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New Contributor
July 3, 2026

Roaming in Turkey

  • July 3, 2026
  • 7 replies
  • 725 views

 

I am absolutely furious to have landed in Turkey, switched my phone on, and immediately received a text message telling me I had been charged £45.

I have been with ID Mobile for less than a year, and every previous network I've been with has automatically applied a simple daily roaming charge. For example, with Sky Mobile it was just £2 per day to use my existing allowance abroad. At no point did I expect to be hit with a £45 charge the moment I got off the plane.

To make matters worse, I received two text messages almost simultaneously – one saying I'd used 80% of my allowance and then, seconds later, another saying I'd reached 100% and had been charged the full £45. I hadn't even had the chance to check my phone properly, let alone knowingly use enough data to justify such a charge.

This is completely unacceptable. There should be far clearer warnings before customers incur such significant costs, especially when many other providers automatically offer affordable daily roaming options instead.

This experience has left a very bad impression, and I can honestly say I will not be staying with ID Mobile once my contract comes to an end. I will be moving to a provider that offers fairer and more transparent roaming charges.

 

    7 replies

    Gemma M
    iD Mobile Employee
    iD Mobile Employee
    July 3, 2026

    Hi ​@Paddy3260,

     

    We're very sorry to hear about your experience, and we understand how frustrating it must have been to receive those messages as soon as you arrived.

     

    Although it may seem as though no data was used, smartphones can begin using mobile data almost immediately after connecting to a network. Background services such as email syncing, app updates, cloud backups and other automatic processes can start without you actively using the phone, which means chargeable usage can build up very quickly.

     

    Turkey is not included in our inclusive EU roaming destinations, so usage there is charged at our standard out-of-plan roaming rates. Data is charged at £1.50 per MB, which means charges can increase rapidly if mobile data is left enabled.

     

    We appreciate this isn't the experience you were expecting. If you'd like us to review the charges in more detail, please contact our Customer Service team via Live Chat. They'll be able to look at the usage on your account and explain exactly how the charges were incurred.

     

    Regards,

     

    Gemma M

    The iD Mobile Social Media Team

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    Paddy3260Author
    New Contributor
    July 4, 2026

     

    Thanks for your reply.

    I have to say, the level of service has been extremely disappointing. From my experience, and after reading other customers' comments, it appears that many people are being hit with an immediate £45 charge without any clear warning or explanation. That doesn't inspire much confidence and gives the impression that this is a common issue rather than an isolated mistake.

    As a result, you've lost four customers in our household. When our policies come up for renewal, we'll be taking our business elsewhere. It's disappointing that it's come to this, but the overall experience has made it clear that we need to find a provider that values its customers more.

     

    Gemma M
    iD Mobile Employee
    iD Mobile Employee
    July 6, 2026

    Hi ​@Paddy3260,

     

    We're really sorry to hear that you feel this way, and we completely understand why this experience has left you disappointed.

     

    We appreciate your feedback and are sorry that your first experience of roaming hasn't met your expectations. We certainly never want our customers to feel caught out by unexpected charges.

     

    To help prevent this from happening in the future, we'd recommend setting your bill cap to £0.00 before travelling. This will stop any additional out-of-plan charges from being applied once the cap has been reached.

     

    We're genuinely sorry to hear that you're considering leaving us and appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

     

    Regards,

     

    Gemma M

    The iD Mobile Social Media Team

    Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.
    New Contributor
    August 16, 2026

    just landed in Turkey in airplane mode, reset mobile statistics and turned airplane mode off. Checked the app for my bill and see what the charges are see I've been charged £9.76 already. Checked mobile data usage statistics 1.01MB. I don’t mind paying roaming charges out of plan but £9+ per MB seems a bit steep. Will be buying one of the addons as they work out massively cheaper than ~£9.70 per MB

    iD Mobile Employee
    August 18, 2026

    Hi ​@BeanZebra.

     

    Thank you for your post. I am sorry you’ve been hit with such high roaming charge.

     

    To avoid any more out-of-plan charges like this, I’d recommend setting your bill cap to £0. This blocks all additional data, calls and texts, so you only pay for the roaming add-ons you choose.

     

    Thanks,

    Marquerita

    The iD Mobile Team

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    New Contributor
    September 8, 2026

    I've just had the same thing happen. Turned off my ID Mobile SIM in the UK (put it on flight mode) turned it on for 20 seconds or so as I switched to my roaming pre-paid Lebara SIM and am prompted before I do so with a £45 charge. I specifically paid to avoid this exact scenario.

    I'm a loyal customer and have recommended two others use your services and also pay for my Mum's phone on ID. I strongly urge you to change this practice... And I would expect a full refund...

    Gemma M
    iD Mobile Employee
    iD Mobile Employee
    September 10, 2026

    Hi ​@Jabar88,

     

    I'm sorry to hear about this, and I can understand why you'd be frustrated, especially if you took steps to avoid roaming charges and then saw a charge appear unexpectedly.

     

    Roaming charges can accumulate very quickly when a device connects to a chargeable network, even for a short period of time, depending on the services used and the destination. Unfortunately, this can happen before you've had the opportunity to switch to an alternative SIM or service.

     

    We appreciate your feedback regarding how this works, and we understand why you'd like to see changes to help prevent situations like this in the future.

     

    If you believe the charge has been applied incorrectly or you'd like it to be reviewed, please contact our Customer Service Team via Live Chat, who can investigate the usage and discuss any dispute relating to the charge: https://www.idmobile.co.uk/live-chat

     

    We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your loyalty to iD Mobile, as well as the recommendations you've made to friends and family.

     

    Regards,

     

    Gemma M

    The iD Mobile Social Media Team

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