobile was the cheapest network for making calls from the US, charging only 55p a minute. However, the cost will now soar to £1.20. This means a 30-minute call will rise from £16.50 to a hefty £36. T-Mobile charges the same as Orange for sending texts from America at 40p.

We show how you can beat the bad deals.

Shop around

Before signing up to a phone you should compare deals using sites such as omio.com or billmonitor.com. Also ensure you will receive good network coverage before you buy, particularly if you plan to use mobile broadband. All five of the big UK providers — O2, Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile and 3 — have a “coverage facility” checker on their sites.

Do not lock in for too long

Orange’s in-store brochure offers 24-month contracts as standard. Customers who want to sign up for a minimum of 18 months have to pay an extra £4.90 a month. Virgin offers contracts of 12, six and three months, but you may have to pay more for calls on short deals.

Do not get caught out abroad

In Europe, texts have been capped at 11p and calls at 38p a minute since July but frequent travellers within the EU can cut costs. For example, O2 offers a My Europe Extra deal, which costs £10 a month and reduces the cost of calls from the EU to 25p a minute, with free incoming calls.

For outside Europe, experts advise buying a global Sim card, which can be bought from sites such as sim4travel.com or gosim.com.