Preparing for holiday? Beware the hidden roaming charges
The ‘Roam Like at Home’ law has been introduced after EU officials agreed in 2015 to force operators to offer standardised service within the region. In a statement, the European Commission said: “Each time a European citizen crossed an EU border, be it for holidays, work, studies or just for a day, they had to worry about using their mobile phones and a high phone bill from the roaming charges when they came home”. eu roaming and hidden charges
But while the new rules will curb many of the extra costs faced by mobile users, it’s emerged in the small print that many who have unlimited or competitively priced data allowances CAN still be charged extra roaming fees above a certain level of usage.
European bodies have widely promoted the move as a complete abolition of roaming charges. For example, a Facebook post by the European Commission earlier this month shared by more than 40,000 people promised “15 June 2017 will be the end of roaming charges in the EU”. It added: “From that day, you can use phone (including data) when travelling in the EU and pay the same prices as you do at home.”
That means that, whether you want to call, text or download data, you should pay exactly the same price in Europe as at home. So if your contract allows you to download 1GB of data a month, send 500 texts and make 100 minutes of calls, the charge will be the same in Croatia as in Ireland.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at price comparison site uSwitch, said: “The rules mean travellers can call, text and more importantly use their mobile data at no extra cost, regardless of the EU country they’re visiting.”
The regulations are welcome and should prevent any bill shock on your return from Europe to the UK, but holidaymakers should still watch out for unexpected charges.
Alex Neill, managing director of home products and services at consumer group Which?, said:
“Many will reap the benefits of these changes and will no longer be put off from making calls abroad.
“However, it is important that you take a close look at what is or is not included in your current mobile deal. Not knowing what’s included could lead to some surprising charges on your next bill.”
Be aware of roaming charges in non-EU countries in Europe
The regulations cover all 28 EU member states, but if you are travelling to a non-EU country roaming charges could still apply.
Remember, too, that non-EU countries include popular destinations such as the Channel Islands, Switzerland and Turkey.
However, it is worth checking with your mobile phone operator because some firms include more than 28 countries in their roaming territories, though the countries vary. Vodafone, for example, includes Turkey, but others do not.
Consumers should also bear in mind that as of August 1 roaming charges for countries outside the EU will incur VAT at 20 per cent on top of normal network rates.
It is also worth noting that roaming charges do not cover calls and texts from UK mobiles to the EU. If you want to call Spain from Scotland, it will cost more than a call within the country.
You will be charged in the EU as you would in the UK for exceeding agreed minutes, texts and data. As mobile phone firms charge different rates for breaching contract limits the costs can be high.
Fair usage limits apply to roaming and your mobile phone company might even apply a lower cap in the EU than at home.
In other words, you will have a smaller data allowance and could rack up high charges if you exceed the limit.
If the ‘fair use’ policy DOES apply, your use of your allowance abroad for free could be capped on a sliding scale
If you’ve unlimited or “very cheap” data you could be charged for data roaming – but in practice you’d still get a certain allowance free each month, and would only be charged after you hit that cap.
To calculate that data cap, BEREC says you should divide the cost of your monthly tariff excluding VAT by the wholesale rate (€7.70/GB from 15 June – £6.49/GB at today’s rate), then multiply by two. So using the same top-pick Three example above, that would be £7.50 (the £9/mth price, excl VAT), divided by £6.49, times two – which works out at a limit of 2.31GB of free roaming, just over half the 4GB allowance you’d have at home.
“Confusingly each network applies a different fair usage policy, depending on your data allowance and the plan you’re signed up to,” said Doku.
“As for the impact Brexit might have on roaming, this is still unclear, though any plans to revert back to a world of roaming at an extra charge would likely be unpalatable for consumers, and so seems an unlikely manoeuvre,” Doku said.
To ensure you do not rack up additional charges there a few tips you should follow when preparing to head to Europe.
Check your provider’s roaming territories as some firms do not impose roaming charges in countries outside the EU.
If roaming charges apply to your destination, consider a travel bolt-on. It is also a good idea to use free Wi-Fi whenever possible.
Frequent travellers or business travelers might consider a tariff that offers roaming at no additional cost across multiple destinations.
Many consumers have a roaming cap that helps keep spending in check. Whatever you do, do not be tempted to remove the roaming cap, which is designed to protect you from a bill shock – once this is lifted, charges can easily rack up and you could face a sky-high bill.
If you have unlimited or “very cheap” data, then exceed your free roaming cap, your operator will be permitted to charge you a maximum of €7.70/GB (the wholesale rate) plus VAT to continue using data – so £7.79/GB by today’s exchange rate.
This maximum charge is then scheduled to fall each year – to €6/GB + VAT as of 1 January 2018, €4.5/GB + VAT in 2019, €3.5/GB + VAT in 2020, €3/GB + VAT in 2021 and €2.5/GB + VAT in 2022.
Steve Nowottny, news and features editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, said:
“Of course, any action to curb the extra costs travellers face when using their phone in Europe is welcome, and many will see bills drop when the new rules come into force in June. But our analysis shows it may be premature to declare ‘the end of roaming charges’. In fact, the small print leaves the door wide open for firms to continue charging users extra.
“It remains to be seen whether mobile providers take advantage of this loophole. But as the rules stand, it’s entirely possible many with competitively priced mobile bills will have to continue paying additional roaming fees to use their full UK data allowance abroad.”
‘Fair usage policy’ and roaming charges eu roaming and hidden charges
The European Commission website has a page of FAQs which includes details of the small print of the roaming changes. It says: “If at home you have unlimited mobile data or very cheap mobile data, your operator may apply a safeguard (fair use) limit on data use while roaming. If this is the case, the operator will have to inform you in advance about such a limit and have to alert you in case you reach it.
“That safeguard limit will be high enough to cover most, if not all, of your roaming needs. Beyond this threshold, you can continue data roaming, subject to a small charge.”
The BEREC website said the ‘fair usage policy’ is designed “to prevent abusive or anomalous usage such as the use of roaming services for purposes other than periodic travel”.
If you are travelling outside the EU, you could consider buying a local SIM card or contact us for best possible solution.
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