Only 40 roam-free destinations; 50 is a misleading headline figure

[NFH]

All four UK networks are misleading consumers by advertising an inflated number of roaming destinations where domestic charges apply. Vodafone Global Roaming is no exception, advertising at https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/costs/travelling-abroad/global-roaming/ "There’s no extra charge to use your home plan in our 50 Roam-free destinations". The list of destinations reveals only 40 countries and territories, because Vodafone double-counts various islands and regions of three EU countries as well as two microstates that are for telecommunications purposes indistinguishable from Italy. Although Vodafone is not the worst culprit, this distorts competition because frequent travellers, when choosing a network for a 24-month contract, don't know their travel itinerary for the entire length of the contract and will therefore be attracted by a high headline total of roam-free destinations. Here's a comparison:

Note that:

• Three has not yet disclosed all of its new destinations, but has published a figure of "60 destinations".
• Vodafone mistakenly includes the Faroe Islands within Denmark, deflating its published total by 1.

I suggest that, by misleadingly inflating their headline totals, all four networks are breaching Regulation 5(5) of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

[jeffkinn]

I have to say that I disagree. Vatican City for instance is a separate country to Italy and, although it is in the heart of Rome, it it right and proper for it to be included in the list of roam free countries.

I was certainly surprised a couple of years ago when I visited the French half of Saint Martin and found I was on Euro Traveller as it then was. As with the Canary Islands and Faroe Islands, which are not separately listed and in my view should be, St. Martin is treated as though it is part and parcel of a mainland European country. 

[NFH]

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@jeffkinn wrote:

I have to say that I disagree. Vatican City for instance is a separate country to Italy and, although it is in the heart of Rome, it it right and proper for it to be included in the list of roam free countries.

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San Marino and Vatican City are the only countries that potentially deserve to be mentioned. However, with some networks including them in their headline total and others not, this distorts competition.

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@jeffkinn wrote:
As with the Canary Islands and Faroe Islands, which are not separately listed and in my view should be

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Vodafone does count the Canary Islands separately, but why should it?

Vodafone does not count the Faroe Islands separately, but it should do, as they are a separate jurisdiction, outside both the EU and EEA, with their own mobile networks.

It is useful for networks to mention islands and regions for any avoidance of doubt, e.g. "Portugal (including Madeira and Azores)", but not to count islands as separate destinations within the headline total. Otherwise why not count all 227 inhabited Greek islands separately in order to likewise inflate the total?

[jeffkinn]

The Greek Islands are not the same as The Canary Islands. The principal difference is that they are physically close to mainland Greece and clearly part and parcel of that country.

People who haven't been to The Azores, Madeira or the Canary Islands would be forgiven for not knowing that they are effectively part of Portugal or Spain and would seek specific assurances about their roaming costs,

[NFH]

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@jeffkinn wrote:

People who haven't been to The Azores, Madeira or the Canary Islands would be forgiven for not knowing that they are effectively part of Portugal or Spain and would seek specific assurances about their roaming costs,

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I totally agree with you. It is really helpful and clear if Vodafone lists for example:

• France (including Corsica, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint Martin)
• Portugal (including Azores and Madeira)
• Spain (including Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla)

But above are only 3 countries, and therefore they should be counted as only 3 countries within the advertised headline total number of destinations. My point is only about the headline totals that the four main UK networks, including Vodafone, are misleadingly inflating.

[Getafix]

Not sure about others but Vodafone say 50 Destinations and not Countries!!!

If they said Countries, then I would understand it to be Misleading. Also the reason they list some of them separately as most likely the partner Network is different.

[NFH]

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@Getafix wrote:

Not sure about others but Vodafone say 50 Destinations and not Countries!!!

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If destinations are counted in this way instead of as internationally-recognised countries and territories, then why not similarly count all major cities and all 227 inhabited Greek islands as separate "destinations"? Vodafone could really inflate its headline total if it did this.

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@Getafix wrote:

Also the reason they list some of them separately as most likely the partner Network is different.

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That is true only of the various listed parts of France. It is not true of Spain or Portugal, where the same networks cover the whole of each country, so this argument doesn't hold water.

[jeffkinn]

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@NFH wrote:

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But above are only 3 countries, and therefore they should be counted as only 3 countries within the advertised headline total number of destinations. My point is only about the headline totals that the four main UK networks, including Vodafone, are misleadingly inflating.

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Again I personally disagree as destinations that are in the Atlantic or Caribbean are so far from Europe that they are entitled to be treated as wholly separate destinations.  If they were included in the way you suggest people could easily not see them. The things that people do and don't see even when it's right in front of them is quite amazing.

[NFH]

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@jeffkinn wrote:

Again I personally disagree as destinations that are in the Atlantic or Caribbean are so far from Europe that they are entitled to be treated as wholly separate destinations.

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What does the distance from Europe have to do with this? The list includes both EEA and non-EEA destinations. Look at Guadeloupe and Saint Martin, for example, both parts of France only 80 miles from each other. Vodafone counts them as separate countries, even though they are both part of France. Again, I come back to the Greek islands argument. Double-counting any country is misleading.

[jeffkinn]

If you can't see why a territory 3,000 miles away from France should be listed separately to France itself I can't explain it to you.

Your complaint, in my view, has no foundation but run with it and see what happens.