topic Re: Roam Abroad pass in Offers & Add-ons

Roam Abroad pass

DianaMW — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:00:10 GMT

Is the roam abroad pass valid for one whole month from the date you take it out or only until the end of that months billing cycle?

Re: Roam Abroad pass

XRaySpeX — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:05:50 GMT

It's by billing month.

The Roam Abroad Pass costs £25 per billing month from the billing month you order it (text ROAMING PASS to 150) until the billing month you cancel it (text STOP ROAMING PASS to 150). For all billing months during which you have the Pass it is charged at the full £25. However if the Pass is carried over from the 1st billing month to the next it will be charged pro-rata for that 1st month alone.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

bristolian — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:06:15 GMT

From when you apply the pass, it is charged pro-rata from that date until your next billing cycle. It remains on your account and charged until you explicitly request it cancelled, at which point it will be removed at the end of that billing cycle.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

DianaMW — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:16:05 GMT

Does that mean if you go over to another month and say for example only had 5 days of first month, you would pay 5 days for first month and all of 2nd month?

Re: Roam Abroad pass

bristolian — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:36:12 GMT

@DianaMW wrote:

Does that mean if you go over to another month and say for example only had 5 days of first month, you would pay 5 days for first month and all of 2nd month?

Better to keep all your posts on a particular subject in one thread, rather than reply to others. All merged together now for you.

In your example, yes the subsequent month will be charged at £25 for the complete month and you'll have use of the add-on for the same complete month.

Depending how far into your trip your bill-date falls, you may be better off with the £2.47 daily charge.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

XRaySpeX — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:40:52 GMT

@DianaMW : Yes, that's correct. You'll pay about £4.17 for the 1st 5 days & £25 for the next billing month making £29.17 in total.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

DianaMW — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:46:15 GMT

Thanks

Re: Roam Abroad pass

XRaySpeX — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:47:10 GMT

Thanks! You're welcome 🙂 ! Glad I could be of assistance & trust it is now sorted.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

Grahambay — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 18:19:12 GMT

The roam abroad pass is a bit of a confusing, misleading con. Having used the ‘roaming comparison tool’ it seemed obvious that a one off £25 roaming fee for a month is cheaper than 14 days at the daily roaming charge… and they actually recommend the roam abroad pass.

However… if your holiday starts in one month, and ends in another, say you go on 20/6 and return 4/7, EE charges you pro-rata for 10 days in June, but then a whole month for July. Despite being only 4 days into July, they charge the whole £25, no pro rata. So it costs way more than £25 for ‘a month’ even though you only used it for 14 days.

I felt utterly conned by this. Heads they win, tails you lose…

Re: Roam Abroad pass

bristolian — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:11:08 GMT

Nowhere to my knowledge, have EE ever advertised the roaming pass as being a one-off charge.

All the material I've ever seen quote a cost per billing month, on a rolling basis.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

Carefant — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 10:19:34 GMT

Be very carefull with Roam Abroad. The number of questions about it on this forum should alert EE to the fact that it is badly designed. The headline charge is £25 for 30 days, but I was charged £45 because those 30 days fell across two billing cycles. Customer service team can't seem to understand why I felt ripped off. To add insult to injury, I'd returned to the UK before my second billing cycle started so I hadn't 'roamed' at all but still was charged £25. One of those situations where they've got you bang to rights but it feels like you've been robbed.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

bristolian — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 10:22:04 GMT

@Carefant wrote:

Roam Abroad. ..The headline charge is £25 for 30 days, but I was charged £45 because those 30 days fell across two billing cycles.

Do you have a screenshot of anywhere this is advertised? £25 per month is a common point made, but £25 for one month is indeed a different proposition, and not one I'm aware EE have ever used.

If you can show otherwise, you would have a good argument.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

Carefant — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 10:33:45 GMT

Sorry, you are right - I'd assumed "30 days" was a month. I guess if, as you say, "£25 per month is a common point made" then I'm not the only customer that's been caught out by this.

