Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

pjsmiffy

T mobile site list the Canaries among there exclusions to there euro roaming package. This is not replicated in the main write up.
I guess that the other networks are the same.

With that in mind I need to find out a deal to use my phone. Considering putting a PAYG micro SIM in it with £10 credit in it or buy a micro SIM out there (something like libara or nomi here in the uk). Ether way voicemail will be off and so will roaming data.

I have found a free sat nav app that lets me pre load the maps.

Whitemonk

confused_roamer wrote: »

Hi

Just wondering if anyone can help me - I recently bought a TravelTalk SIM as I'm travelling around Europe a lot. I was assured that the SIM is a UK (O2) mobile number and calls to it would be included in my wife's Vodaphone package.

My wife called me a number of times while I've been away and the calls were not taking from her minutes - they were charged at a pretty hefty rate and she got quite a large bill.

Can anyone explain this?

thanks in advance...

Apologies if this has been discussed before, but my search has come up with your post

After seeing that Traveltalk was quoted on MSE's site, it seemed a good bet. A clincher for me was the following quote on their website:

"Traveltalk gives you a UK mobile number and anyone calling you will pay local UK mobile rates."

I assumed that this would mean that those had "UK mobile minutes" included in their bundles would enjoy free calls. It would appear that not all "UK mobile numbers" are born equal and that 07882 numbers are excluded and attract different rates from different operators and landlines.

When I put the SIM into my mobile, it displayed Vodaphone as the network provider, but I guess calls to my Traveltalk number will be chargeable to most callers.

I also found this on the Simply-Fone site:

Q. Will it be expensive for others to call me?
A. Calls made to your Simply Travel SIM card may be charged as follows:

Calls to the 07822xxx number:
BT - Peak time: 18 pence per minute
BT - Off-peak: 12 pence per minute
BT - Weekend: 8 pence per minute

UK Mobile networks
Most networks will charge between 20 - 30 pence per minute We advise customers to check with their telephone provider for up to date charges.

So those that call 07822 numbers could get a nasty surprise. Just wondering if its worth starting another thread/sticky to warn prospective purchasers of these SIMs of this situation

daveg99

If, like me, you have successfully used a Traveltalk SIM internationally to minimise your roaming costs elsewhere in the world, you may be interested to know that you cannot trust Auracall's customer support to give you the right advice before travelling to the USA. There are special requirements which apply in the States.

The same SIM worked successfully for me in China Australia Thailand & India in 2012 but when in 2013 I checked with them whether I was all set for the USA, all support did was quote me a different PIN to use (your regular PIN # prefixed by a 2). They did not point out (despite being well aware) that in 2012 they had sold me a SIM that did not have a "USA profile" (whatever that means). I was led to believe that by inserting the extra 2 in the PIN I would acquire the correct profile. Sadly not the case & the calls I made on Travel talk before discovering my error ended up costing 5 times as much as roaming on O2 did!!! I had taken my regular phone along just in case. Not exactly the result I desired from this project, so I ended up considerably out of pocket on the deal.

Don't be fooled - like I was - into believing Auracall customer service will have your best interests at heart. Their focus is merely on deflecting complaints, minimising refunds & laughing all the way to the bank while sneering at those of us who cannot match their grasp of the technicalities involved! Be warned.

Whitemonk

daveg99 wrote: »

Don't be fooled - like I was - into believing Auracall customer service will have your best interests at heart. Their focus is merely on deflecting complaints, minimising refunds & laughing all the way to the bank while sneering at those of us who cannot match their grasp of the technicalities involved! Be warned.

Just tested their SIM (in the UK) found that it received calls okay, but did not receive two texts after waiting a day and did not respond to their 803 balance number.

I will email them and report back on my findings.

Since they (Auracall and TravelTalk) quote MSE on their webpages, I think Martin Lewis needs to be made aware if their service is as bad as you say

daveg99

Whitemonk wrote: »

I think Martin Lewis needs to be made aware if their service is as bad as you say

Thanks, Whitemonk. Couldn't see how to draw matters to ML's attention via this site. Understandably, he can't afford the time to respond to individual emails. Any suggestions?

diamonds

This is exactly why I went with EE(4G), a 24 month contract with the availability of the roaming £5 add on to use all my minutes and texts in Europe and a few other countries, no faffing about with different UK sims/numbers or people getting billed XX per minute outside contract allowances or extortionate payg rates to call me on a 'supposed' UK 07 mobile number (thanks Ofcom).


All that for £21 a month unlimited UK calls and texts, and Orange/T-Mobile staff knowing they are answering a call from a EE4G customers are REALLY helpful !!
£5 roaming add on bundle per month as needed roaming...

http://help.ee.co.uk/system/selfservice.controller?CONFIGURATION=1016&PARTITION_ID=1&secureFlag=false&segment=Consumer&TIMEZONE_OFFSET=&CMD=VIEW_ARTICLE&ARTICLE_ID=55647

If you have a 4GEE phone plan with roaming
You get unlimited roaming minutes and texts when you’re in Europe and selected countries, and a special rate for data. Great value, no hassle and complete peace of mind.
Here are the countries that are covered:

Europe


Austria Azores Belgium Bulgaria Canary Islands Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France French Guyana Finland Germany Gibraltar Greece Guadeloupe Guernsey Hungary Iceland Ireland Isle of Man Italy Jersey Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madeira Malta Martinique Monaco Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Reunion Romania San Marino Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Vatican



Zone A


Armenia Australia China Colombia Ecuador India Israel Macedonia Martinique Mexico Peru Russia Turkey USA

redux

diamonds wrote: »

This is exactly why I went with EE(4G), a 24 month contract with the availability of the roaming £5 add on to use all my minutes and texts in Europe and a few other countries, no faffing about with different UK sims/numbers or people getting billed XX per minute outside contract allowances or extortionate payg rates to call me on a 'supposed' UK 07 mobile number (thanks Ofcom).

Fine, but not everyone's level of use in the UK is going to justify commitment to £20 to £30 a month for a contract, whether or not it has decent roaming arrangements.

Now that PAYG rates for calls within the UK are from 3 pence a minute, and it's possible for people being a bit canny to make calls for about or even under a penny a minute, people who subsist on that sort of mobile cost will be happy enough that there are prospects of doing the same in some countries abroad.

diamonds

Well 50 mins, Blackberry services and £5 unlimited texts my Orange bills were £25 a month, EE was a no brainer since Orange AGAIN screwed me on the contract as per EVERY contract, France Telecom software is designed to start adding costs. At least EE(4G) is T-Mobiles software...

I pay less and get more including roaming, I am a high user and from 17/7 EE will be doing £21 contracts as standard, this will help a lot of people even roaming once a year on their hols, with minimum faffing, and that is cheap for some people - given fav rolling contract is Virgin via T-Mobile at £15 for unlimited calls and texts with NO handset and £6 x 24 = £144 = a Sony Xperia SP which retails at £300 pay from Orange/TMob.

Redux sometimes the fuller picture is more cost saving so don't discount it, I am just posting to let others know other non faffing cheap all round option

kelty

hi i have had problems using the sims2go sim while on holiday
in turkey, normally whenever i have used it before it connected fine but this time when i tried to make a call i kept getting the message 'this agent id is not enabled' i tried all the usual things but nothing worked. strangely i was able to find out how much credit i had on the sim and when i checked my account online it showed each call i had attempted.

i contact sims2go daily during my holiday but so far i have received no replies at all from customer services. i have used this sim before in turkey and i wandered if anybody has any ideas or will i just have to give in and accept the lose of both card and credit.

Whitemonk

Whitemonk wrote: »

Just tested their SIM (in the UK) found that it received calls okay, but did not receive two texts after waiting a day and did not respond to their 803 balance number.

I will email them and report back on my findings.

Received a short reply: stated that receiving texts from Virgin, Orange and EE is a known issue and that some handsets find 803 too short.

EEEUUGH :eek:

I will get a prepaid Telstra SIM when I get to Australia

Judging by the previous post these SIMs can be a PITA and I will NOT be taking a mention on MSE as a recommendation for a product again :mad::money::mad: