Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

ruthd23

I ordered a SIM from them in March which was intended for my son to use on a trip to New York in late May.
It got near his departure time and the SIM hadn't arrived - I emailed several times (no phone numbers available for them) and eventually they posted it 3 working days before he was due to set off - it arrived the day before his trip. Although I had stated it was for US use, they sent me a Global SIM ('global' being a misnomer as it doesn't work in the US) then tried to get me to set up some kind of complicated piggy-back arrangement when he got there.
I just told them it hadn't been used and wasn't suitable for its intended purpose, and they'd left it too late to issue a replacement.
They agreed they'd refund me (after up to a further 28 days of holding on to my money, having charged my credit card in March) if I sent it back to them 'signed-for', which I did, so I know it arrived. Since then they haven't even bothered to respond to any of my emails.
Please be warned there is no alternative mode of getting in touch with them, and I still am £45 out of pocket. I have today sent a letter to the financial 'agony uncle' of the Independent so I am hoping something may come of that, but if you have any choice, I would say deal with a different supplier.

Ruth

mrcamp

If you paid with a credit card, see if you can do a charge-back.

ruthd23 wrote: »

I ordered a SIM from them in March which was intended for my son to use on a trip to New York in late May.
It got near his departure time and the SIM hadn't arrived - I emailed several times (no phone numbers available for them) and eventually they posted it 3 working days before he was due to set off - it arrived the day before his trip. Although I had stated it was for US use, they sent me a Global SIM ('global' being a misnomer as it doesn't work in the US) then tried to get me to set up some kind of complicated piggy-back arrangement when he got there.
I just told them it hadn't been used and wasn't suitable for its intended purpose, and they'd left it too late to issue a replacement.
They agreed they'd refund me (after up to a further 28 days of holding on to my money, having charged my credit card in March) if I sent it back to them 'signed-for', which I did, so I know it arrived. Since then they haven't even bothered to respond to any of my emails.
Please be warned there is no alternative mode of getting in touch with them, and I still am £45 out of pocket. I have today sent a letter to the financial 'agony uncle' of the Independent so I am hoping something may come of that, but if you have any choice, I would say deal with a different supplier.

Ruth

gkhng81

I don't disagree with Ruth above. There were mostly mixed reviews, in fact leaning towards the negative side on UK2Abroad. The only reason for writing the review above is mainly to give further details on those still considering to use it.

Khim.

Val_G_2

Hello,
I do agree that the best option is to get the local sim card of the country that you visit as otherwise you may end up receiving a 3 if not 4 digit bill!! I love vacations but hate phone charges, so was glad to hear the news when they announced a cap on roaming charges! However, I was surprised that nowhere has reported about a recent parliament event where besides other solutions; Christopher Knight (American guest) said that he would get rid of the roaming charges.

CockneyBrum

Unless i've missed it searching through Google, I can't find any mention of Bruin's SaverSIM:

http://www.saversim.com/

The game changer is it's free to receive calls in most of Europe and the USA, which I've never seen before. Outbound calls are also up to 80 per cent cheaper.

Looks like it's £20 with £10 worth of calls included.

londonbridge

hi all,

i'm on long term contract in the US, but looking for a UK mobile number/SIM with zero or very low maintenance cost (prevent it from expiring).

planning to use it for receiving occassional SMS and phone call in emergencies, so per min charge is not as important as being able to keep the SIM/number alive.

any recommendations? so far, only found TRUPHONE which i just need to SMS every 90 days to keep it alive!! which makes it the cheapest annual option right now.

Neetie

You can go online and get a free Tesco Sim card.When you get it call 282 to activate it and put money on it at this point opt for the Tesco lite tariff.(8p per min for calls and 4p for texts) you may have to us it once in 6 months to keep it live. You can also get a free Sim from Ikea family mobile same rates as Tesco lite. Hope this helps.

456steve456

Hi,
i want to use mobile data in France which seems very expensive, I know I can use wifi, but mobile data is still important, more so than calls. Anyone suggest something resonably priced, checked out Martins mobile suggestions but still +++ expensive for data,
Thanks,
Steve

coopsxx

Hello,

I am going to be going to the USA soon and am wanting to use the internet on my phone when out and about. I know on T-mobile it is extremely costly and there are no boosters to benefit a high internet user.

Is there any way I can do this without it costing me a fortune??

For example, can I buy a sim card with a data plan or something for when I am over there? (I usually go once a year, so will use it again).

I know about Wi-Fi and will use that when possible, but it not always is.

Thanks,

mrcamp

Your options have been discussed to death in this forum, and specifically this thread. Bottom line - your 2 main options are tmobile and AT&T. I'd suggest you visit their payg websites and search this forum.

coopsxx wrote: »

Hello,

I am going to be going to the USA soon and am wanting to use the internet on my phone when out and about. I know on T-mobile it is extremely costly and there are no boosters to benefit a high internet user.

Is there any way I can do this without it costing me a fortune??

For example, can I buy a sim card with a data plan or something for when I am over there? (I usually go once a year, so will use it again).

I know about Wi-Fi and will use that when possible, but it not always is.

Thanks,