USA Roaming

[Tats22]

I am planning a visit to the USA and have a pay monthly contract.

I will have a separate phone with a USA Sim for calls and data / internet in the USA.

The only thing I will need my UK phone with it's Vodafone Sim is to be able to receive security texts from my Bank and Credit Card companies and make calls to them if necessary.

I understand I will have to pay the daily roaming charge if I use my phone for sending or receiving calls / texts.

I will have mobile data turned off - so, do I still get charged if there are no calls and texts on a specific day - i.e. the phone is not used?

[Tats22]

Hello AnnaS and japitts

Having looked at things fresh today I think my confusion is better explained by saying that a maybe a better drafting of the first 2 bullet points on the Roaming Charge Checker  would have been as follows (my words added in bold):

• A day starts from the time when roaming is detected and lasts for 24 hours. For example, if roaming is detected at 10am, the daily roaming fee would be valid until 10am the next day.
• It's always free to receive standard rate calls and texts and their receipt does not trigger  a days roaming charge

It would be reassuring if one of you could just get back saying agreed

Thanks

[Tats22]

I am planning a visit to the USA and I will have a separate phone with me that has a USA Sim for calls and data / internet in the USA.

The only thing I will need my UK phone for (with it's Vodafone pay monthly Sim) is to be able to receive security texts from my Bank and Credit Card companies asking if transactions are correct, reply Yes/No by text and make calls to them if necessary.

It has been kindly explained to me on a separate post that by referring to this link Roaming Charge Checker , you can see "It's always free to receive standard rate calls and texts" . 

This seems like good news -  I could keep data roaming and mobile data off so as not to incur the roaming charge of £7.39 each day - just watch out for incoming texts and incur the roaming charge on a particular day for replying to a text if necessary.

However I spoke to Vodafone and they said that texts from Banks and some other organisations are premium rate and not standard rate - accordingly I would probably not see these texts unless data roaming and mobile data are switched on.

I cannot find any reference to this on the internet / Vodafone web site / my contract.

Any help much appreciated.

[Effie]

Hey @Tats22 I hope you're doing well! We specify on the website that 'it is free to receive standard rate calls and texts' meaning any that come from normal UK mobiles and landlines. Calls and texts from businesses, competitions and some banks may be charged at a higher rate as they count as a premium service. We don't have specific details on what counts as a premium text, but we can advise that any normal texts from UK consumer mobile numbers will be free to receive. 

[japitts]

---

@Effie wrote:

Calls and texts from businesses, competitions and some banks may be charged at a higher rate as they count as a premium service. We don't have specific details on what counts as a premium text, but we can advise that any normal texts from UK consumer mobile numbers will be free to receive. 

---

Premium rate texts (generally user-requested) is correct & understandable. But otherwise, there's no differential between automated OTP-type texts and mobile-mobile ones, where charging goes.

More importantly, the bit I've highlighted... An incoming call is an incoming call, there's no such thing as a "premium call". The only occasion where different calls are charged at different rates are with outgoing calls, where charging is based on the prefix. I'm specifically referring to 084x, 087x & 09x numbers here.

I think this particular briefing note needs a redraft.

[Tats22]

Many thanks for this - I think needing a redraft is a polite way of putting it - I have replied to Effie

[Tats22]

Hey Effie -thank you for the reply to my query.

You say “Calls and texts from businesses, competitions and some banks may be charged at a higher rate as they count as a premium service”.

I have spoken to my Bank who did not understand this - they pointed out that both their security alert texts and OTP texts are definitely not premium and that I receive them at the moment in the UK free of charge.

I would refer to the helpful and logical comments of japitts - this needs a redraft.

Having said that, what I want to know now (with certainty as opposed to maybe) is if I am in the USA and have mobile data and data roaming switched off:

Will these Bank texts get through or are they blocked?

Will I incur a charge if they do get through?

Hope you can help

[japitts]

---

@Tats22 wrote:

Having said that, what I want to know now (with certainty as opposed to maybe) is if I am in the USA and have mobile data and data roaming switched off:

Will these Bank texts get through or are they blocked?

Will I incur a charge if they do get through?

---

Mobile data enables the use of data whilst connected to a mobile network. Data roaming refers to using mobile data whilst roaming.

Text messages use neither, incoming texts are free globally - (for clarity, with the exception of user-initiated premium-services which are chargeable regardless of where you are)

[Tats22]

Thanks for this further clarification which is helpful to get things clear.

For info, the reason I phrased the question the way I did was because Vodafone said on the phone that I may not or would not receive these "premium" texts from my Bank if mobile data and data roaming were switched off as they were not included in the free "standard" texts

[notauniqueid]

Ok - be very cautious on this - I'm in the process of raising a complaint about this, as I had 3 weeks in the US with Data roaming off (shouldn't affect it, but for info...) - and got charged a daily fee for nearly every day an SMS received on my phone from the UK which wasn't from 'standard' UK phone number.  These were nothing 'special' or premium - my local GP checking a detail, an OTP from my bank, the car hire company checking in, hotels advising checkin time - none of which I have control over. 

That's to the tune of over £80 on my account, and is ridiculous.

[Tats22]

Thank you for this helpful first hand experience - all noted