From: "Phil Payne" 

> If you've ever found yourself trying to fish your mobile out of the
> toilet, you're not alone. A staggering 855,000 handsets are flushed away
> every year in the UK - that's roughly œ342 million we're 'loo'sing.
> Research by SimplySwitch, the price comparison and switching service,
> found 4.5m handsets are lost or damaged every year.

Yeah - Riiight.

Poserphones have a market life of a few months at best before a
"better" (slimmer, more fashionable) version comes out.  A
contract usually lasts a year - so if you want the latest and greatest you
(ahem) "lose" the old one and claim on the insurance.

> Common catastrophes include leaving mobiles in the pub (810,000
> handsets) in a taxi (315,000) or on a bus (225,000). More bizarrely,
> dogs chewed their way through 58,500 handsets last year and 116,000 went
> through a spin cycle with the dirty laundry.

Ringing dogs are a well known phenomenon.  See Snopes.

> The research found that over a quarter of mobile owners had lost or
> damaged a handset, with men more prone to carelessness than women. 28
> per cent of men admitted to breaking or losing their phone compared to
> 26 per cent of women.

I've broken two Nokia 9000s and two 9210is.  I now have a 9500 on my belt
but I doubt it will last the year out.

> Karen Darby, from SimplySwitch.com, comments: "Of the 18 million new
> handsets bought in the UK every year, roughly 4.5 million will end up
> lost or damaged. With handsets now costing up to œ400, and people often
> opting out of the insurance package, there's more reason than ever to
> look after your mobile."

Mobile insurance policies are a complete scam, since a mobile is usually
covered by a household contents policy.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5