Roaming charges - need clarification on £2.29 per day vs. Roam Abroad Pass

[Nigel_HD]

My account add-on states: £2.29 per day for EU roaming (which cannot be removed).

If I take the option for a 'Roam Abroad Pass' for £15 (just for the time I am away) does this 'disable' the £2.29 per for EU roaming.  I see no logic in paying twice.

[weejasser]

So based on all of that am I correct in thinking that the Roaming Pass will always cost you more than the advertised £25 (as it has now gone up) for a month unless you hit the exact billing date as you're always except for one day going to have a part charge followed by a full month or is it only if your trip straddles your billing cycle? All seems a bit unfair really as its pot luck if your billing cycle lines up with your trip abroad. Surely it should just be pro rata in month 2?

[Nigel_HD]

I started this post back in June, never thinking the whole system was so complicated.  Why does EE make it so ?

We have another mobile in the family - an O2 account.  This is so easy by comparison.  There is no daily charge, just the 25Gb per month fair usage policy.  As the Meerkats would say, 'Simples'.

Only the fact we have had this EE (ex-Orange account) since 1995 makes me the rare loyal customer who stays with the network (and the fact we need different networks in the family to cater for mobile not-spots).

[papaskelts]

Hi Nigel

It appears not, I called EE to add the £15 to two phones whilst away in October in Europe. When we got back my wife and I were charged £2.29 a day.  We incurred additional cost to what we expected, but it is not the money in this case, it is the principle that EE total disregarded what we asked for and charged a higher daily rate. We have therefore, lost confidence in the company in term of trust and I am awaiting call back from them on this matter. 

If an EE representative is reading these messages please get in touch as we will go elsewhere we don't get a response.

[papaskelts]

sorry Katie it doesn't EE didn't apply the abroad pass, yes one of your staff apparently applied it for us over the phone, and we then incurred the daily £2.99 daily rate.

[papaskelts]

yes we know that but EE  staff don't action it if you call them to add it, you get caught for £2.99 a day

[XRaySpeX]

@papaskelts : That's why to be sure it's best to activate it by texting ROAMING PASS to 150 before you leave UK rather than relying on a call to CS who are liable to mix up between the Roaming Pass, a billing add-on, & the Roaming permission.

EDIT: I just mixed them up myself 😉!

[Nigel_HD]

@papaskelts 

Texting ROAMING to 150 just activates international roaming on your account.

You need to text ROAMING PASS to 150.  This avoids the daily charge.

This was the mistake I made in June.

In my view it is still far too complicated and I think EE (and their BT partners) regard these roaming charges as a cash cow, especially with the recent comments about the roaming pass straddling two billing periods and (effectively) giving you a charge far in excess of what you would realistically use in (say) one week roaming.  Of course, if it is just a week, the daily charge become cheaper.  We all need a calculator and calendar to get it right (and make sure our holidays are within one billing period).  All very silly.

[Prm1]

I quite agree @Nigel_HD it is all very silly, confusing, over complicated and seemingly designed to maximise revenue.

Surely it would make more sense for the customer if for example (say) a 20 day roaming pass was sold for (say) £20.  No need to 'stop' when you get back.  This would stop any 'anxt' for the majority of customers, safe in the knowledge that they are paying for something once ... with no pro-rata nonsense.  It can be done at the same time as you're packing your suitcase as part of a 'tick list'.  Currently, there must be plenty that forget that they need to 'stop' their roaming pass when they get back ... so EE then charge for another month... easy money really. 

Furthermore EE shouldn't increase this rate every year by inflation + whatever they think they can get away with.  Leave it as (say) a 3 or 4 year rate, customers will perhaps stop thinking they are getting their eyes poked out at every opportunity!

Give this suggestion a thumbs up and perhaps EE will give it some thought - the feeling I had when getting my recent 'ROAMING PASS' was that EE were simply trying to trip me up by making the whole procedure more complicated than it needed to be.

PREVIEW

[XRaySpeX]

@James_B , @Christopher_G @Leanne_T :  The How do I get the Roam Abroad Pass? article has now (almost) been updated to reflect this:

How much does the Roam Abroad Pass cost?

£25 per month. This cost will be added to your monthly mobile bill and will appear as a separate line in the add-ons section of your bill. If you add this service in the middle of your monthly billing period then the cost in the first month will be prorated.

&

How do I remove my roaming pass?

If you cancel during your monthly billing period you’ll be charged £25 for the full month, not just for the days you had the pass.

---

I say "almost" because it is not clear what happens when you add this service in the middle of your monthly billing period & remove it later within the same billing period.

1. The 1st para says it's prorated.
2. The 2nd para says it's £25 for the full month, not just for the days you had the pass.

Which is it? Which statement takes precedence?

[Christopher_G]

In your scenario, the customer would be charged £25 for removing it within the first period, @XRaySpeX. 

It's only subject to pro rata if the add-on runs into the second billing period. The second paragraph is specific to customers cancelling, whereas the first one is assuming that it's being added going forward.

Chris