Taking my Sim only plan abroad

[Kavery_Beliappa]

I’m stranded in India due to COVID-related travel restrictions.  I don’t need to use my UK phone/plan whilst in India, but am  keeping it for  emergency purposes whilst here. As my expensive Sim only 2018  plan is just out of commitment, I would now like to  switch to the most basic Red 1 GB Plan . When I am back in the UK  in around 4 months, I could add one of Vodafone’s Data Extras as a one-off for a few months, and later  opt out  of the Data Extra again if I find I’m using less data, or if I decide to travel abroad again.  

I believe that where a customer’s usage abroad is greater than in the UK  over a four month period,  a regulated surcharge is applied to further usage even when I return to the UK .  I will be making a lot of calls and using a lot of data in the UK ,  unlike however when I travel abroad  again . Given what I have described,  does a switch now into a basic Red 1 GB Plan whilst abroad,  and then adding a Data Extra and perhaps bearing a surcharge on usage when I return to the UK,  make sense  ? 

[Kavery_Beliappa]

Hi Donny and Ann

Just to update, I managed to switch to another plan thanks to all the help I received.

As Ann suspected, the 1st person on Chat suggested  I switch only when I return to the UK. After a little persistence, he transferred me to someone else who then did the needful. Thanks once again .

[AnnS]

Hi @Kavery_Beliappa 

Just keep an eye on the monthly charges, you are in a roam further country and it's not just £6.00 per day, there is also the monthly line rental charges on top.  Vodafone apply a credit limit to the account and it might just be worth asking Vodafone how much this is on a monthly basis.

The cheapest option would be to get yourself a SIM card for India, this would avoid the expensive roam further daily extra charge on the days you use the phone.  Also turn off your data roaming and mobile data this counts as using the phone and use WiFi only.  It is however, free to receive calls and texts and if you get your family and friends to call you it won't cost a penny.

[Kavery_Beliappa]

Hi Ann

Thanks for your most informative inputs.

My understanding is that on the basic Red 1 GB 12 month sim only plan there is a monthly rental of GBP 12 pm and a roam further charge of Pounds 6  per day of usage. Am I right ?

I had asked friends and family not to call me except in an emergency , as I was under the impression that each call made from the UK would be chargeable at both ends even when I was on a more expensive 20 GB Plan.

They have been calling me on Whats App and now that I have down graded to a different plan, perhaps I should not alter this arrangement with them just to be on the safe side .

Many thanks for your advise. 

[donnyguy]

What I would do to cover yourself....

1. Log into your My Vodafone Account
2. Go to Account Settings
3. Go to Spend Manager
4. Set it to 0 GBP

I say this as I believe incoming calls are free. It's the outgoing traffic that generates charges. By setting your spend cap to zero. You prevent this from happening  

But glad you're all sorted! It's good to hear

[Kavery_Beliappa]

Thanks Donny for the suggestion. 

While this may protect me ,would it also protect friends and family from heavy international call charges when they call me,  as I obviously would'nt want to burden them when there is a free Whats App facility available ? 

Thanks 

[AnnS]

Hi @Kavery_Beliappa 

Presumably your friends and family are calling you from a UK number (07) mobile number, and they will still be calling a UK mobile number and the call won't be classed as calling an international number and the call will still come out of inclusive allowance or be charged as a outgoing UK call. Basically, the phone can be anywhere in the World it will still be UK to UK and won't be charged anything extra to call.  If the call is being made from a UK landlne, it will be charged as calling a UK mobile.

Lastly can you please click the thanks button for the help you have received, if you have your solution in a reply that can also be marked. 

[Kavery_Beliappa]

Hi Ann

Thankyou for this information .

So if my new plan has Unlimited minutes, can I assume there will be no charge to me for receiving calls from the UK?  And would this facility be extended to my friend who lives on the Isle of Man with whom I talk on Whats app very frequently, as IOM is technically outside the UK. 

I also presume that whatever charges are levied on my friends for calling me from the UK whether from a landline or mobile , will depend on whether they have mobile and Landline Plans with Unlimited minutes or not .

I am sorry but as this is my first time on any Forum,  I didn't realize there was a thanks button or anything else, but after clicking the Reply button and typing this message , the thumbs up thanks button has disappeared so I am unable to click on it .

Anyway ,many thanks for your most informative reply.

[Tash]

Hi @Kavery_Beliappa, regardless of which plan you're on or how many minutes you have included, it'll be free for you to receive a call while you're in India or travelling anywhere in the world 😊 If you're using apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger for calls or messages, please ensure this is done through any available network or Wi-Fi connection rather than data to prevent any additional charges to you.

As you've mentioned you'd prefer to use your phone only in emergency situations, you can leave your phone on Airplane Mode and keep your Wi-Fi connected. This way your phone will be unable to connect to the network or cause you any out of bundle charges, for example from apps that may update through data. Alternatively, if you've set your Spend Manager as @donnyguy suggested this will also avoid this 👍

Regarding friends and family calling you from the UK, we'd be unable to confirm this for you if they're currently not with Vodafone - if they are, as @AnnS has said there won't be any charges for them when calling your UK number while you're there.

With all that being said it sounds like you're doing the right thing with using Wi-Fi on these apps while you're outside of the UK and I'm also glad we were able to cut the costs down further by changing your current plan 😊