Britain may be leaving the European Union but for those of us going on holiday to the Continent this summer, we might find that we are grateful the UK is still a member for now.
As of June 15, all mobile phone roaming charges across Europe and some other destinations were banned. The move by the EU – which was put in train two years ago – followed a long campaign by consumer rights groups angry at the sometimes-extortionate prices that mobile phone operators were charging users for making calls or using data while on holiday. Despite the carriers all using exactly the same infrastructure both at home and abroad, there were reports of account holders arriving home to be confronted with bills for thousands of pounds because their children had used their phones to stream YouTube videos.
The campaign by consumer groups led to a series of staged cuts in the price of roaming on the road to an eventual ban on it altogether. From June 15, all Europeans are able to make mobile calls, send text messages and use data anywhere in the EU and in some other countries as well as part of their home contract. That means that if your contract includes 3GB of data, it will not matter where you download that data – you will be charged the same as your contract price.
However, our unconstrained joy may prove to be short lived: Brexit could be the fly in the ointment and, as yet, nobody knows whether the mobile operators will be free to re-impose roaming charges on British account holders once we leave the EU. Even without Brexit, Europe does not necessarily mean all of Europe: countries including Switzerland, Andorra, the Channel Islands and even the Isle of Man, which are not formally part of the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA), may be excluded by certain mobile operators.
The situation is confusing for non-EU countries: Vodafone, for example, does not charge for mobile roaming in Turkey (which is not an EU member) while other operators do.
Why did the EU act?
Roaming charges have long been regarded as one of the biggest rip-offs in consumer rights history. As recently as 2007, a Briton travelling to France or Spain was faced with charges of 50p a minute just to call somebody at home. The EU stepped in an imposed a series of price caps which prevented such outrageous charges but even so, users continued to have to pay an average of 16p a minute to make calls back to the UK with further charges on text messaging or the use of data.
Even careful users would come home from a fortnight’s holiday to find a £100 bill from their carrier on the mat while those who decided to watch videos were in danger of being charged four figures.
The EU decided to impose a single market across the bloc for electronic communications, regularising roaming across all member states.
Will I still be charged if somebody calls me when I’m on holiday?
No, not if your destination is one of the EU member states. In 2007, you were charged about 24p a minute if somebody called you while you were roaming in Europe. This was also abolished on June 15 although you may still have to pay the charge if you are holidaying outside an EU country.
Where will I still pay roaming charges?
While the ban only officially covers EU states, the situation in non-EU European countries is a grey area. While you could still technically face charges for using your phone in places like Turkey, Switzerland or Norway, most of Britain’s network operators are including these and other destinations in their roaming-free packages. But the situation varies from operator to operator and may also be different depending upon whether your phone is on contract or is pay-as-you-go.
The Channel Islands, for instance, are included in most of the operators’ roaming free areas but some may still charge even those these countries are Crown Dependencies. While Vodafone includes Turkey as a free country, others don’t and even though Morocco is a very popular destination for British holidaymakers, you’ll still pay an average of £1.65 a minute to make a call to the UK from there and £1.30 a minute to receive one.
Oliver Jones has written for Solution Loans since 2015. His passion for personal finance comes through in the 150+ blog posts he's written since that time. His talent for explaining all things money means he's covered topics as diverse as...Read about Oliver Jones
We use cookies to make your experience on our site even better. They also help us to understand how you use our site. By clicking 'Accept All' you're agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie preferences by choosing 'Manage Settings' and if you want to know more, you can read our cookie policy.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.