Roaming charges whilst data roaming turned off

[bcracknell]

I was on holiday in the US last month and had data roaming turned off before I even left the UK. At no point did I turn my data roaming on. Three texted me randomly at 3 points during my trip saying hello and welcome to the USA, outlining the costs associated with using my phone whilst in the USA. These texts were not telling me I was using my data, just letting me know I could. I've just received my bill to find I've been charged 3x £5 plus VAT for roaming services whilst in the USA. I can see on my bill that these supposed usages were really tiny amounts of data, <10MB. When I tried to dispute these charges, stating that I had my date roaming turned off the entire time,  I was told there was no way the system could be incorrect. However, clearly, the system is wrong if I can be charged tiny amounts of data usage whilst my data roaming is turned off. Please can you advise what I can do in this situation? 

[danielshanahan]

Good luck with this, hope it gets sorted. Unfortunately it seems like the staff have basically been educated on what to say and you can only get somewhere if you keep pushing. Shame that Apple and Three can't work out how to get around this issue, I'm sure it's a simple fix. However to two big companies like this, the issue is probably not even on their radar 😞

[apadley1337]

The issue is not with Apple. All phones send data to the roaming partner even when roaming is off, to validate the phone is not stolen, the SIM is not blocked etc. The issue is the roaming partner and Three are not filtering that data properly so Three think it's user data so you are getting billed.

[Klaud]

Same issue here. Roaming turned off but was charged for the duration of the trip. 3 are refusing to budge

[Klaud]

Update: Wi-Fi assist stays turned on after roaming has been turned off hence the charges. On iPhones it's under Settings > Mobile Service > scroll to the bottom > Wi-Fi Assist

[LeM]

Nope - both of us had Wi-fi assist turned off as well as mobile data off and data roaming off. I've checked the dates and exact times of the charges and it was on some (but only some) of the occasions when I connected to a wi-fi network. So I think its a problem with a misclassification (by Three or its partners) of the exchange between the iphone and some wi-fi networks/providers. They classify it as user data when its just some data sent from the phone to the wifi hub to establish a connection. This used to be called a 'hand-shake' in the good ol' days but no one uses the term anymore - maybe that's why they can't 'see' the problem.

[MZone]

From Apple’s support pages: Wi-Fi Assist won't automatically switch to cellular if you're data roaming. 

[Jnet80]

Update - Three complaints department ca.lled me back to say they will not refund the charges but as a good will gesture they will raise the good will gesture of £10 they offered last week to £13. I declined and stated that I wish to take this to the ombudsman, I will receive details on how to do this within the next 48 hours. Hope I get somewhere when it is raised with them.

[portobello]

thats what i did and got the full amount refunded

[Jnet80]

Thank you for letting me know that it worked for you. We shouldn't all have to be going down this route. 

[HD1983]

Hi everyone - this is still an issue - and not just on iPhones. So my scenario is - Android Motorola. Dual SIM. Data roaming in 3 SIM turned off before flight - and data for the particular SIM Disabled entirely on device - so only the other SIM - the work SIM used for data. 3 SIM onto to be used for calls. Immediately after landing and turning on device in Sweden, the 1kb data exchange in three network triggers daily go roam 2 GBP charge. I didn't buy a cheaper go roam package as I didn't expect to use the 3 SIM for data roaming or calls. Only for receiving SMS. Two hours later - randomly another 600 kB data exchange on 3 SIM. On the phone - all data including data roaming disabled on Three. I know all actual data is being charged to other work SIM and I can see the stats on that (1.2 GB a day) . Customer support sya I have to wait til bill to be produced to dispute. Also that the cause is turning off flight mode at the airport - which has a special mast apparently which causes the 3 SIM to check in regardless. I know this is now wrong has 600 kB was exchanged according to 3 2 hours after I left the airport. Data for the 3 SIM and Date Roaming for the 3 SIM all set to off before I left the UK and remain off. Sounds like this is going to be a messy situation based on the other posts on here. Anyone else have any further advice? 3 customer service - any news on when this will be resolved? Customer service have left notes on my account - but it looks I will be charged roaming on 3 daily even if I don't use it - and what's triggering it is data roaming when it's clearly disabled in the 3 SIM? Thanks