Holiday Britons face phone 'rip-off'
By Tim Hall
(Filed: 25/01/2006)

People who use their mobile phones abroad were warned yesterday that they could be paying up to five times more than they need to for calls.




The majority of holidaymakers and those on business would be better off using payphones or even buying a new mobile phone when overseas, according to the UK telephone watchdog.

Ofcom issued the Using Your Mobile Abroad guide as part of a Europe-wide investigation into whether networks are profiteering by charging unfair mark-ups on roaming charges.

British travellers to Spain can pay up to £3.37 for a four-minute peak-time call home - compared to a payphone charge of £1.04.

Customers can also be charged up to £1.50 per minute to receive calls when in a foreign country, as well as paying a premium for text messaging.

Pay-as-you-go customers pay the highest charges. The Ofcom guide says these customers could reduce their call costs by up to 80 per cent if they switched to a tariff specifically designed for use abroad.

Ofcom's guide comes amid a four-year European Commission investigation designed to establish if the major networks are keeping roaming call charges artificially high.

Vodafone has launched a new ''Passport'' tariff, which charges normal UK rates for countries in Europe after a 75p connection fee.

O2 now offers an International Traveller Service, which gives savings of 30-70 per cent on the cost of using the phone overseas; and T-mobile is to re-launch its ''World Class'' service, offering cheaper calls with some networks in 40 countries. Orange is also reviewing its tariffs for use overseas.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...25/ixhome.html

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