Mobile phone charging tricks in France

[jonjo]

Bit of a borderline Lounge/Scuttlebutt question but since some don't visit the land of scurrilous innuendo, I thought I would post this question/warning here.

swmbo's mobile phone bill arrived covering a week sailing in Normandy/CI plus another week in Paris. I cannot blame the UK phone Co. for the £60 of txt charges since the 40p per message price outside the UK was clearly stated. However can the phone Co. charge for inbound calls that were not answered or where the inbound call diverted to a voicebox and the recording not listened to until return to the UK?

As things stand the phone Co. is saying it is her fault for not disabling the voicebox before travelling abroad.

 

[bendyone]

Vodafone charge 75p for a call to my voicemail and another 75p to tell me there is a message there. So for each unanswered call £1.50. I now turn my voicemail off where aboard.
However using their passport scheme each call made or received cost 75p but then uses my free minutes for the call. this combined with their stop the clock means I can talk for up to 1 hour for 75p + 3minutes of my call time after 7pm. Good value. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[pelicanpete]

Sometimes I'd like to disable my wife's "voicebox." /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[dbentley]

Be aware... 'Stop the clock' only applies to calls WITHIN THE UK.. You might have nasty surprise on your next bill.

 

[Steve Clayton]

[ QUOTE ]
As things stand the phone Co. is saying it is her fault for not disabling the voicebox before travelling abroad.

[/ QUOTE ]
If it's Vodafone then their charges are extortionate for calls to and from abroad. Problem is once you are abroad and on another airtime provider then you can't get back on to your main provider and turn facilities off. You might fing this is a valid argument in your case.
The best and cheapest PAYG I have found is Tesco! Time it right and your SIM is free with a £1 credit, the cheapest rates I've found, favourite number even cheaper rates. Current rates to call other EU countries are 35p a min to send and 15p a min to receive (still expensive IMHO but cheaper than others)

 

[bendyone]

[ QUOTE ]
Be aware... 'Stop the clock' only applies to calls WITHIN THE UK.. You might have nasty surprise on your next bill.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry your wrong, stop the clock works with passport when aboard. Been using it for a year or so.

 

[Robin]

We have O2 phones on contract and pay a small premium for cheaper international calls. However Rule #1 is DIVERT ALL CALLS to voicemail before leaving the UK. In our case we still receive texts if the phone is on and receive one to say if a new message has been left on voicemail. That way at least you chose who you call back and where you call from, like perhaps from a landline. It costs us nothing to receive texts but a call to hear the voicemail message itself is chargeable. In France O2 have arrangements with SFR and another provider as well I think whereby the same codes for switching voicemail diverts on/off work as in the UK and calling voicemail is still just 901 'send'.

I looked at getting a French PAYG SIM but the cost and the call costs didn't save on our costs enough to warrant it.

In the USA we buy Cingular PAYG SIMS on arrival, the SIM is free in a Cingular Shop if you ask nicely and top ups cost from $25 upwards, most last 3 months after which the unused balance and the allocated telephone number are lost but for heavy users a top up above $x lasts 12 months. There is a one-off daily charge also of $1 but it only applies on days the phone is used (ie to make or receive calls, switching it on alone doesn't trigger a charge) Outgoing and incoming calls cost 10 cents/minute (5p!) and even better is that all calls to/from other Cingular phones are absolutely free so SWMBO spends hours talking to her family all around the USA when we are there and even calls me on my Cingular cellphone in Wal-Mart if I've strayed to the fishing and boating section and she's ready to go...

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Be aware... 'Stop the clock' only applies to calls WITHIN THE UK.. You might have nasty surprise on your next bill.

[/ QUOTE ] Sorry your wrong, stop the clock works with passport when aboard. Been using it for a year or so.


[/ QUOTE ] Er, the way I read it was that 'Stop the clock' works for calls to UK numbers only. So you may both be right!

I got stung last year in the Isle of Man. The 75p charge wasn't so bad - it was making calls to IOM numbers that really hurt. Learnt my lesson and went ashore with a pocket full of change - calls from telephone boxes are much better value.

 

[charles_reed]

Well the good news is that

from the end of August, Vodafone will be charging "only" 38p/min outgoing + 19p/min incoming on calls to/from a UK mobile.

As I use a PAYG SIM texts are a flat rate 10p each - I scarcely ever use voice calls.

Bad news is that, in my experience, UK mobile charges (together with Deutschland) are the most expensive you can find in Europe and probably the world.

Example, last month, bought a Finnish SIM for €14.99, with €10 credit.

Calls €0.04/min, texts €0.05 each.

The only reason Vodafone roaming charges have come down is strongarm action by EC Commission.

 

[Norman_E]

Orange is extortionate, appears to be costing me about 90 pence per minute, either to make or receive calls. (I am in France now). I think all the telecoms companies are milking the summer holiday season for all they can because they are going to be forced to cut their "roaming" charges in September.

 

[Robin]

To add to my earlier reply, we just in the last hour or so got a text message from O2 to say we could register for 'new lower Euro use charges'. Calls now are down to 30p out and 18p in per minute which is better than we were getting with a prearranged international use package so they have been forced into dropping the tariffs. All you do is call 2266 on the mobile and key the number for your type of tariff, inc PAYG, after that in 7 days they send a text confirming the new deal is set up. If like us you have more than one mobile on the same contract, one call sets up all of them

Vodaphone in France BTW are Orange, whereas O2 and SFR are partners in crime.

 

[bendyone]

[ QUOTE ]


Vodaphone in France BTW are Orange, whereas O2 and SFR are partners in crime.

[/ QUOTE ]

Vodafone partner SFR in France to use vodafone's passport.

 

[Robin]

[ QUOTE ]
Vodafone partner SFR in France to use vodafone's passport.

[/ QUOTE ]

I might have the links mixed then and O2 France is France Telecom's partner?

I know our phones link straight in and a text arrives immediately pointing out that we can feel at home with the same voicemail access via 901 and so on.

 

[jonjo]

While listening to the radio news this morning about the High Court bank charge showdown, reference was made to the euro law on unfair clauses in consumer contracts. Maybe swmbo could challenge the bill on the basis that the average mobile phone consumer does not appreciate that voicemail usage by an ignored caller still clocks up expensive roaming charges.

 

[jonjo]

Victory.

£57 knocked off the bill by T-mobile for all voice mail charges while in Guernsey. Maybe the telecom companies are nervously looking at the bank charges consumer revolt and treading carefully.

 

[anonyboat]

... so long as she remembers to disable the voicebox the next time she goes abroad, they probably won't be so magnanimous(!) next time now they know she knows...

message to pelicanpete: I'm sure there would be parts of you that your swmbo would like to disable if she read your last comment..!