Calling from the UK to UK Phone which is Abroad

mattgod69

I think I am being given incorrect advice by Tesco Mobile. When I called the other day they told me that whilst I was away in Monaco that anyone calling me from the UK would be charged 25p per minute for making the call. I always understood that when you are abroad with the UK mobile then the cost of the international bit is always picked up by the person that is abroad not by the person making the call from the UK to the UK number. Is this correct?
I contacted them by email following this conversation and explained the above and I emailed me as follows:
Dear Matt
Thank you for contacting Tesco Mobile Customer Service.
I appreciate your concern regarding the call charges provided to you over the call. Please be assured, I'll certainly help you with this concern.
Matt, I'd like you to know that if you are in the UK and call any number which is abroad then you'll be charged as per the call charges for calling a international number and the person who'll get the call will be charged as per the roaming rates for receiving calls.
For e.g. If you are in the UK and call a Tesco mobile number which is currently in Spain then you'll be charged 25p/min for making that call and the person who is using a Tesco Mobile SIM in Spain will be charged 0.04p/min to receive the calls. I hope this clears.
Further, you can get information on call charges for making a call from the UK to abroad by visiting the below link:
<http://www.tescomobile.com/help-and-support/1084-international/1088-calling-abroad/calling-abroad-to-the-uk&gt;
I hope this helps.
Yours Sincerely
Stanley
Tesco Mobile Customer Service
I'm am still not sure if this is correct as I always understood that a UK phone cannot be charged any more than if it is in the UK because it is not always immediately obvious that the phone you are calling is abroad. Of course the situation may have changed from what I always thought was the status on this!!?
Any comments greatly appreciated.
Matt

grumbler

mattgod69 wrote: »

I think I am being given incorrect advice by Tesco Mobile. When I called the other day they told me that whilst I was away in Monaco that anyone calling me from the UK would be charged 25p per minute for making the call.

Rubbish.
However, you will be charged for receiving the call.

I always understood that when you are abroad with the UK mobile then the cost of the international bit is always picked up by the person that is abroad not by the person making the call from the UK to the UK number. Is this correct?

Yes.

Stanley is an idiot that aren't uncommon in CS.

Ian011

If this is what Tesco mobile are actually charging then you must complain to Ofcom.

How it should work is this:

UK landline or UK registered mobile phone located in the UK calling a UK registered mobile phone:
Caller pays normal rate to call a UK mobile number irrespective of where the called mobile phone is located. The caller does not pay a different rate as the called party moves around the world.

UK registered mobile phone receiving a call:
If the phone is located within the UK there is no charge to receive the call.
If the phone is located outside the UK the call recipient pays roaming rates. Within Europe these are capped. Outside Europe these can be extortionate.

UK registered mobile phone making a call while located outside of the UK:
The caller will be charged roaming rates. Within Europe these are capped. Outside Europe these can be extortionate.

ballyblack

Tesco's advice does not sound correct

I think Tesco's Stanley is confused

mattgod69

Thanks guys.... will contact ofcom.


Regards.


Matt

mattgod69

Hi everyone


I just phoned Ofcom and it appears that some mobile operators do charge for you calling a UK phone which is abroad. This was news to me and was actually news to the Ofcom operator who needed to ask your supervisor as his understanding was similar to mine and yours. I'm not sure when this changed or even if they are allowed to do this. I suspect that if Ofcom are aware then they are not breaking any law and he said that some mobile companies may not charge but this is a commercial decision that they take.


I have logged a complaint and it may be that more people need to log the same complaint as it is quite important in my view that people are aware of this issue and thank this gets changed!!


Matt

Ian011

The question is not whether the caller using their phone in the UK is charged for making a call but whether they are charged a different rate depending on whether the UK registered mobile phone that they are calling is located inside or outside the UK. There should not be a difference.

mattgod69

Ian


Sorry I should have clarified....


I was told that the cost of the call would be charged separately and not included any monthly allowance. The charges quoted by Tesco mobile are the same as if you're outside your allowance but I thought that calling a UK mobile regardless of where it is would be taken out of your allowance.


I of course realise there is a charge for calling a mobile phone, but my point was that it is charged separately and outside from the monthly included allowance that someone may or may not have.


Matt

Ian011 wrote: »

The question is not whether the caller using their phone in the UK is charged for making a call but whether they are charged a <em>different rate</em> depending on whether the UK registered mobile phone that they are calling is located inside or outside the UK. There should not be a difference.

grumbler

mattgod69 wrote: »

Hi everyone


I just phoned Ofcom and it appears that some mobile operators do charge for you calling a UK phone which is abroad. This was news to me and was actually news to the Ofcom operator who needed to ask your supervisor as his understanding was similar to mine and yours. I'm not sure when this changed or even if they are allowed to do this. I suspect that if Ofcom are aware then they are not breaking any law and he said that some mobile companies may not charge but this is a commercial decision that they take.

I think Ofcom told you rubbish as well.

It's just common sense really - as you pointed out in you first post.

It's not uncommon for Ofcom not only to give incorrect and contradicting information, but even publish it on their website.

What are you complaining about? Have anybody been actually charged extra for calling a UK number abroad?

mattgod69

Hi grumbler


Thank you for the post. I'm not complaining as such just seeking clarification, I was shocked when I was told this last week as it was total news to me that you might be charged outside your allowance for calling a UK mobile if the actual mobile is physically outside of the UK.


I am not aware of someone has been charged separately but I think it is important that everybody knows where they are so that there were no nasty surprises.


It seems Ofcom are providing odd advice!! I have to say it is a bit of a worry that they do not know the rules, that is after all what they are there for!

grumbler

IMHO, Ofcom is probably the most incompetent regulator in our country.

Just look at this mess with IOM, Jersey and other islands mobile numbers that are almost indistinguishable from UK mobile numbers but are often charged differently when calling them.