three mobile - roaming in europe

Mistermeaner

hi i have a contract with 3 mobile for 12gb a month plus texts and calls etc that costs £13/month

it expires 28th jul 2024

Just checked and my plan doesn't include roaming in europe - i'll be leaving 3 at the end of the contract as there are way better deals out there but thats another subject

Im going away to france for 3 weeks 20th jul - 10th august

Having a look at options I can

a) do nothing and they will charge me £2 a day 

b) buy a go roam europe pass various options but basically £12/week so only slightly cheaper than the default charge per day

I cant from their website figure out how to buy multiple passes though or how/when they activate... i.e. if i wanted 3 X 1 week passes how do i buy these and how do they activate? Like if i bought 1 today does it activate automatically once i go abroad?

What if i use it for 2 days then turn my phone off for 5 days does it use 7 days of the pass or just 2?

I'm kind of leaning towards i cant be bothered with the hassle of the pass as i am unlikely to use my phone everyday and dont wnat to be faffing ordering extra passes etc. wjhile i am away

Thoughts welcomed


Thanks

Frozen_up_north

I would just take the small loss and ditch 3 in favour of a 30 day SIM only contract. There are several deals which include EU roaming, GiffGaff (O2 network, owned by O2) and 1p Mobile (EE network) come to mind. Switch networks well ahead of roaming.

Mistermeaner

ah good idea i hadn't thought of that - so switch my provider while in the last month of my contract as all 3 can do is bill me the £13 for july and i'll save more than that with a roaming included plan

seems obvious now you say it!

jbrassy

As the above posters have said, it might be easier just to switch networks. 

Smarty offer free roaming in the EU up to 12GB a month (and they run off the Three network). They normally have some good deals. You can currently get 50GB for £8. Smarty are also quite good as it is pay as you go (PAYG), so you can leave at any time. 

https://smarty.co.uk/all-plans

ID Mobile also offer free roaming in the EU (and run off Three network), however they are probably better if you're planning on buying a new contract phone. 

The only other option is to switch from Three pay monthly to Three PAYG. Three still allow free roaming in the EU with their PAYG sims. You could ring Three and ask them to switch you over to PAYG? 

flaneurs_lobster

jbrassy said:

 You could ring Three and ask them to switch you over to PAYG? 

You could try but it won't work, last message here from the Three Community pages (posted a week ago)

https://community.three.co.uk/t5/Account-and-services/Switching-from-Pay-monthly-SIM-contract-to-PAYG-SIM/td-p/14173/page/4

Mistermeaner

Hi in case anyone interested I called 3 to cancel my contract and get a pac code, they made me an offer to stay that I declined , then got a 2nd offer which i accepted ;

2 year contract , unlimited texts and calls, 25gb of data, 70 days anywhere in world roaming for £7 a month. CPI based price increase in aPril 

I took deal as was all of £1 a month cheaper then smarty mobile who were offering 50gn of data with roaming and no contract for £8 month - I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of switching provider 

hope this helps others - never accept the first offer !! 

flaneurs_lobster

Well done, good deal.