Two of Britain's biggest mobile phone operators have been accused of unfair and excessive pricing and could face fines of tens of millions of pounds.
The initial finding by the European Commission followed a lengthy investigation into the amount of customers from abroad were charged when roaming on Vodafone or 02's network in the UK.
When you travel to a foreign country, your mobile phone will automatically find a local network, allowing you to make calls. The system is known as roaming.
Vodafone charges its UK "pay monthly " subscribers 99p a minute to receive calls when they are in America. Receiving a call while you are in China on your mobile Vodafone charges increases to £1.25 a minute.
Now the EU is taking action and has set up a website www.europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/roaming to help people cut the high cost of using mobile phones abroad.
The Commission says the site reveals the tariffs of all mobile operators in the European Union's 25 member states. It also gives sample comparisons to illustrate the wide variation in charges for 'roaming'.
The Commission says the cost of using a mobile abroad "is hard to believe" and hopes that greater transparency will lead to lower charges.
By giving consumers more information, the Commission hopes the website will give mobile phone users the chance to change their mobile habits and save money.
The European Commissioner for information society and media, Viviane Reding said, "The Commission aims to give the consumer the knowledge to make an informed choice, to enhance competition in the industry and to encourage fairer and clearer pricing."
Alison Hopkins, of the National Consumer Council, said: "This website is great news. For too long consumers have been left in the dark about the charges they incur for making and receiving calls when travelling in Europe. Most of us only realise the true cost of our mobile phone charges when the hefty bill drops on the doormat on our return from our travels. "
The website will be updated every six months as well as the sample tariffs that contains links for the UK. Tables are also available of the charges levied by the five domestic mobile phone operators for a four minute call from the following destination countries: Italy, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia.
The website also provides sample charges for calls made to your mobile while abroad.
Many people do have any idea about which network they can switch to when they enter a foreign country.
When you travel somewhere abroad, your domestic operator will have signed a roaming agreement with one particular operator, which might not be the cheapest. If other operators are available within that country, you can change that setting on your mobile phone to access a different network. It is basically worth comparing the tariffs of the foreign networks on the EU site and checking your mobile operator’s website for details of its preferred networks before you travel.
This new website will not only help people make better choices, but will also help increase competition among mobile phone companies. However some companies have already begun to reduce prices due to a tide of complaints. Ofcom is already investigating roaming charges and is also looking at the prices UK operators such as Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile charge foreigners for using their phones in the UK.
| Mobile Phone news |
|---|
| T-Mobile Pricing For Samsung Galaxy S3 Confirmed - Tue, 15 May 2012 |
| Galaxy S3 Confirmed As Official Phone Of London Olympics - Wed, 09 May 2012 |
| LG Denies Plans To Ditch Windows Phones - Wed, 02 May 2012 |
| More News |