The moral of the story is to read the small print carefully, and if you're unsure what it will mean in billing terms, ask a question here to clarify. Rather that than get charged over £45 for 8 days of roaming as I did today.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

bristolian — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 10:36:25 GMT

@Carefant wrote:

Rather that than get charged over £45 for 8 days of roaming as I did today.

If you're within the EU, the £2.47/day charge can often be cheaper.

If you're further afield, then you should do maths comparing other bundles vs pay-per-minute, vs the pass.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

Carefant — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 10:58:53 GMT

Yes, I'll do the £2.47 thing next time as I was clearly having a senior moment when I thought the Roam Abroad would be a cheaper option.

As there is only a 1-in-30 chance that a customer will start their roaming trip on day 1 of their EE billing cycle, I wonder if EE should be clearer that for MOST customers, their trip of up to 30 days will probably cover two billing cycles and incur more than the headline charge for Roam Abroad of £25?

And if EE is really as dedicated to customer service as they claim, perhaps they could also send an SMS alert the day before the first billing cycle ends to remind Roam Abroad customers that they are about to carry this add-on into a new billing cycle and be charged £25 on top of what they already paid. I'm my case, I was back in the UK well before my billing cycle ended and would have terminated Road Abroad and avoided a £25 charge for which I received precisely nothing except the deepest sympathy of a customer service operative.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

bristolian — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 11:02:27 GMT

@Carefant wrote:

perhaps they could also send an SMS alert the day before the first billing cycle ends to remind Roam Abroad customers that they are about to carry this add-on into a new billing cycle

Potentially a good idea I agree. But why should the Roam Abroad add-on be singled out for SMS reminders? Thus a can of worms with (what some customers would argue are) constant reminders about add-ons, is opened..

Re: Roam Abroad pass

Carefant — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 11:10:12 GMT

I think I would forgive EE for pinging me if it saved me £25 and three hours wrangling (unsuccessfully) with customer services 😁

Re: Roam Abroad pass

Carefant — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 11:34:13 GMT

With all due respect, you are missing Grahambay's point. He said he "felt utterly conned". I know how he feels. Neither he nor I are arguing that EE has deviated from the stated claims or T&C's for Roam Abroad.

My opinion is that the way Roam Abroad is currently described and priced is open to misinterpretation and a feeling that one is going to pay a certain amount (a maximum of £25) when in fact there is a strong chance that one will in fact be charged more than that (£45 in my case). EE is perfectly entitled to do this, but if it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for customers, as it plainly does based on the number of posts about it on this forum, then perhaps EE should look at how they promote and charge for Roam Abroad.

One easy test of how clear or confusing Roam Abroad is would be to ask EE how many people bought this add-on on a single occasion in the last 12 months, and how many of those ended up paying more than £25 for it. What proportion of people paying more that the advertised price of £25 would there need to be for EE to accept that it should look at how Roam Abroad is promoted?

If it turns out that 99% of people pay no more than £25 for Roam Abroad then I'll shut up, but I wonder whether in fact Roam Abroad is a nice little earner for EE because lots of people make the same mistake as I have and end up caught in the billing cycle trap with no option than to cough up the extra charge?

Re: Roam Abroad pass

bristolian — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 12:00:11 GMT

@Carefant wrote:

My opinion is that the way Roam Abroad is currently described and priced is open to misinterpretation

Marketing being misinterpreted, versus consumers not checking the detail of a purchase, is an open point - and not limited to telecoms.

Re: Roam Abroad pass

Carefant — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 12:21:12 GMT

Haha. I guess it's easier to be philosophical when you are being paid by a company than it is when that company is taking money direct from your bank account based on some sleight of hand T&C's.

I'm sure we both have better things to do with our time, so I will sign off with my thought for the day: "If customers are confused by something, then it's confusing".