Roaming Charges Phone use in USA

[mel54]

Hi,

Just returned from a holiday in USA and I have a query. Whilst away I switched “Access data using mobile network” and “Connect to data services when roaming” both to off, and I had a spending cap set at zero.

Whilst in USA I needed to make a phone call, which initially I was unable to do, so thinking it was my spending cap causing the problem, I reset it to £10. This still did not allow me to make a call, so I checked with AT&T (USA service provider), and since they have switched off 3g, they were using 4g and LTE, but were being restrictive over which phones they would allow to use their service. My Motorola g5s plus was not compatible with their system.

I did then find a location where T-Mobile signal was available, and tried to see if it would work by dialling my own home phone number (in UK) – obviously received the “engaged tone”.

On Sunday 13th November I received a text which started with “The daily roaming charge will expire in less than an hour……………..”, so it would appear that I have been charged a daily roaming charge.

Can anyone enlighten me as to how I would have incurred such a charge and does “Three” not advice customers that they are going to incur a charge if they proceed with what they are attempting to do.

[StephR · Accepted solution]

Hi @mel54

Thanks for joining us here at Three Community. I hope you had an amazing holiday, but I’m sorry you’ve been left with an unexpected charge. Hopefully I can shed some light on why that’s been applied.

Under our current policy, a daily roaming charge will apply to unlock your UK allowance for use in our Go Roam destinations. This is a daily £2 charge for Go Roam in Europe destinations, and a daily £5 charge for Go Roam Around the World destinations.

The charge will be applied as soon as you use any of your plan’s allowances in a Go Roam destination and lasts for 24 hours. This includes making a call or sending a text to a UK standard UK number or accessing data services. This information can be found on our Go Roam support pages, and in your Price Guide.

You should also have received a text containing with roaming information when you first connected to a USA network.

So the call you made will have triggered the unlocking of your UK allowances and therefore, the £5 daily charge. 

I hope that helps clear things up, but please do let us know if you've any other questions.

[mel54]

Hi Steph,

Thanks for replying so quickly and clearly. If I reset my spending cap to £0, once I have paid my next invoice, will that stop me getting any GoRoam charges, even if I try to use the phone to make a call or reply to a text. When you get to my age, it is better to have preventative measures in place, rather than trying to remember. (Yes I did get the standard roaming info when we arrived in USA, however your clarification was excellent)

[StephR]

Glad to help, @mel54 😊

That's right, the daily roaming charge counts towards your Spend Cap, so if it’s set at zero or if you’ve exceeded your limit, you won’t be able to use your UK allowances (data, texts or calls) in Go Roam destinations. You can change your Spend Cap as often as you like.


Thanks again for being part of Three Community! If an answer has helped solved your query, you can use the 'Accept as Solution' button to let others know. 

[apadley1337]

There also appears to be an issue that when you turn your phone on in a new country ( I am in Usa), the SIM send an SMS message to somewhere ( messages flashes up on my screen saying 'SIM is sending a message) and this triggers a charge. Not very fair that, is it and phone likely does this for every new country it enters?

[Mikiesoft]

Hi there, I’m having a similar problem. I’m in the US and I got a txt to say I was going to get charged £5 per day I see the 4g is on and it looks like I have a signal but can’t get internet access if I turn off WiFi. I’ve also checked what my spending cap is and there’s plenty spare. Any ideas?