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Data roaming charges

J
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 Contributor

New phone 6 weeks ago and signed up to ID Mobile. Went on first holiday abroad in many years, a cruise around the Canaries. While there I received texts advising that Spain was a roam free destination - subject to a “fair use” policy. However, within 3 days I received further texts from ID stating that I had reached 100% of my “roaming cap” and this was subject to a £45 charge.  Looking at my account I could see that the limit for additional billing had defaulted on my phone to £75. I set this to £0 and kept my phone off for the rest of the trip

Could a member of the ID team explain how charging me £45 for what can only be a few mb of data can be described as a “fair use policy”? Also, how can I contest this charge, if my ID account has defaulted to allow additional billing to take place? Surely a fairer and more honest approach would be to set a default to £0 and then the customer could make an informed choice. 

 

Best answer by MZone

Sorry to hear this but sounds like you connected to a network provided by the cruise ship. £45 is the default roaming charge limit imposed by Ofcom. You also have the choice to impose your own bill cap at point of sale and after using the app/online account. They are a business at the end of the day and want to make a profit. This is pretty much industry standard unfortunately. An expensive oversight that happens all too often.


How much will I be charged for roaming at sea?

 

When you’re at sea, we recommend you don’t use your phone, and put it in flight/airplane mode until you get to shore. This is because using your phone while at sea can be very expensive. Ferry and cruise operators often use their own phone network that’s operated via satellite. Connecting to a satellite network is much more expensive than connecting to a land-operated network.

Here are the costs of roaming at sea for both Pay Monthly and Pay as you go customers:

 

Roaming (at sea) Cost
Calls to UK* £6.00
Calls to Ships, Ferries & Cruise Liners* £6.00
Calls received* £1.50
Text to Ships, Ferries & Cruise Liners** £1.20
Texts to UK** £1.20
Picture Message (MMS) sent** £0.60
Internet and Data (Per MB)*** £9.60

 

* Price per minute,
** Please note: MMS charges vary. For further information, refer to Terms & Conditions.
*** Data is charged or deducted in one kilobyte (KB) increments and any part KB used will be rounded up to the nearest KB.

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    4 replies

    MZone
    Gold Contributor
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    • MZone
    • Gold Contributor
    • 735 replies
    • Answer
    • March 6, 2025

    Sorry to hear this but sounds like you connected to a network provided by the cruise ship. £45 is the default roaming charge limit imposed by Ofcom. You also have the choice to impose your own bill cap at point of sale and after using the app/online account. They are a business at the end of the day and want to make a profit. This is pretty much industry standard unfortunately. An expensive oversight that happens all too often.


    How much will I be charged for roaming at sea?

     

    When you’re at sea, we recommend you don’t use your phone, and put it in flight/airplane mode until you get to shore. This is because using your phone while at sea can be very expensive. Ferry and cruise operators often use their own phone network that’s operated via satellite. Connecting to a satellite network is much more expensive than connecting to a land-operated network.

    Here are the costs of roaming at sea for both Pay Monthly and Pay as you go customers:

     

    Roaming (at sea) Cost
    Calls to UK* £6.00
    Calls to Ships, Ferries & Cruise Liners* £6.00
    Calls received* £1.50
    Text to Ships, Ferries & Cruise Liners** £1.20
    Texts to UK** £1.20
    Picture Message (MMS) sent** £0.60
    Internet and Data (Per MB)*** £9.60

     

    * Price per minute,
    ** Please note: MMS charges vary. For further information, refer to Terms & Conditions.
    *** Data is charged or deducted in one kilobyte (KB) increments and any part KB used will be rounded up to the nearest KB.

    Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.
    N
    iD Mobile Employee
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    • Natalie W
    • iD Mobile Employee
    • 1960 replies
    • March 6, 2025

    Hello ​@jonnyherbert10 

     

    Thank you for getting in touch. 

    We are sorry to hear you have received the unexpected charge. 

    Please do look through the information provided by ​@MZone and let us know if you have any questions. 

     

    Thanks, 

     

    Natalie 

    J
    New
 Contributor
    • jonnyherbert10
    • Author
    • New
 Contributor
    • 3 replies
    • March 6, 2025

    Thanks for replying. I still do not understand why ID decide to set their default charge at £45 when the fairer approach would be to allow customers to opt in if they want additional roaming data. Although, as you say - they are a business - it just feels like they are taking advantage of my ignorance

    Tyler
    iD Mobile Employee
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    • Tyler
    • iD Mobile Employee
    • 3361 replies
    • March 6, 2025

    Hey there ​@jonnyherbert10, sorry you feel this way and we’ll take your feedback on-board.

     

    Thanks,

    Tyler

    Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.

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