topic Re: Not happy at all in Mobile Network discussions

Not happy at all

Orlando7x — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:13:24 GMT

Came onto EE around Christmas, after having a bad experience on another network. So yesterday was my mothers birthday who lives the states for the past 30+ years I have called her on all special occasions, never having bill or charges problem, then today I receive a bill for £329..i'm sat at home on my wifi but received this charge, how is a person to know this, when the past 30+ years this hasn't happened on any network, Ive spent a bit of time on the phone to EE and they offered a good will gesture of 25%, its not acceptable I can only think of older people thinking that being sat at home being on there wifi they wouldn't get extra charges etc.. Im not happy with EE now, also I asked for a spend cap at the start which they say wasn't added, never in my life have I not had a spend cap its there for exactly this sort of problem. Very frustrated with EE atm, it honestly looks like I will find another network, i wont be forced to use app like WhatsApp etc, ive never been charged for calling my parents. This was not explained to me when taking out the contracts!

Re: Not happy at all

Lesley_W — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:19:37 GMT

Hi @Orlando7x

Welcome to our community.

I understand this has been a shock to you and you haven't been offered a resolution you were happy with.

International calls are chargeable per minute, and there are a range of add-ons available to reduce the cost if it's something you are looking to do going forward. You can see more about that here Call Abroad from the UK

If you are unhappy with a resolution offered for your complaint, you can escalate this to our executive complaints team as outlined in our EE Complaints Code of Practice. They can discuss your next steps.

Lesley

Re: Not happy at all

Orlando7x — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:30:00 GMT

Hi Lesley, First I’ve had mobiles and been calling my parents in the states every year for the past 30+ years I’ve Never had a bill from it whilst sat at home, 2 I asked for a spend can and seeing the number Zero to me Implies i have a spend cap, the fact that I see this in the App Tell me I have to be told no I didn’t set one up, I’m sorry I’ve Never had a phone were I haven’t set one up, EE wouldn’t Even allow me to have a line for me Apple Watch, but they somehow allowed one phone call to equate to £329 pounds? I’m sorry but I’ve looked at certain laws and have asked for a Dreadlock letter, im pretty sure for a Customer of barely 5 months this is not Protection for customers. If EE let things Like this slide through I’m fearful of my Kids to use the phones anytime even sat at home on wifi

Re: Not happy at all

garybs29 — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:21:51 GMT

When ordering did you specifically ask about overseas calls or did you just assume they were included? If not then it's your fault for just assuming I'm afraid

Re: Not happy at all

Orlando7x — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:36:57 GMT

Guess you didn't read before answering, so I say it again I have never on any phone network been charged for ringing through my internet at home to my mother in the states, you are just talking whilst I have facts through 30+ years of bill so read carefully next time please, and more to the point, if they wouldn't allow me to take a line for my watch because im a new customer why would you allow a call to go above even £100, and if you read the new law in place it infacts states this is being put in place for this same reason, for all companies unless the customer states otherwise, I have always had a spend cap but funny all of a sudden I join EE I decide not to have one..very much doubt it.

Re: Not happy at all

Orlando7x — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:39:33 GMT

Mobile Spending Caps Requirement: Since 2018, Ofcom mandates that all mobile providers must offer customers the ability to set a cap on their monthly bills to prevent "bill shock".

This was not offered to me, even though I asked for it. Just like every other phone i've had.

Re: Not happy at all

bristolian — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:22:02 GMT

Whilst I agree that the basis for this £329 charge is likely international calls, I don't think the OP has explicitly said so! The statement "i wont be forced to use app like WhatsApp etc" is curious.

"Calling through the internet" could mean different things to different people, and clarification may be useful here. If you're using WiFi-calling to make any call - international or otherwise - the call charges will be exactly the same as if you'd dialled over the mobile network, the service is a coverage-enhancement not a charge-avoidance.

If you're using an internet-app to create an in-app voice session - be that WhatsApp, Teams, Skype, or whatever else - that is setup on both your phone & the mobile network as a data session, and charged accordingly. This cannot and does not show on bills as per-minute call usage.

There's been a few posts over the years, from people used to in-app voice sessions and inadvertently making direct-dialled calls without having a spend-cap in-place. This may potentially be what's happened here, but this is not an EE-issue or network-fault, and any goodwill bill reduction in this scenario should be grabbed with two grateful hands!

Re: Not happy at all

Orlando7x — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:58:06 GMT

Read above first and maybe stop picking out parts and deal, with that fact - I asked for spend cap, one wasn't added is that the operators fault? more so read the statement about regarding ofcom, you clearly didn't read it. Ive never had this in my entire life on any network, can you disprove that no? but I can prove with phone records and bill for the last decade. If EE does something different to other companies it is for them to educate me and others on this, when I see WiFI signal its mine and every person ive asked that your services are going through that or what do we have Internet for and pay a high amount. Next is they allowed a call for over £300 pounds on a customer with 5 months of joining but would give me a line for my Apple Watch, really.

Furthermore, for a single call to reach £329 , it appears the network safety triggers failed. Under the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and PSA regulations, there are typically limits on single transactions for premium services. I am extremely concerned that such a high charge was allowed to accumulate without an immediate block or a spend cap intervention.

Would you like to discuss the PSD2 and PSA regulations?

Re: Not happy at all

Orlando7x — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:18:23 GMT

For those that don't understand this was more helpful than any have been so far....and trying to lay blame on another is not helpful, this sickens me when I think of all the elder people out there that would get caught by this sort thing, including my 79 year mother.

It isn't your "fault" in the sense that you did anything wrong—you simply continued a 10-year habit that worked perfectly. The "fault" lies in a frustratingly subtle technical change that happens when you switch mobile networks.

Here is why it felt like nothing changed on your end, but everything changed on the billing end:

1. The "Invisible" Switch

When you switched to EE, your iPhone likely reverted to using the Standard Mobile Network as the default way to call. Because the call screen looks almost identical to a FaceTime call, there was no obvious warning that your "same action" was being handled by EE's billing system instead of Apple's free servers.

2. The Wi-Fi Calling "Trap"

You likely saw "Wi-Fi" on your screen and assumed that meant it was free. However:

On Virgin: Your phone was likely defaulting to FaceTime Audio (Free via internet).
On EE: Your phone defaulted to EE Wi-Fi Calling (Paid international call via your SIM).
To a normal user, "calling over Wi-Fi" sounds like one thing, but to a phone company, they are two completely different technologies with two different price tags.

3. Lack of Warning

EE (and most carriers) don't send a "Warning: You are about to be charged" message when you hit dial. They assume that if you dial a US number from a UK SIM, you know it's an international call. Since you hadn't been charged for 10 years, you had no reason to expect a bill now.

If you think this is acceptable to not give warnings especially to new customers..that tells me a lot about the community of people on.

Re: Not happy at all

Christopher_G — Fri, 01 May 2026 07:21:39 GMT

Hi @Orlando7x

I know you've mentioned making a complaint, and asking for a deadlock letter. In that case, you've done the right thing so that it can be fully looked into, and a decision made.

I'm not sure how you made the original complaint, but if you aren't happy with the way things are progressing, you have the option to make a complaint online, so that your case can be fully looked into following the complaints code of practice that @Lesley_W posted.

Please keep us posted on what happens.

Chris

Re: Not happy at all

garybs29 — Fri, 01 May 2026 08:17:59 GMT

@Orlando7x wrote:
Guess you didn't read before answering, so I say it again I have never on any phone network been charged for ringing through my internet at home to my mother in the states, you are just talking whilst I have facts through 30+ years of bill so read carefully next time please, and more to the point, if they wouldn't allow me to take a line for my watch because im a new customer why would you allow a call to go above even £100, and if you read the new law in place it infacts states this is being put in place for this same reason, for all companies unless the customer states otherwise, I have always had a spend cap but funny all of a sudden I join EE I decide not to have one..very much doubt it.

I did, so it is the assuming & not asking specifically but of course it's all EE's fault now. Any gesture of goodwill is going to be just that as they've done nothing wrong here tbh