New EU data roaming mobile caps could end up costing you more
New rules regarding EU data roaming are being introduced at the end of the month. They are supposed to make it more difficult to rip us off when we're travelling in Europe, but a new study has revealed that it could actually mean UK mobile phone users are set for some shocking bills.
The good news
The new rules are at their heart a really positive development to help stop bill shock when we're travelling overseas in the EU. The European Commission has been gradually lowering the caps on calls, texts and data, so that mobile phone companies can't saddle travellers with enormous and shocking bills for keeping in touch or updating their Facebook status while they are away.
It introduced a cap back in 2007, and has been gradually lowering it. The EU will eventually abolish roaming charges within the EU in June 2017. The cap introduced in 2007 was fairly high: at €0.49 per minute of calls and €0.24 for incoming calls. Texts were first regulated in 2009, when the cap was set at €0.11 per text, and data has been regulated since 2012, when it was capped at €0.70 per MB.
At the moment, the cap is set at the domestic price plus €0.19 per minute for an outgoing call, €0.05 per minute for incoming calls, €0.06 for a text, and €0.20 per MB.
From the end of the month it will drop again to cost the domestic price plus €0.05 per minute for a call, €0.02 to send a text and €0.05 per MB of data used.
The hitch
It should be a brilliant way to cut bills. The trouble is that there's an enormous amount of confusion around this. The roaming charges were meant to have been scrapped altogether by the end of last year - until the EU postponed the change to the middle of 2017. This has left UK travellers open to the kinds of misunderstandings that could prove incredibly expensive.
The research, by Switch found that 27% of people incorrectly believe that it doesn't cost them any extra to use their phone in other EU countries. While this will be the case by the summer of 2017 it's not the case now. It means that people may not take enough care when using their phones, and could unwittingly rack up huge bills.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, says: "These price drops are especially good news for any Brits planning a summer trip to the Continent – and football fans heading to France for the Euros, too – but until EU roaming charges are fully abolished consumers should still be aware of the pitfalls."
Some networks impose a cap of £40 on data roaming in order to avoid shock bills when people get home. However, a quarter of people who know about this cap, wrongly think it applies to calls and texts too.
What can you do?
It's, therefore, essential to check what your provider will charge before you travel. The good news is that some companies are going above and beyond what is required. Three, for example, has a Feel at Home feature, allowing you to use your normal allowance of minutes, texts and data abroad in 18 different countries at no extra charge.
Other firms allow you to pay a daily charge for unlimited calls and some data. EE, for example, will charge £5 a day for calls, texts and data in the EU. O2, meanwhile, charges £1.99 a day for 120 minutes, 120 texts and unlimited data in Europe, and Vodafone charges £3 a day for the EuroTraveller, which allows you to use your normal allowance without additional roaming charges.
Doku adds: "Of course, the EC's caps don't protect anyone travelling outside the EU. This is where mobile networks need to focus their attentions next, as the fear of sky-high roaming bills further afield certainly isn't an irrational one. More than one in ten customers who've been outside the EU in the past year have received a higher than normal bill - averaging £103."
