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.

[adamtemp64]

@MI5 Agreed but they have stayed within them in previous years.

As I say though we do need clarification as in the updated o2 travel it refers to the standard rates and as it states it will not trigger for incoming calls.

Sounds like the usual post an update then amend it when holes have been found etc. 

[MI5]

Yeah, probably right mate....

[Cleoriff]

We certainly need clarification on all of it. Travelling to Spain every 6 weeks it will affect me a fair bit.

[Anonymous]

I have also just received this email and am concerned. Like others,  I send the odd text from abroad and I'm happy to do so when it costs pennies. I don't want to use lots of data or make lots of calls just to get my 1.99 worth.

Until now, I've been happy to pay 1.99 for the odd day when I don't have wifi and need to use mobile data, so I don't want to opt out of O2 Travel altogether. But I do want to text at the old rates. I hope O2 can fix this. 

[MI5]

I doubt they'll change anything tbh.
They will have worked out their revenue stream based on the business model.

[darrengf]

Good evening to you all.

just a quick update from me,  

vodafon on do the same for £3 per day in Europe. You pay £3 per day and use your own data, mins, SMS. So if I'm understanding that. You send 1 SMS and charge £3?

so o2 will charge £1.99.  I'm not justifying anything and it would be great if o2 says you will pay standard rates each day, but when you reach £1.99 for that day, then you will be charged no more.

however I don't thing it's going to happen and it will be a standard flat £1.99 no matter what. 

 I just home that data speeds in Europe are improved. No matter what country I visit, I get shocking poor speed from the word dot, 😒  Shame really.

Also want to say that I'm still reading the forum when I can and its great to see that your all still passionate in helping,  I will try to update where can, but it's not always possible 😔  

[SCH]

I have just had a chat session with O2.  The agent claimed that we would be charged 50p for receiving each call under the new rules (i.e. the same as currently under O2 Travel), whether or not O2 Travel has been activated/charged on the day in question (by making a call, sending a text or using data).  This does not seem to match most people's understanding in this forum.  If true, the changes webpage is clearly misleading, and the new rules will be worse for those who mostly text (especially if they don't use data), or for those who make/receive fewer than 4 calls a day.

Does declining to opt out of a package like O2 Travel grant the network operator a complete exemption from the EU price cap?

[MI5]

I wouldn't believe anything live chat tell you tbh.
We've asked our community leads to look into it so we'll have to wait for them to get back to us on it before we know for sure.

[GrahamW]

Can I add my voice here too please ?

I am in Spain 3 or 4 times each year and I turn off mobile data whilst there.

I use WiFi (available pretty much everywhere) and make the odd voice call to the UK.  I don't mind paying 50p for a call ... esp, as I get an hour of talk.  I never make more than one call on any given day.

So, if I understand the new rules ... I'll get charged £1.99 on each of these days.  That's a price increase of 400% !!!

Am I understanding this correctly ?

[Cleoriff]

Hi @GrahamW We are waiting for clarification on this but it appears you are correct. I have the same problem. I go to Spain every 6-8 weeks and usually make a couple of calls when there. 50p for an hour is damn good value. £1.99 is outrageous. I use Tugo now...but that can only be used over Wifi..