Ofcom proposes new rules for mobile companies to introduce mandatory roaming alerts for customers to avoid shock bills

Phone users will now have to be warned about any roaming charges that apply when travelling abroad, under new rules proposed today by Ofcom.

Following Brexit, EU ‘roam like at home’ rules – and UK law requiring mobile operators to alert customers to roaming charges – no longer apply.

Some providers now charge customers a daily fee to make or receive calls, send texts or go online when travelling.

As a result, Ofcom has has proposed rules that will require UK mobile companies to tell their customers when they start roaming, how much it will cost them and any action they can take to limit their spend.

Roaming crackdown: Under new rules proposed by Ofcom UK mobile companies will have to send customers alerts  with details on roaming charges 

A review carried out by Ofcom has uncovered concerns the information provided by mobile companies can be inconsistent and unclear.

Ofcom found nearly one in five holidaymakers are unaware they could face extra charges when using their mobile abroad and a 18 per cent said they do not research roaming charges before travelling.

Many people rely on roaming alerts – 94 per cent of travellers are aware of them and more than four in five read them.

Of those who read their roaming alerts, 94 per cent rate them as either essential or helpful when they first begin to roam and 72 per cent modify their behaviour when they see one – such as connecting to Wi-Fi, using less data and switching off data roaming.

Under the proposals for mandatory alerts, mobile customers would receive alerts with details on roaming charges that will apply including specifying any fair use data limits and the time period that applies to any daily charges.

The proposals would also require customers to be alerted of any mobile bill limit they have in place.

Customers would also need to be notified about where to find free-to-access additional detail on roaming charges, fair use policies and how to monitor, reduce and limit spend.

Protections from inadvertent roaming

Ofcom is also proposing additional guidance to protect customers from being affected by inadvertent roaming.

Inadvertent roaming is when a device connects to a network in a different country even though the customer is not physically in that country.

Ofcom research shows that one in seven UK mobile customers experience this when abroad or still in the UK, including 2 per cent of customers connecting to French networks while on the English coast.

It particularly affects people in Northern Ireland, where many thousands of people live in areas that share the border with Ireland. Research shows that 22 per cent of customers in Northern Ireland reported experiencing inadvertent roaming onto networks in Ireland in the last year.

The additional protections on inadvertant roaming would require mobile providers to provide customers with clear information about how to avoid inadvertent roaming, both when in the UK and abroad.

Mobile providers will also need to have measures in place to enable customers to reduce and/or limit their spend on roaming while in the UK.

Cristina Luna-Esteban, Ofcom’s director of telecoms consumer protection, said: ‘Millions of UK holidaymakers head abroad every year and want to stay connected on their travels. But without clear information from their provider, they could find themselves facing an unexpected bill for calling home or going online.

‘These alerts would mean whichever mobile provider you’re with, you won’t be left in the dark about roaming charges and action you can take to manage your spending.’

Ofcom is inviting responses to its consultation on the proposed rules by 28 September 2023 and plans to publish its decision in early 2024.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk