Vodafone Basics and Roaming

[Tabasco]

Hi, I signed up to a Vodafone basics sim only plan a month or so back. Anyway apparently you can’t roam on these plans. Well, some things I’ve read says you can’t roam as standard, which kind of indicates the rule might be flexible in some way?

I didn’t notice the inability to roam at the time of sign up (my fault I should have paid more attention), but I was just wondering if Vodafone will add the facility to roam, say on a payg basis, where the charges are just added to your account rather than coming out of your bundle, or is it just a matter of having to use a different sim when abroad?

Thanks in advance.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @Tabasco

The info about roaming is in Vodafone travelling-abroad. which also includes info on Pay Monthly and Payg which does state "

Please note: Roaming is unavailable on all Vodafone Basics SIMs as standard"

If a person has a phone that is unlocked to all networks and that phone has the frequencies and band's that the abroad network uses then yes a local SIM card can be the answer as well as using Wi-Fi. 

[Tabasco]

Thanks for the reply @BandOfBrothers

I was wondering what the "as standard" actually means. To me it implies that there is some flexibility and roaming can be added somehow, but I may be interpreting that wrong?

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @Tabasco

Your very welcome for my reply. 

I suppose it's open to interpretation but the fact it states "unavailable" pretty much clarifies it. 

[AnnS]

Hi @Tabasco

All Vodafone tariffs include Global Roaming, I am not sure of the SIM only tariff you are on, the SIM only tariffs are Essential and Red.

I rather think the word unavailable is incorrect on the link and should read available as standard.  There is further information on Global Roaming here:  Vodafone Global Roaming

The Team will pick this up for you later and make sure you have the correct advise and information.

[Josh]

@Tabasco I'm sorry you didn't notice the term in your Basic's plan that roaming isn't available.

In regards to what we can offer to activate roaming on your line, we'd need to migrate you to a new tariff that included Global Roaming such as; Vodafone RED and essentials SIM Only bundles.

A breakdown of all the main key terms to a Vodafone Basics plan is as follows:

- Data Cap is automatically turned on from purchase
- No Global Roaming (Vodafone Basics plan is for UK use only)
- Premium call, MMS and charge to bill bars are activated on the bundle as standard
- No flexible upgrade eligibility (full commitment must be met before free upgrade)
- No Vodafone Pass compatibility (Our new Vodafone Video, Music & social passes can't be added to Basics plans)
- No discounts (We can't discount Vodafone Basics plans any further)

I can appreciate some of the key points above may deter you from a Basics plan, we purely brought out the new Basics plans for customers in the UK that don't use as many services as our alternate SIM Only plans include.

[Tabasco]

Thanks for the reply Josh. The plans you mentioned start at almost double the price for less minutes/texts/data, so will stay as I am I think. I've got a payg sim on another network, so will just use that when going abroad.

Many thanks for the help and explanation though.

[Josh]

@Tabasco You're most certainly welcome! If you have any further queries regarding our new Vodafone Basics plans, please ask away and we'll always be happy to help along with our fantastic Community Champions.

[vinod]

Could someone from the team please let me know whether SIM Only Basics plan allow all calls diverted to a landline number?

If the above is possible, it is OK, not to have roaming (infact it is a blessing when going on holiday, as we are in control). Here are the steps.

Sign up for skype number (about £5 for the whole month)

Divert all calls to the above local UK skype number while in UK, i.e before boarding the plane.

For the days you need to be taking calls, make sure you have wifi and skype app enabled.

The total cost estimate would be around £10 (including any calls you receive/make using Skype app - and the outbound calls you make via skype can be set to show your UK vodafone SIM number)

[Loz]

@vinod You can try setting up a call divert on your plan, you can check out how to do this on our website here. Please keep in mind, roaming isn't available on Basic Plans and if any of your services are used whilst abroad, additional charges may be incurred. If you're connected to Wi-Fi during the time of using your services, you wouldn't be charged.

Please be mindful when receiving a call if you're not connected to Wi-Fi, it'll register on our network and you'll be charged for data. If you travel regularly, maybe an Essentials plan is for you! This includes roaming in 48 European destinations for no extra charge. You can even roam in a further 104 locations and pay an extra £6 per day as part of our Global Roaming service.