Mobile Phone Reviews
 
 
Shocking cost of using mobile phone abroad

Thu, 13 Jul 2006

Using a UK mobile phone while overseas whether making or receiving calls can result in huge bills when you get back home .

The study also reveals that shockingly half of the market is unaware that they pay the bill for receiving incoming calls whilst abroad.

Some 49 per cent of mobile users do not know how much it costs them to make/receive calls while abroad, while 43 per cent do not even realise that they have to pay for receiving calls while overseas, research from comparison site OneCompare.com reveals.

However, some 63 per cent of mobile users use their phone while overseas costing them up to £1 a minute. Mobile companies still charging customers unjustified high charges despite warnings from the European Telecoms Commissioner.

Anthony Ball, director of independent mobile phone comparison site OneCompare said, "When 'international roaming charges' are added to their bill it can come as quite a shock as rates can vary enormously."

"Most travellers don’t know how or why these charges occurred as tariffs and packages for roaming customers remain complicated," Anthony Ball said.

Ball continues, " Customers should be made fully aware of the cost of international calls by their providers. Foreign calls are more expensive because callers are charged by two mobile phone networks , once by the roaming network from the country in which the call is made and also by the home network. Profit margins for both providers are then added on."

But there are ways to reduce this cost.

"Special roaming bundles (a set amount of calls and texts for a set price) or opt-in discounts are offered by O2, Vodafone and Orange but the customer must pro-actively seek them out. The only operator to provide its discount as standard to all it’s customer is T-Mobile," Mr Ball said.

Another option, is to take your handset with you and buy a SIM card whilst travelling therefore keeping the costs to a minimum. All you need to do is nip into a mobile phone store in the country that you are in and purchase a SIM card. If you aren’t comfortable with visiting a mobile phone store and making a purchase while you are away, or you need to use your phone as soon as you land don’t panic. There are several online retailers which sell foreign SIM cards for the majority of countries, so you can buy before you go," Mr Ball added.
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