iPhone roaming charges - please help.

dappyhel

I really hope that somebody has some reassuring words or can suggest something that we haven't already thought of.

I have a pay monthly contract with Orange and have been a customer for some years (I forget how many, it's been so long). Yesterday I checked my account online and was utterly shocked and very upset to find that my latest bill is for £701.57! Having recently holidayed in the Caribbeanfor 2 weeks I was expecting the bill to be around £85-£100 as I did use it to make some calls and send some texts - I'm sure you can imagine how I'm feeling at the moment.

I rang Orange billing services, who were understanding to a point, to find out what the breakdown of the bill was, which is when I found out the following:

£36.75 for roaming calls.
£7.12 for text messages
25p for a picture message
£620.43 for internet connection/usage!!!

It was then, and only then, that I was told about the Data Roaming setting within my phone. Having never had an iPhone before, I stupidly presumed that, unless I was connected to the internet through 3G in England or Wifi anywhere, that my phone would not connect to internet. I was not told about this setting when I purchased the phone in my local Orange shop, nor was anything written in any of the documentation that came with the phone (I checked all of the paperwork again last night to make sure). Had I been aware, there is no doubt that I would have deactivated the setting (something I will be sure to do in future). After looking online for any information at all last night and this morning, I've realised that I'm not the only person who's been stung by this Data Roaming business, and many people appear to have run up hidden costs even when it's been switched off!

I have now been told that I can arrange to pay the £701.57 over a period of time, to be discussed on/after the due date of 18th September but I am fuming that I am expected to pay this when, as far as I am concerned, I knew nothing about the setting and it is something about which I should have been informed when I bought the phone earlier in the year.

I really hope someone can help. There is no way I can find this money and I wouldn't have got the bl**dy phone if I'd known it was going to be this expensive. Why wasn't I told about this hidden setting and the possible costs?

geoffken

sadly it is in the manual and also on phone as warning re roaming.
Caveat emptor

See numerous threads

grumbler

Nobody will be able to help you I'm afraid.
It's not a 'hidden' setting and AFAIK data roaming is disabled by default.
It's impossible to tell you everything in a shop. That's what manuals exist for.

There are dozens of similar threads here. A new one appears almost every day. You can find several links here: mobile phone abroad

dappyhel

Thank you both for replying and I completely understand what you have said. The problem there is that I was not given a manual. I've gone through everything that came with the phone and looked in the box etc and there is no manual. So now what?

visidigi

find it hard to beleive that its not in the manuals - a quick google brought up this...
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1807

Its a known issue with all phones, just not iPhones alone (although by default the setting on HTC is enabled to not allow data roaming).

You will need to pay the bill I am afraid, they might offer you some goodwill...

Saying you wouldnt have got the phone if you had known is not an excuse i'm afraid and a number of phones have data needs like this...If you have roaming turned on then you would have an allowance.

JJ_Egan

You don't get handed a manual and its says here sir or madam read this .As with nearly all phone goods its downloaded from the web site .

Your ignorance of how to use the phone and or enable or not data charges roaming etc is no excuse not to pay the due amount .Its down to you and is not the responsibility of the network all you can now do is approach the network with the details and hope for a reduction in the amount due .But that's their choice and not a right .

jje

grumbler

I would expect to get a manual even with a less complex gadget than an iPhone. Even £10 handsets come with manuals.
BTW, my Desire had the full manual stored in the phone.

If it was missing, I'd ask the supplier or found an online one:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iphone_user_guide.pdf

Search it for 'data', 'roaming' etc:

When you’re outside your carrier’s network, you may be able to access the Internet through another carrier. To enable email, web browsing, and other data services whenever possible, turn Data Roaming on.

p.23 (Chapter 2 Getting Started).

I've never had an iPhone, but I seem to have been right when saying that data roaming is turned off by default. If this is the case it was your who turned it on. However, even if it was turned on originally, it is you who has to turn if off if you don't need it.

JJ_Egan wrote: »

You don't get handed a manual and its says here sir or madam read this .As with nearly all phone goods its downloaded from the web site .

I have never had a phone without a 'getting started' booklet that has all the essential information.

visidigi

Page 193 points out its off by default...

kai666

roaming is off by default, and gives you a warning about high costs when switched on. If nothing else, that will give orange the get out clause for not letting you off payment, as it can only have been turned on by you yourself (or someone else with access to your phone!)

dappyhel

Well thanks for branding me ignorant, that's very useful. I know it was stupid and I am aware that I will most likely end up paying the full amount. I'm just very scared and worried about how I'm going to find the money and was hoping that someone could offer me some reassurance and perhaps experience in the matter.

Tony5101

I wouldn't normally jump to the OP's defence on this issue - however - Orange have been quite crafty/reckless with regard to data-roaming IMO, with regard to their merger with TMobile.
This is my first contract with Orange, and I was pleased to hear about the merge/improved signal etc., so when I joined, I opted into the shared network (as you had to do then...), and was immediately sent a text to say that I had to change the settings on the phone to allow data roaming - so that I could get data via Orange and TMob. (Which I very hurriedly did..) That was a good 9 months or so before we had a planned trip abroad.
OK - getting to the point....that change was made to a (probably) little known/very infrequently changed setting to my phone, and had I not been quite phone savvy, would have happily gone on holiday - probably doing not much with my phone...but quietly racking up an absolute fortune in overseas data roaming charges. A lot of people will have innocently changed this setting to allow domestic data roaming - and quite innocently opened the floodgates for a big bill shock!
A lot of unhappy customers could probably be avoided if Orange implemented a system similar to Vodafone's - whereby as soon as you log onto a foreign network they automatically send you a text with the call charges etc. Something that I really do miss using Orange. If they did something like this with an additional warning about data roaming etc. it would be fresh in people's minds to actually check their settings.

Good luck with Orange OP...however experience tells us that you might get a £100-£200 good will gesture off your bill...but you'll have to be prepared for the worst case.