SKY customers have been warned of an expensive mistake that could see them lumped with an phone bill teetering into the hundreds.
If you’re keen to use your mobile data on holiday this summer, make sure you check how the roaming charges that apply to the country you’re visiting to avoid a bruised wallet.
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Sky has varyingdata charges for different countries.
There’s a Roaming Passport Plus pass, which costs £2 a day, that lets you access your UK data, calls and text allowances in over 55 holiday destinations.
But if you’re holidaying somewhere further flung, ‘Rest of the world’ roaming charges will apply.
These charges will sting if you’re not careful, as one sorry Sky customer discovered this week.
“I switch on my phone in Brazil for few minutes (Sky SIM card),” they claimed in a help forum on Sky’s website.
“When I left the airport I changed my SIM card to Brazilian broadband.
“Sky is charging me £200 for a few minutes, I barely used my phone at the airport.
“This [sum] has been deducted for my account already. Can someone help please?”
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It costs £2.16 per megabyte of mobile data – 3G, 4G, 5G – in Brazil.
The Sky customer confirmed they had used around 90mb of data before they switched to a Brazilian SIM card, where fewer charges would apply.
This equates to streaming music or using Google Maps for about an hour.
It’s hard to imagine how someone can rack up such costs, in what they have alleged as a “few minutes”.
But even when you’re not using a particular app, your phone is gobbling up data.
It does this with behind-the-scenes updates and refreshes, so that apps are good to go as soon as you open them.
If you want to avoid any surprise bills, set a monthly spending cap with your network provider.
According to Sky, “this lets you control how much you spend on each SIM on your account at home or abroad.
“Roaming charges are counted as charges outside of your plan, so will go towards any spend cap limits you’ve set.”
But it’s important to note that you won’t be able to use data, calls and texts outside the UK if your monthly spend cap is set too low.
Alternatively, you can turn off data roaming altogether.
Buying a SIM for your holiday straight from the destination is a great option, and they can often be cheaper than opting for your provider’s special data packages.
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