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Charged for data roaming whilst at the beach in Norfolk

I received a notification from my bank informing me my direct debit for this month for ID mobile will be £45 more than normal. 

I checked my bill and I have been charged for data roaming.

I discussed this via an online chat and was asked if I had been out of the country on a specific date. I had not. 

I have not left the country for approximately 8 months. On the date in question I was at the beach. I didn't even go in the sea. The advice given to me is that I should put my phone in flight mode whilst at the beach?!? 

Having checked ID mobile website I can find nowhere that they advise this! 

I don't think I should be charged £45 extra for simply taking a walk on the seafront with my family!

Regardless of whether it's to do with satellites passing or whatever, that's not my problem as far I'm concerned.

10 replies

andewhite
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Alas, seems this is a recurring topic in this forum, @rkeene91.

With particular weather conditions, certain areas along the North Norfolk coast fall within range of the mobile networks operating on-board ferries, using the shipping lanes in / out of the Humber Estuary.

These lanes pass close to this area of coast, and sometimes onshore mobile phones connect to these on-board satellite based mobile networks - they’re expensive.

Anyway, no doubt the iD customer service team can help with this.

 

Forum member (non-iD)
R
Rank

They offered me £20 off my next bill, I have requested the full £37 plus VAT is removed as I cannot afford to pay the full bill. I have had to cancel my direct debit as I cannot risk the extra coming out of my bank account.

andewhite
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Userlevel 8
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Well that doesn’t sound right, @rkeene91. IMO, iD should refund the £45 charged for data roaming in Norfolk.

Anyway, wouldn’t recommend cancelling your direct debit (DD). You might miss making a payment/s, and iD do seem pretty quick to pass any account in arrears to a debt collection agency. Any missed payments would also be reported on your credit file.

 

 

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WelshPaul
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Userlevel 8
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They offered me £20 off my next bill, I have requested the full £37 plus VAT is removed as I cannot afford to pay the full bill. I have had to cancel my direct debit as I cannot risk the extra coming out of my bank account.

Count your blessings that iD Mobile are offering you a good will gesture of £20, they don’t have to. Roaming has nothing to do with traveling abroad...

So, what is roaming anyway?

When you go outside your mobile network provider’s coverage area, your device will start to “roam.” This means it will search through other available mobile networks and try to use them.

One should always disable roaming on their device and mobile account until traveling. :/

If you cancel the direct debit, this will result in your account being restricted, your credit rating trashed and if the debt goes unpaid it will simply be passed on to a debt collection agency. 

R
Rank

Thank you for your helpful comment 🙄

WelshPaul
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Userlevel 8
Badge +6

Thank you for your helpful comment 🙄

While you might not find my comments helpful, other iD customers that stumble across this thread will.

For what it’s worth, I have been in similar situations in the past where I have been unable to pay a bill and know first hand the difficulties unexpected bills bring our way. Do you not have anyone you can ask for help? In the meantime, keep on at iD Mobile, you may get lucky. 🤞 

 

 

Kash
Rank
Userlevel 8
Badge +7

Hi @rkeene91,

Welcome to the Community!

If you have been charged whilst in the UK we can certainly look at helping with a refund for the full amount.

It sounds like the SIM may have connected to a cruise network etc which has caused the charged.

Please get back to us if you are still waiting for this to be resolved and we can help.

 

Kash

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

I have just had a similar problem whilst walking the beach at Sheringham. How do I even get hold of CS as no option on the app.

andewhite
Rank
Userlevel 8
Badge +10

I have just had a similar problem whilst walking the beach at Sheringham. How do I even get hold of CS as no option on the app.

Try speaking to an iD adviser online at https://idmobile.co.uk/live-chat, @Morska. 

Forum member (non-iD)
Kash
Rank
Userlevel 8
Badge +7

Hi @Morska,

I hope that you managed to get the issue resolved.

If you require further assistance please get back to us.

 

Kash

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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