Roaming Destinations

[SteveP-UK]

Hi! I'm thinking of taking out a SIM-only deal with Vodafone but I'm confused by the roaming offers.
One of the plans would give me ('Xtra') "inclusive roaming in 83 worldwide destinations" - which is the sort of deal I'm looking for. Where I'm struggling is to find a definitive list of those 83 countries. Zone B covers 47 destinations, Zone C gives 32, whilst Zone D offers 73. Perhaps it's me, but I can't find a permutation that gives me the 83 as per the Xtra description.

Thanks in advance! 👍

Steve

[Mark]

Hey @SteveP-UK, If you take out a plan the includes our Global Roaming Xtra, you can use your UK allowance of data, minutes and texts at no extra cost in zone A, B, and C destinations. This information's available in the what's included section of the plan details online.

[SteveP-UK]

• Hi MarkThanks for the quick reply. No, that doesn't explain things for me. B and C totals 47+32 which equals 79. Based on your answer, that suggests there are just 4 locations in A (making the 83 quoted). But I thought A was free? It's the maths that's not working for me because there are certainly more than 4 in A aren't there? That's why I'm confused! Think I need a bit more of a specific answer before I sign up. I travel a lot and the specific countries included in the deal are important for me to know before I sign up.
• So, can you list the 83 countries for me?

Cheers, Steve

[Mark]

There are just 4 countries included in zone A @SteveP-UK, these are: Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, Iceland, and Norway. These added to the 79 countries inlcuded in zone B and C equate to the 83 countries available at no extra costs to customers with the Global Roaming Xtra included in their plan. You can find all these destinations in the global roaming section of our website. If you're still struggling to find a specific destination, let me know and I'll check it for you.

[SteveP-UK]

Hi Mark

I get it now. Thanks for clarifying the numbers for me. I'm just on my way to JORDAN but that's not part of the 83 is it? How would I include that if I already had Global Roaming Xtra?

Thanks, Steve

[simax]

You can’t include it - it’ll be charged at £7.39 a day extra to use your allowances.

[StrangeDHighlan]

Hey Mark, 

I've just opened a new topic but since @SteveP-UK asks similar questions, let me put this question to you too. 

I'm on a 83-destination plan, have been since the plan was created. Historically (up until January) local calls at the roaming destination (for example, calling US local numbers when roaming in the USA) would use my inclusive minutes, no additional charge. 

There seems to be a major policy shift where Vodafone is now charging what appears to be a connection charge, so roaming isn't as 'inclusive as advertised anymore. 

I only discovered this last month when travelling to the Netherlands and made my first call to a Dutch number. A few minutes later a 22p charge appeared. I called 191 immediately and, sadly, they didn't have a clue. They even argued with me that I wasn't in the Netherlands and the call was made from the UK. 

Could you please confirm what the exact policy is as all references to inclusive calls have been removed. The welcome text sent to the users upon arrival at a roaming destination hasn't changed. It still reads: 'Welcome to COUNTRY. Good news. It's one of our Zone ** Destinations so you can use your calls, texts and up to 25GB of data from your plan here at no extra cost'. 

This seems to have changed which is misleading to say the least. 

Thanks so much. 

[Thomas_H]

I've checked into this for you. The charges depend on which country you are calling from to another international country. Calls back to a UK number are covered in almost all cases. It's easier to explain if you go to this link 👉https://www.vodafone.co.uk/help-and-information/costs-and-charges/travelling-abroad > Put in Netherlands > When you took your plan out which I assume was between Aug 2021-Feb 2024 > scroll to the bottom to see the breakdown.

[StrangeDHighlan]

Thank you for the prompt reply Thomas. I am well aware of this page which is now well hidden from the main vodafone.co.uk/roaming page. I've outlined the wider problem in my main post here on the forums. 

Firstly, 191 are unaware of how this works (these new, and I must stress *new*) connection charges. Second, the change itself marks a major shift in policy. 

Of course, the price of a call depends on the country you are calling to when roaming. For more than a decade since these 51 and 83-destination plans were introduced, the user would be able to use their minutes to call back home AND also call numbers in the country they are currently roaming in only. For example, whilst in the Netherlands with one of these plans, you would be able to use your minutes to call UK numbers AND Dutch numbers. Not Canadian numbers or Turkish or whatever numbers. UK and Dutch numbers only. 

This was the case up until January this year and I (and other users who are baffled by the frankly dodgy way this change has been made) have the bills to prove it. 

The problem now is that the *inclusive* isn't inclusive anymore and everyone at Vodafone either pretends that there hasn't been a massive shift in policy or is simply unaware of their company's own pricing structure. In the case of 191, they did not have a clue. 

And if you allow me, a comment on that table you sent me a link to. There is no reference to the 'inclusive' plans there whatsoever. There are mentions of customers on 'daily charge' and 'pass' but those of us who are on 51 and 83-destination plans are in neither situation. 

The big question is, and this is why I am posting here since I've been working on a case to submit to the Ombudsman's office,  what does 'inclusive' actually include (apart from data) and how the 'inclusive' statement and the text reassurance that "It's one of our Zone ** Destinations so you can use your calls, texts and up to 25GB of data from your plan here at no extra cost'' work with the new charges?

For this to not be misleading, Vodafone's new roaming plans should be called 'data-inclusive' because clearly it's only about data. 

And the second issue from consumer perspective is, why didn't Vodafone communicate this with those of us who stay with them purely for the roaming plans that clearly don't exist anymore after being removed quietly sometime between late January and mid-February 2024.

[SteveP-UK]

Cheers Simax. I was coming to the same conclusion 😕

Steve