EU to scrap roaming charges in 2017: European Commission under fire for taking so long to act

UK consumer groups complained that British holidaymakers face another two years of mobile phone misery before the law comes into effect

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Plans to scrap exorbitant EU mobile charges have been announced by the European Commission. Under new rules which will come into force in June 2017 mobile users will pay the same price for calls, texts and data use wherever they are in the EU.

However UK consumer groups criticised the EC for taking so long to act on the rip-off charges and for leaving British holidaymakers facing another two years of mobile phone misery.

Andrus Ansip, the European Commission's vice-president for the Digital Single Market, said: "Europeans have been calling and waiting for the end of roaming charges as well as for net neutrality rules. They have been heard.”

But Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch, said: “We’ve heard this before. Data roaming charges were due to be abolished in the EU at the end of 2015 and the U-turn confused and frustrated people.”

He pointed out that June 2017 is a long way off, particularly when a fifth of UK holidaymakers have returned home from an EU trip in the past year to find their bill was, on average, £61 higher than usual - amounting to £573m collectively. Of these, around one in six had to pay upwards of £100 on top of their normal bill.

“Let’s hope there’ll be no more backtracking after Europe’s mobile networks have had their say,” he said. “The ‘safeguards’ to address the recovery of costs by operators will have to be suitably robust to financially protect mobile customers and make sure bills don’t rise.”

The EC must also keep a close eye on phone companies to ensure they don’t introduce fresh dirty tricks to rip-off consumers, warned Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, He said: “The Commission must ensure that the industry plays fair and doesn't hike other charges."

In fact roaming charges are due to become cheaper from April next year, when operators will only be able to charge an additional 3p a minute to calls, 1p to each text, and 3p per MB of data, although the new limits do exclude VAT.

An agreement has also been reached on so-called net neutrality rules, which will see internet providers banned from unfairly blocking or slowing down access to content, services or applications.

It means access to a new firm’s website will not be unfairly slowed down to make way for bigger companies, the EC said. No service will be hampered because it does not pay an additional fee to internet service providers.

From 1 July, if you call a premium-rate number starting with 084, 087, 09 and 118, you will be told the cost of the call but also that an access charge will be added depending on which phone supplier you use, under new rules introduced by Ofcom. Your phone company will have to let you know what your access charge is. The changes are designed to make it easier to work out how much you’ll pay if you use a so-called “service” numbers. Meanwhile freephone numbers beginning 0800 and 0808 will finally actually become free if you’re calling from a mobile phone.

How to ensure you don’t get stung when using your mobile abroad

For starters turn off data roaming on your phone so you don’t get hit with unnecessary charges for downloading updates. Then check out your supplier’s overseas bundles. Most offer data packages for around £3-5 a day.

Even better only use the internet abroad when you can get free wi-fi. Most hotels now offer free wi-fi, but many bars and restaurants do too.

Bear in mind that while data usage charges are now capped in the EU, calls and texts aren’t. “You can inflated charges by downloading apps that use data calling/messaging such as Whatsapp, Skype, Viber and Facebook Messenger,” advises Gautam Srivastava, mobiles expert at MoneySuperMarket. “With these apps you’ll be able to call and text but using data rather than your network, which is free if you’re connected to WI-FI.”

If you’re planning to make a lot of local calls while abroad, to book taxis or restaurants for example, get a local SIM for your phone when you arrive.

If you’re thinking of using maps on your phone while abroad, download them for free at home before you set off.

Case study: ‘I asked about their roaming fees. they wouldn’t budge’

Colin Steers, 36, is a soldier who was posted to Germany – and ran up a huge phone bill because of roaming charges

I was posted to Germany for work two years ago. I had been with my phone company for six years with no complaints. I have three children and needed to be able to speak to them while I was away.

I asked about their roaming fees and was told it would be £3 per day. I said, ‘That’s £90 a month!’ They wouldn’t budge, though. I had about eight months of my contract remaining – they wouldn’t let me cancel it unIess I paid the full remainder, which was hundreds of pounds.

During my first month in Germany I was charged more than £150 plus the £40 I was paying anyway. It was the same the second month. I eventually managed to get out of the contract.

I tried everything to not get hit with charges. When I go anywhere in future, it will make a massive difference not to be affected by roaming costs.