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.

[Aircub]

This deal is good if you are on business many times a month abroad. However if you are abroad now and again and want to send the off text home this is a rip off...

[MI5]

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@Aircub wrote:

This deal is good if you are on business many times a month abroad. However if you are abroad now and again and want to send the off text home this is a rip off...

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As said many times on this thread, if you are only sending the odd text home, just opt out and pay the standard rates.

[Aircub]

Can you remind me what the standard rates are for comparison

[MI5]

You can check all countries here http://international.o2.co.uk/internationaltariffs/travelling_abroad

and here http://www.o2.co.uk/international/travel/standard-charges

[Aircub]

Really need to complain to offcom, they want you to spend £1.99 per day regardeless of what you do.

[MI5]

It won't cost you 1.99 if you opt out and only send the odd text at all.

[jonsie]

If you read through the thread you will see that you do indeed have choices. Complaining to Ofcom is absolutely pointless and a waste of your time.

[GrahamW]

<< It won't cost you 1.99 if you opt out and only send the odd text at all. >>

My issue here is that most of us have opted-in (some say it was automatic) because the "O2 Travel" option was sold as a no-brainer to normal users in order to avoid paying too much for calls/texts whilst abroad.

Now (in Europe at least) "O2 Travel" is something for normal folk to be opted-OUT of in order to avoid paying too much for calls/texts whilst abroad !

If O2 had cancelled all of our opt-ins, explained the new "O2 Travel" and then invited us to opt-in if we were planning on making "clumps" of long-ish calls on particular days ... then I would have been a lot happier.

[jonsie]

They have informed everyone and opting out is a simple text so is that really such a big issue? 

[GrahamW]

<< The £1.99 includes 120 minutes to the UK and local numbers in any O2 Travel destination. You can call local spanish landlines or mobiles with that 120 minutes - you won't be charged extra.

You'll only get charged if you go over 120 minutes >>

Thanks PhoneDoc.  That's the most concise and understandable explanation I've heard so far.  I think I fully understand "O2 Travel" now !

So with O2 Travel, my pizza call will either cost £1.99 or be "free" ... depending on whether or not I have used O2 Travel already that day.

Without O2 Travel my pizza call will always cost 16.5p per min.

Can you similarly clarify TuGo for me ?  How much will I be paying to call a local Spanish number if I use TuGo ?  I'm guessing it will be charged "as if I am in the UK" ... i.e. always 16.5p per min.

If so, then this is a situation where TuGo isn't so much a "cost-saver when making calls abroad" as a "get a connection when there is no phone signal" type option.  That's not a criticism ... just an observation.