All you need to know about roaming charges abroad

What are roaming charges?

Roaming charges are put in place when the network detects that you are abroad and puts on extra rates on top of what you normally pay. Charges for making calls, receiving a voicemail, picking it up, sending and receiving texts and pictures and of course using the Internet and downloading or streaming.

What are the charges for roaming abroad?

You could be forgiven for thinking you won’t be charged in Europe for roaming charges because they were banned when we were in the European Union. However since Brexit it’s all change.

Companies can now charge and some say they won’t at the moment. You will need to check whether your provider is charging and from when. From the end of January 2022 a number of providers have started to bring in charges. Some providers now charge customers around £2 per day to make or receive calls, send texts or go online when travelling.

At the end of June 2022, statutory protections designed specifically to protect customers when roaming fell away.

Many companies have voluntarily continued to send customers alerts when they start roaming. But today (20/07/23) Ofcom announced that it has been considering whether to introduce new roaming alert protections for consumers and small businesses:

Ofcom research found:

that nearly one in five holidaymakers (19%) are unaware they could face extra charges when using their mobile abroad and a similar proportion (18%) said they do not research roaming charges before travelling.

Many people rely on roaming alerts – 94% of travellers are aware of them and more than eight in ten (84%) read them. Of those who read their alerts, 94% rate them as either essential or helpful when they first begin to roam and 72% modify their behaviour when they see one – such as connecting to Wi-Fi (29%), using less data (26%) and switching off data roaming (24%).

“Mandatory roaming alerts

To make sure people have the information they need when they need it, Ofcom is proposing new rules and guidance that would require all UK mobile companies to tell their customers when they start roaming, how much it will cost them and any action they can take to limit their spend.^[2]

Under these proposals, mobile customers would get personalised alerts including details on:

• • Roaming charges that will apply including specifying any fair use data limits and the time period that applies to any daily charges.
  • Any mobile bill limit the customer has in place.
  • Where to find free-to-access additional detail on roaming charges, fair use policies and how to monitor, reduce and limit spend.”

The consultation closed on 28 September 2023. A spokesperson for Ofcom said “We are reviewing responses to our consultation and plan to publish our decision early next year.”

Update From 1 October 2024, mobile providers need to notify customers when they start roaming.

Since 1 October 2018, all mobile providers must give the option to limit the cost of bills to new customers and to any existing customers who agree to extend their contract or enter into a new contract.

12 top tips to keep roaming charges down

1) Since July 2014 you can use a different provider. You can have a contract with one operator, for national services, and another with a separate operator, for roaming, so check if this may be a better option.

2) For safety turn roaming off! Phones will always try and connect to any signal so you could be connected without even knowing!  When out and about make use of any free Wi-Fi, saving picking up voicemails for example.

3) If you’re not using Wi-Fi, avoid using data-heavy activities such as watching videos, updating social media with photos or downloading music. If you are checking emails, avoid opening large attachments.

4) Most providers now offer roaming add ons at a discounted rate which may be worth purchasing. So this allows you extra allowance at no further charge. Depends how much you think you will use your phone abroad. Check with your provider before you go as to how these work and that they apply to the country you are visiting. Also confirm when they will be activated on your account.

5) Switch off the data roaming facility on your phone and put it back on when you actually know you want to use it. If you don’t do this before you leave the UK, your smartphone will automatically seek out an internet connection when you reach your destination and you may start using data without realising it. Make sure that functions such as wifi assist have been also been turned off as they put you on the network without informing the user.

6) Check with your provider that you can turn off voicemail if you don’t think you will need it and be sure to put it back on when you arrive back.

7) If you think you will need to use your phone at sea, check with your provider before you travel how much it will cost to use your phone via a satellite connection.

9) Explore buying a local pay-as-you-go SIM card when you arrive. You’ll have a different ‘phone number but you will only pay local prices. Roaming charges will still apply if you want to make a call or send a text back to your home country using a local SIM. Check with your operator to make sure you can use another SIM with your ‘phone.

10) Use free wi fi where it is available such as the hotel, bars and cafes etc and make sure you are logged in.

11) If you need to phone anyone use apps like Skype and Facetime which are free! Think about what you might like to listen to or read before you go on holiday. Download everything using your own network before you travel!

12) Keep an eye on your provider’s free use policy.  Some providers add a charge for using all data allowance (although still free for calls and texts).

13) Before you travel check with your provider if roaming charges will apply in the country you are visiting and if so what the costs and usage limits are.

14) Ask your provider if you have the option to apply a spending cap to your roaming data, or set a mobile bill limit for the time you are away from the UK.

15) Check if your provider has any offers to help you reduce your roaming charges. For instance, a daily or weekly charge that allows you to use your usual home allowance or the option to buy roaming add-ons for a set number of calls, texts, or data.

16) Turn off your data roaming on a ferry. See Will my mobile phone work on board the ferry? You need to be able to log in to use an onboard service. There is an arrangement between Brittany Ferries and Skybridge to link passengers automatically to the satellite communications provider’s service if you have not switched off data roaming.

17) And don’t forget your children’s phones too!

Further help with holidays

Booking, taking and complaining about holidays

Further help with telecoms

All you need to know about complaining to telecom providers

How to complain about Data Roaming

Follow the Top 20 Tips on how to complain effectively

Complain by email to the CEO using ceoemail for the contact details.

If you believe that you were not given the information needed see A Guide to The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and quote from there.

If you can’t see how you could have incurred the charges, make  Subject Access Request. This means they have to give you all the information they have on you.

Ombudsman Services says that almost 30% of complaints they receive about mobile phone services are about billing and data roaming. It’s often the case that customers do not fully understand the implications of opting out of the cap or read the notifications so it asks for proof from providers they have been sent.

Those they take on generally fall into one of the following categories:

*   disputed data roaming charges or “bill shock”;

*   service failures while roaming; and

*   a company failing to cap a customer’s usage or send usage notifications.

It says, “If the provider has followed the rules then the customer usually has to pay. It is sometimes possible to get the provider to reduce the bill, but there is no compunction on them to do so.”

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