Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

spiro

delboy wrote: »

Can anyone advise me?just back from a 14 day holiday in Tunisia,after 12 days my mobile was disconnected.Arrived home phoned ORANGE,they informed me i had ran up £780 bill in roaming charges thats why they disconnected me and i am totally responsible for paying the bill.

How is that split between calls, texts and data? Guess most is data so best you can hope for is to try and get them to retrospectively apply a large data bundle to reduce the cost.

Next time you go on holiday try spending as much time checking phone costs as you do checking out the hotels.

redux

Dave1979 wrote: »

The new o2 travel is pretty good:

Relax. From July 2012 you can use your mobile in Europe without worrying about huge bills.

It's arguably ok for the data bundle - though a local SIM will still be a lot cheaper - but paying 50 pence to receive each call may well work out more expensive than the 7 pence a minute alternative for most typical mobile call lengths.

Some people have also mentioned the new Vodafone Eurotraveller, which will charge £3 a day for using the contract bundle abroad. That £3 fee will presumably happen even if the daily use is only one text message or one outgoing call of a minute or so.

As the Euro MPs said in their debate about the new regulation, it's about time that the mobile companies stopped behaving like a cartel which wants to feel itself exempt from rules about a single European market.

Despite that, some prices seem to be going up rather than down. Paying up to £90 a month to use the content of a contract which costs £10 or £15 a month at home is not a bargain.

And some people are being simply told what new billing method they have been switched to, without prior consultation and at only a few days notice.

If I were on Vodafone Eurotraveller, for outgoing calls likely to be under half an hour or so per day I'd use the free incoming calls with a separate callback service

Former_MSE_Becca

redux wrote: »

It's arguably ok for the data bundle - though a local SIM will still be a lot cheaper - but paying 50 pence to receive each call may well work out more expensive than the 7 pence a minute alternative for most typical mobile call lengths.

Thanks for you post Redux - I am currently looking into the O2 Travel add-on (hence why not adding it to the guide yet). It seems that receiving a call while abroad could actually cost you more than the 8 cents (+ VAT)/min EU maximum.

Will post back when I have more info,
MSE Becca

zagfles

MSE_Becca wrote: »

Thanks for you post Redux - I am currently looking into the O2 Travel add-on (hence why not adding it to the guide yet). It seems that receiving a call while abroad could actually cost you more than the 8 cents (+ VAT)/min EU maximum.

Will post back when I have more info,
MSE Becca

I thought that was OK legally if you've signed up to a roaming package? Vodafone Passport has always been above the EU maximums for very short calls (75p to receive, and 75p plus home rate to make calls).

Former_MSE_Becca

zagfles wrote: »

I thought that was OK legally if you've signed up to a roaming package? Vodafone Passport has always been above the EU maximums for very short calls (75p to receive, and 75p plus home rate to make calls).

That's what I am checking with the EU/Ofcom - it's not quite the same as Vodafone, because O2 Travel is automatically applied as soon as you start roaming, unless you opt out before you go. Whereas Vodafone is an opt in system...

Interested in everyone's thoughts on this
MSE Becca

smartphone

steveproxy wrote: »

I have a 3G phone . Is there any simple procedure to unlock it ? Suggestions of my fellow members invited.

You can find the relevant unlock code on the internet, but that is risky if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing. A lot of smaller high street phone dealers offer the service. If you're in London, there's a place called Phone Doctors at London Bridge that will do most unlocking.

eagleeye

Vectone and lycatel has launched new range of tariffs where calls can be received from 1p in selected countries.
Vectone- receive calls in USA,Canada & India for 1p /minute.

http://www.vectonemobile.co.uk/pay-as-you-go/offers/offer-1p-roaming.aspx

Lycamobile- India ,EU countries call for 7p/60minutes.

http://www.lycamobile.co.uk/international-roaming-rates/en

the_positron

Beware of the none disclosure of VAT. I don't know about the other companies but orange quote £5.10 per month for reduced cost roaming in Europe (as stated by Martin). What neither they nor Martin tell you is that this is subject to VAT. Alright it's only £1 but what about the principle? Moreover if you sign up for the data roaming bundle at £3 per day and use it for 15 days that's a hidden £9 in charges. It's the fact that they don't disclose it that annoys me more than that they charge it.

Former_MSE_Becca

the_positron wrote: »

Beware of the none disclosure of VAT. I don't know about the other companies but orange quote £5.10 per month for reduced cost roaming in Europe (as stated by Martin). What neither they nor Martin tell you is that this is subject to VAT. Alright it's only £1 but what about the principle? Moreover if you sign up for the data roaming bundle at £3 per day and use it for 15 days that's a hidden £9 in charges. It's the fact that they don't disclose it that annoys me more than that they charge it.

Hi Positron, I've just had a quick look at the Ts&Cs of the Europe Traveller bundle, and it says that prices include VAT. I will double check this with Orange though to confirm.

http://www1.orange.co.uk/mobileterms/pdfs/PAYM-Europe-Traveller-Bundles-terms-and-conditions-20110104.pdf

Many thanks,
MSE Becca

buglawton

As I posted in another thread recently, I used the new "o2 Travel" deal recently on a simple new Pay As You Go SIM in France. No hint of a contract, minimum spend or bolt-on especially needed.

It worked very well, with a text telling me that the £1.99 would be debited from last top-up for the 25MB usage that day. On one day that I used up the 25MB, I got a 2nd text inviting me to pay another £1.99 for another 25MB. This makes it a better deal than the punitive ones that charge big bucks after the daily limit is exceeded - or simply cut data off.