0333 numbers whilst roaming in EU Spain

[Gilesmullen]

I have been charged £1.91 for phoning a 0333 number whilst in Spain although I have roaming included in my plan. The charge was apparently for 5 min 38 sec although I made  2 x calls  totaling 16 min (11 min & 5 min). Everywhere I look it says calls to 0333 numbers are the same as calls to 01 and 02 so additional charges should not be applied ??

[Chris_B]

@Gilesmullen   I think you’ll find the issue is because you are roaming.    All of the information you’re reading will be based on calling those numbers while you’re in the UK.        If you call customer services and explain what’s happened they might just sort something out for you,      

[bristolian]

If you have 2 calls to the same number from the same location charged at different rates, that's a good indication of a billing quirk.

[XRaySpeX]

Calling 03 nos. costs the same as calling 01 & 02 nos. whether you're in UK or roaming.

[Gilesmullen]

Thank you all for your replies. I have contacted EE and  the £1.91 charge (plus VAT) was for day 1 of roaming. The first call I made triggered the charge and the second call was then included. This charge should not have been applied as I should have had EU roaming as an add on but EE omitted to include this when I transferred from BT mobile. I have been told to contact EE if it is shown on my next bill & they will credit.

Complete nightmare transferring from BT Halo broadband & mobile from BT to EE. This process is certainly not for the faint hearted !!!!

[Leanne_T]

Hi @Gilesmullen 

Thanks for coming back with an update. 

I am sorry to hear this, has the roaming add-on now been set up for you? 

Leanne.

[EssexBoyEE]

Hopefully EE will sort this for you, but for future reference I would suggest when calling UK 0333 numbers whilst roaming that you actually Dial 0044 333 or +44 333 as a Prefix as an 03xx Number may get Routed through to the Roaming Network Nationally which may or may not have the same UK Charging Rules as the UK.

[Gilesmullen]

Hi Leanne,

Yes roaming has now been added to both my wife’s mobile number as well as mine. My wife's day 1 roaming charge for a text sent to a Spanish mobile has disappeared from the account but my charge for calling a 0333 number is still showing. We shall see if this ends up on the bill in due course. If it does then I will contact CS yet again. Ironically when I called them this morning to complain about the charge which was still showing the agent could not remove it but he did remove a £2.50 charge for itemised billing which was never requested when we moved from BT to EE. In all honesty the journey has been awful & I can’t understand how the Number 1 telecoms provider in the uk can be so incredibly incompetent. If I could provide a score it would be 0/10 

I feel sorry for employees like you trying to help the many disgruntled customers whi have moved over from BT to Ee

[bristolian]

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@EssexBoyEE wrote:

 Dial 0044 333 or +44 333 as a Prefix as an 03xx Number may get Routed through to the Roaming Network Nationally which may or may not have the same UK Charging Rules as the UK.

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If the host country has a conflicting dialling code, this theory holds - but would result in the call being connected to the local number.

There's no difference to billing based on how the number is formatted in dialling, this is usually covered in pre-analysis anyway.