Mobile Roaming £818 bill from Orange!

Hooloovoo

For future reference, T-Mobile do not let you use any data at all when roaming unless you buy a data bundle.

Within Europe it's £10 for 50MB which I thought was reasonable given the usual roaming charges.

But the best bit is this - once you use up your bundle the data automatically stops and they don't let you use any more until you buy another bundle. They don't just let you carry on outside the bundle and start charging you £7.50 per MB which is basically what Orange have done to the OP.

Good service from T-Mobile I think.

Emy1501

grumbler wrote: »

I guess in this case the OP would have been happy to get charged £8*(90-60)=£240 extra when coming back.

And the figure 10Mb/30min is far too rough. If you check the links in the thread that I mentioned above you will find various estimations:
And all this ignores the unpredictable hidden background activity of any smartphone.

We don't know where the OP went but I suspect wherever it was a bundle would have been available ie for the US orange seem to charge £8 a mb but you can by 30mb per day for £6 so that would have been £42.

As for my figures yes they are rough but thats all you can do, I'm sure orange would have better figures and therefore could have advised OP accordingly.

Difficult to comment on whether Orange have been fair to OP without knowing more info.

wantmemoney

grumbler wrote:

I ask because I don't understand what UN have to do with roaming.

http://www.itu.int/en/about/Pages/default.aspx

Overview

ITU (International Telecommunication Union) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs.

http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/index.aspx?lang=en

http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/57.aspx

ITU acts to cut roaming charges
Unified action by ITU members to reduce "bill shock" for consumers

Geneva, 14 September 2012 - ITU members from the public and private sectors have agreed on measures to reduce ‘bill-shock’ whereby consumers are faced with unexpected and excessive charges for mobile roaming. They have approved a number of measures to empower consumers and encourage operators to lower tariffs. These measures (Recommendation ITU-T D.98) will represent the first truly international agreement taking steps towards lowering roaming costs.

Governments and regulators are recommended to explore ways to protect and empower consumers in determining their best choices among the array of options available to them in the rapidly evolving mobile marketplace, for example by making information on international mobile services clearer and more transparent, and by making it easier for consumers to choose a network abroad that offers the best value. In addition, alerts should be sent to consumers as they approach a certain cost limit for roaming, with a block placed on further usage unless authorized by the user. Market-based solutions are advocated, including cultivating regional cooperation among operators and regulators, and encouraging them to reach agreements on lowering wholesale roaming tariffs. Possible regulatory measures are also recommended, such as placing caps on prices charged to consumers for mobile roaming.

if you have never realised they existed or what their remit is you haven't missed much.......as I said

'paper tiger' talking shop.

grumbler

Yes, I have to admit that it's a news to me that UN don't have more important things to do than roaming charges. However, I am happy that for the time being ITU can only recommend and promote, not regulate like Brussels.

wantmemoney

grumbler wrote:

I am happy that for the time being ITU can only recommend and promote, not regulate like Brussels.

just out of interest what are the EU regulations that you object most to that Brussels have forced on the UK market?

antmcclure

Ok all, thanks for advise about not taking contract phones abroad and to those who kindly pointed out ( you used it, you pay for it).
Spoken with Orange, if i had not bought a going away bundle, i would have received notification of spiralling charges by txt. However, i did buy a bundle.
Long conversation short. I will have 50% rebate.
I suspect being a "good & loyal" customer, not ranting prob helped.
Lesson learned!
Travellers beware!
✈ 📵 😎

Wurtzite

grumbler wrote: »

Don't blame 'Wild West' operators. Our UK operators are experts in robbing us regardless of 'Wild West' real prices.
Orange charge £8/Mb in Australia while offering 96%:eek: discount with 500Mb bundle. This means that 1Mb costs Orange no more than 32p. My educated guess would be 15-20p that means ~4000% Orange's profit margin if you don't buy a bundle.

Don't get me wrong I include our own UK operators in that statement, as I don't think for one second that they are not charging Non EU customers a fortune in return for when they roam in the UK.

Regarding profit margins I think you are overstating it slightly but probably not by much, I imagine when setting that pricing they don't work to the basis that you will get 100% utilisation of the bundle from every user who buys the bundle.

Either way rest of the world roaming needs regulating, but to do so it can't be a one sided affair, as all countries need to be in agreement for it to work.