Free EU roaming wrongly advertised in upgrade offer

[jonathanrawle]

Today I received a message out of the blue saying EE are "refreshing" their SIM only plans, so I would be moved to a new plan at £ more than I currently pay. It had a link that gave a page to an offer with a cheaper monthly price, as long as I signed up to a 24 month contract.

As an extra bonus, the 24 month plan said it had "Free EU roaming". I have screenshots and a saved HTML page to prove it. Of course, when I chose this "upgrade", my account now shows that I have to pay £2.29 per day for EU roaming.

Surely this is a case of false advertising? Had it not said "Free EU roaming", I may well have shopped around for a deal with a different provider.

[Gareth43]

I have that same Roam in the EU add on and my contract started 3 months ago but when I check roaming cost to Europe it tells me that I can use my mins text and data like I can at home for no extra cost screen shots provided

 

 

 

[jonathanrawle]

@Gareth43but do you also have the "£2.29 per day for EU roaming" add on that can't be removed?

I checked my roaming charges for Spain and it's £2.29 per day unless I buy a "Roam Abroad Pass".

It seems EE like to give an add on with one hand, and take it away with the other. A bizarre way to do it, an add on that makes your package worse.

[Gareth43]

Yeah I also have the £2.29 per day add on aswell, it can be confusing with all these add on.  

[XRaySpeX]

Yet, @Gareth43 , if you were to go to the Roaming Costs for Spain page & fill in the Qs truly you will be told to spend £2.29 each day:

[Gareth43]

Yeah it does mate and this is the problem also. The app says one thing and the website says another. EE need to fix there system and get it correct cos as of now both sites are giving contradictory messages. 

[jonathanrawle]

@Gareth43  sorry about the delayed reply, I was locked out of the forum. (Turns out I had a different e-mail address for the forum and my main account. Strange that it let me on yesterday. I first joined the forum in 2014, when I was probably a T-Mobile customer!)

I do also have the unlimited EU minutes and texts that you see in the app. In the website version, I see this if I click "See all usage". I strongly suspect these are only unlimited in the EU once you pay the £2.29 per day. But this is really not clear. The whole online account is a mess. It's as if they suddenly realised they needed to add a charge for EU roaming, and rather than redesign everything, they have fudged it with the £2.29 "add on" daily charge. I think this is unclear and verging on sharp practice. I'm now leaning towards writing to one of the national newspaper columns (in the paper that's pro-EU!) as it's false advertising and misleading.

[jonathanrawle]

I still have the original offer page open in my web browser, and so I was able to view "The legal bit" at the bottom. This is what it says (with my highlighting in bold, otherwise unedited):

---

Online Exclusive Plan

Offer ends on 30/08/2023. Available to existing EE customers by invitation only. If you join/upgrade without having received a message from us about the offer, we'll charge you the full amount for the plan rather than the discounted offer price.

24-month minimum term. Subject to terms and credit check. Monthly charges assume online billing. You will not get 4G speeds using a 3G only phone or 5G speeds using a 3G or 4G phone. Allowances for use in UK and Republic of Ireland. EU Roaming included for 24 months.

After that, a daily charge applies to use allowances in the EU/EEA unless you have an add-on or Inclusive Extra that includes EU Roaming. 50GB data fair use policy applies outside the UK. See terms for countries and details. Deposit needed for roaming in limited circumstances.

Use your allowance to call/text UK mobiles, and landlines starting 01, 02 and 03 when in UK (excluding Jersey, Guernsey & Isle of Man) & Republic of Ireland. Some numbers aren’t included: calls to 070 numbers cost up to 5p/min and calls to 084, 087, 09 & 118 cost 83p/min plus the applicable service charge]. See prices for the EE Price Guide for a detailed list of service charges and other charges outside of your allowance. Personal use only. 

---

So that is pretty clear. It is supposed to include EU roaming for the 24 months of the contract, after which the daily charge (currently the £2.29)  applies as per the EE norm.

[jonathanrawle]

I called customer services just now. The agent was surprised as he hadn't seen inclusive EU roaming before, but he checked my account and reckons the "EU roaming" add on will mean I have free roaming in the EU. The £2.29 add is is always there for everyone, but the other add on takes precedence while I have it.

I can only think I have been offered this because they were forcing me from my old plan, which would still include EU roaming. The agent said he hadn't seen it before, but perhaps he will if everyone in my position is being offered something similar.

I am still slightly sceptical about it, but if I do go to the EU in the next two years and am charged, I shall obviously be back in touch.

@Gareth43  did you also upgrade from an old, pre-2021 contract? Have you used your phone in the EU yet?

[Gareth43]

I did upgrade about 3 months ago but I’ve never been to Europe to test the add on.