MSE News: UK texts cost more than EU roaming caps 12 September 2011 at 5:29PM in Mobiles 19 replies 2.2K views

Former_MSE_Helen

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"It can cost more to send a text to someone a few metres away in the UK than over hundreds of miles when in Europe ..."

Read the full story:

UK texts cost more than EU roaming caps

drbesty

Most people have unlimited texts or text bundles, I havent paid to send a text in years

grumbler

Hardly a surprise when such anti-market mechanisms are used by Brussels' bureaucrats to regulate a market economy.

jhp

drbesty wrote: »

Most people have unlimited texts or text bundles, I havent paid to send a text in years

So you get free bundles then ?

drbesty

If you have a mobile contract it will come with a text bundle, I can't think of a contract that comes with no texts

Stuart_W

drbesty wrote: »

If you have a mobile contract it will come with a text bundle, I can't think of a contract that comes with no texts

Yes, and it won't be a free monthly contract, will it? Most phone users will pay for texts - either individually or in a monthly amount. There are only a few exceptions where genuinely free texts (exclusing the cashback route) are possible (Orange OutHere for life, and BTCellent's Pay Upfront for Life spring to mind, both pretty old now).

Being on a contract does not exclude you from rip-off text rates.

If you are on a monthly contract and exhaust you inclusive minutes or texts your are very likely to pay above the EU caps for domestic calls and texts - 15p texts and 25p-35p calls, or there abouts, are getting more and more common with the main networks. Virgin has jumped to a whopping 40p per minute (making calls home when abroad actually cheaper).

flexrider

Stuart_W wrote: »

Yes, and it won't be a free monthly contract, will it? Most phone users will pay for texts - either individually or in a monthly amount. There are only a few exceptions where genuinely free texts (exclusing the cashback route) are possible (Orange OutHere for life, and BTCellent's Pay Upfront for Life spring to mind, both pretty old now).

Being on a contract does not exclude you from rip-off text rates.

If you are on a monthly contract and exhaust you inclusive minutes or texts your are very likely to pay above the EU caps for domestic calls and texts - 15p texts and 25p-35p calls, or there abouts, are getting more and more common with the main networks. Virgin has jumped to a whopping 40p per minute (making calls home when abroad actually cheaper).

Questionable Point made however free text is free in this country so i do not understand the whole agurement here on EU and Britian text's i suppose being a extensive tourist and travel alot every year on work reasons Id would take a Sim ONly PAUG Phone and Top up 100 Quid on it whist away of UK and leave my Uk number airtime at home But like my tariff States "Unlimited Text" Meaning my text are Free withinn the UK.

i know sometimes most come with that term Unlimited But my Tariff is a online tariff an i check my bill every month for additional charges. "So-Far-So-good".:)


Contracts states the following for anyone intrested in this story what i assume the forum team are talking about is this clause

as stated off vodafones websites T&C

Free texts are texts sent as a standard person to person text message to any UK mobile phone network, whilst within the UK. No premium rate text services are included. Texts must be for private, non-commercial use and not for messages sent by automated means or from any device other than your mobile phone. All other text messages will be charged at their standard rates.

This offer is subject at all times to a fair usage policy each month of 3000 text messages. Usage above this will be automatically charged at your price plan rate.

We will notify you by text message when you reach this limit. We may withdraw the reward from your account or disconnect your SIM card if the fair usage policy is consistently reached,

if daily usage is deemed to be excessive, or if we suspect the offer is being exploited for commercial benefit.

I wonder how the Mobile Giants will squeeze out of the contract on your point when the fine Print states Free Text messenging upon beginning of contract. I know from watching WatchDog Virgin(Which is really T-mobile anyway for Mobile Providings) where shown doing this in past but lets look at the subjective point,

Like i have illustrated on my own tariff i need to use over 3000 texts to be accountable for charges for my own text which is possible but I would never do,Since i am a talker and not a Texter anyway.

However, on that note
I would love to see some changes to the whole charges and hopefully see the big telecoms realising that Profit is not everything and a end to the price wars between all the Major players in Uk and Abroad but i do not think That it will happen.

drbesty

The cost of sending texts has plummeted in the past few years, sending texts has never been cheaper

alexlyne

my texts have gone up from 4p to 6p, sending texts (for me) has never been more expensive!

rpb

Mobile phone charges are a complete rip-off. Even those European capped rates give the telecom companies a huge margin. And the mobile companies were forced to reduce their rates by Ofcom because competition isn't working in this industry.

140 characters of text - they are charging around £1/kb to send a text. That is just shocking.

And even if you have a contract with "free minutes/texts" (hardly free, are they), either you don't use them all and so have paid for some you didn't use, or you go over and pay extortionate rates for those.

I think a fairer contract price would be around £2.50 for 250 texts/minutes, with charges little above 1p a minute/text if you go over.

2sides2everystory

drbesty wrote: »

The cost of sending texts has plummeted in the past few years, sending texts has never been cheaper

Now you really are showing your age :rotfl: