Vodafone Global Roaming

Effervescent

Vodafone have sent me a text saying that they will now be charging me £5 a day for Global Roaming. Basically this means outside of Europe in order to use my included text, minutes, data I have to pay them £5 a day. They say this has been set up automatically. How can they do this when they haven't asked if they can change my contract? I have asked for Global Roaming to be taken off but they say they can't do this as its a default

bengalknights

You will only be charged this if using your phone and opting in when abroad.

Otherwise it will be the higher charges

boatman

https://support.vodafone.co.uk/Using-our-network/Going-and-calling-abroad/Vodafone-Global-Roaming/965160802/What-is-Vodafone-Global-Roaming-and-how-do-I-use-it.htm

You pay only on the days you use your phone to make a call, send a text or use data.

There’s no charge to receive calls or texts across all our Roam-free and Roam-further destinations.

Effervescent

They won't let me opt out so if I want to make one 10 second phone call when in USA I have to pay £5. They did not warn me about this chage to my contract. I had previously opted out of Passport

Effervescent

I only want to pay for calls I make. I don't use data or text so this is very expensive

neuromancer

I've run into this same problem - I was in Japan and I sent a single SMS to a UK number, and Vodafone have charged me £5 for the privilege of taking that SMS from my UK allowance. I would perfectly happily pay 30p or something for the SMS, but £5 is crazy, when I have no intention of sending any more messages that same day. I've just spoken to Vodafone support and they tell me there's no way to opt out - even though in the My Vodafone app, it always asks me if I want to sign up for the £5 Roam Further option, and I always click No!

I've had it up to here with Vodafone and over the years I've given them plenty of chances, but I'll be leaving them when my contract expires. Does anyone know if the other big networks do the same as them when it comes to roaming, or are they more reasonable?

malky39

I have just ordered a sim only deal on vodafone, but i am now considering cancelling now i have found this out as i am travelling to the US on two occasions in the next year and it seams absured that to send say one sms each day for a week it would cost me £35

PHK

Effervescent wrote: »

They won't let me opt out so if I want to make one 10 second phone call when in USA I have to pay £5. They did not warn me about this chage to my contract. I had previously opted out of Passport

Playing devils advocate. If you are only going to make one very short call or send one text then it's pretty pointless taking your phone thousands of miles.

You might say that people need to contact you. Well you'll pay for receiving calls when roaming but with this add-on it's free to receive even when you haven't paid £5 that day. And it includes in country calls.

I think for most people this represents reasonable value, prevents unexpected bills. If you are an ardent money saver then look into a local SIM, or change to a tariff that has inclusive calls in countries you visit. But these will also not be suitable for very short use.

Yorkshire_John

World Traveller was Vodafone's previous Roaming service but it was possible to opt out by texting REMOVE to 40508. I opted out in October 2016 and assumed that was an end to it. However, Vodafone have moved the goal posts and introduced Global Roaming (incl Roam Further) as it's replacement and it's mandatory for Pay Monthly Contract customers. They have effectively changed the contract without my consent.
I recently returned from India where I made just 8 texts to elderly relatives over 6 days in the belief that I would just pay for what I used because I was opted out. I was wrong and found I'd been charged £36 for those 8 texts.
I complained to Vodafone and they refunded the difference, £33.20 so the real cost of the 8 texts was £2.80 which I am happy to pay for as I use my phone rarely when on holiday.
I asked to be opted out of Global Roaming but they told me it was not possible and was the policy of Vodafone to apply this to Pay Monthly customers.
What really angered me was that I was told by 2 customer service representatives and a supervisor that Global Roaming was a requirement imposed by Ofcom. This was quite obviously an untruth because I rang Ofcom to see if this was the case. They told me it was not and they have no influence on charges outside Europe and it is purely a Vodafone commercial decision.
It's been said on this forum that Global Roaming represents reasonable value. Well I beg to differ. If you're on holiday for 2 weeks and make one text per day that will amount to £84 on top of you monthly contract. How is that using your free texts and minutes on your UK plan?
It's notable though that Global Roaming Roam Further is not mandatory with PAYG customers. I've been a loyal customer for 9 years but in my opinion this is bordering on extortion and I won't be renewing my Vodafone contract.

alf

For calls and text back to the UK get a 3 sim PAYG. Vodafone global roaming is great is you want to make local calls in your destination country eg. US to US calls, as this is included in your allowance, any other operator would charge you roaming fees as much as £2 per minute.