MARTIN Lewis has issued an urgent warning to holidaymakers over a “confusing” charge that could catch you out.
A number of phone providers charge customers for using their devices abroad, whether that be text, calls or internet.
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Many charge you for your usage each day as well, including EE, Vodafone and Three.
But money saving expert Martin Lewis has revealed each provider has its own definition of what constitutes a day.
It could mean you end up paying for a whole day’s usage when you’ve only been in a foreign country for a few minutes.
Martin tweeted yesterday explaining: “What do you think counts as a ‘day’ when you pay for a day when roaming?
“It can be any and most firms don’t define it in your ‘ur paying per day text’.
“So land at 11.56pm and you may pay a day’s fee for a few mins.”
In a recent moneysavingexpert.com article, Martin described the roaming policies as “confusing and opaque”.
It’s worth checking with your provider what its policy is and how you’ll be charged – it could save you some money.
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It comes after Ofcom put forward new proposals to change the way phone providers inform customers about roaming charges when holidaying abroad.
Under the proposals, firms would have to tell people when they have started being charged for using their devices.
They would also have to inform people of the cost and what they could do to restrict spending.
Providers would also have to take steps to ensure customers are informed about inadvertent roaming, under the proposals.
This is when a device connects to a network in a different country when you’re not actually using that service.
It can mean you are slapped with an unwanted roaming charge.
Ofcom said it is inviting responses to its proposals until September 28, 2023, and plans to publish its decision in early 2024.
Which firms charge you to roam abroad
A number of providers currently charge customers to use their phones abroad.
EE charges customers £2 a day or £10 a month for using up to 50GB of data each month.
Three charges customers £2 a day for using their phones in the EU, and £5 a day outside this area.
Vodafone charges between £1 and £6 a day depending on what package you have and where you are visiting.
Meanwhile, O2 doesn’t charge you for using your phone abroad, but it does have a monthly data limit of 25GB.
A number of providers don’t charge you for roaming though, including Giff Gaff, Smarty, Plusnet and Tesco.
If you are with a provider that charges you to data roam, remember, you don’t have to.
You can set your phone to airplane mode which means it won’t connect to the local network.
If you’re keen on watching movies or listening to music when you go away, you can always make any downloads beforehand.
Streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ let you download movies and series which you can watch offline, for example.
You can also download music off Spotify and listen offline.
If you will need to use your phone and are in a group, you can always share one device between everyone – it’ll save you some money.
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Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
