O2 Travel Changes 7/4

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I have been usng the free O2 Travel bolt on since 2016 as I travel to European countries quite often. I use it primarily to browse for when wifi is unattainable. I browse and I get charged £1.99 for the day. In terms of of making phone calls and text messages. If I text a UK number whilst in a European country I get charged 4p. So the overall current setup is:

"While travelling in Europe just pay a 50p connection charge to make and receive calls between European countries then talk for free for up to 60 mins. You'll pay just £1.99 for the days you use data in Europe & there’s no upper limit, but traffic management steps apply. £40 monthly spending limit for data outside Europe."

An email has been sent out from O2 stating changes to how O2 travel works. It now states that:

"From 7 th April 2016, we’ll be adding calls and texts sent back to the UK and within O2 Travel destinations, to the data you already get with our O2 Travel Bolt On. This will give you data, up to 120 minutes and 120 standard texts, per daily charge within selected destinations in Europe. With O2 Travel you’ll only be charged for the days that you use it."

My udnerstanding is that from 7/4 if I am in a European country and I text a UK number, rather than being charged 4p like I used to be, I will be charged £1.99.  Is this correct? I appreciate they are saying you can send up to 120 messages and still get charged £1.99 but I never send 120 messages. I usually send just a couple. By this logic, the £1.99  charged that was activated only when you used data, will now also be activated by sending a text message. If I send one text per day for 3 days I will end up paying £5.99? 

Can someone please verify tell me if I have misunderstood the change?

Thank you.

PS: I am not asking to be told about the different options to circumvent sending a text.. I just want to know that I have understood the changes correctly.

[MI5]

It sounds like you may be correct, but this is the first I've heard of any changes so we need to investigate it.
@Toby @Martin-O2 can you help please?

[Anonymous]

Hey M,

I received the email today and also the link in the email directs to the O2 Website:

http://www.o2.co.uk/o2travelupdate?cm_mmc=email-_-05778o2travelupdate-_-A000912218-_-findoutmore-_-0...

[jonsie]

That is how it reads but surely....can't be right? Send one text and pay £1.99?

[MI5]

Yes, that's exactly how it reads.
You will be charged the £1.99 per day for any phone use at all.
No mention of the 50p connection charge for calls anymore though.....?

[MI5]

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@jonsie wrote:

That is how it reads but surely....can't be right? Send one text and pay £1.99?

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The assumption is that everyone will be using data as well, I guess.....?

[jonsie]

Having read the link I would be opting out....

[MI5]

I always use data anyway so it was always £1.99 per day for me - I'd be better off if they have dropped to 50p call connection charge too though.

[viridis]

Obviously making it a bundle gets around this interim cap.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34646434

As they're not charging for individual use, they can bundle it how they like...
I wonder if you can hold them to the capped billing if you opt out?

[viridis]

"That means telecoms operators will be able to add a surcharge of no more than:

€0.05 (3.5p) extra per minute for calls
€0.02 extra per SMS sent
€0.05 extra per megabyte of data used

The cap would make roaming within the EU 75% cheaper during the interim period, the European Commission has said."

I want that tariff please lol