Mobile phone roaming

Tens of thousands of Three mobile users are set to lose a perk that allows them to roam at no extra cost in 71 countries. MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal that the mobile operator is 'forcing' certain customers to sign up to new plans, which means they'll lose their 'free' roaming benefit. It's a U-turn from Three, which had said it would keep inclusive roaming for those on older contracts.

O2 and Virgin Mobile, now known as 'Virgin Media O2' since merging, have pledged to continue offering free mobile roaming in Europe. It means holidaying Brits can use their data, calls and texts as they would in the UK. It comes as other major providers announce plans to reintroduce roaming fees later this year. 

EE is to start charging new and upgrading customers a flat £2/day roaming fee to use their monthly allowance in Europe from March 2022. The mobile company had said the fee would begin in January but this has been pushed back by two months, meaning rival Vodafone will become the first to enact a roaming fee from the start of next year. 

Newly merged O2 and Virgin Media have launched a new product called Volt, allowing eligible customers to get their mobile data allowances doubled and their broadband speeds boosted to the next level at no extra charge. To get it, you need to have Virgin broadband and an O2 mobile contract. While decent for existing customers, for most it's not worth switching to the firms just for the perks – we've full analysis below. 

Thousands of 1pMobile users who signed up to the pay-as-you-go provider before 1 January 2021 will need to spend at least £2.50 worth of credit on calls, texts, data or other services every 30 days from today. Fail to meet this spending limit, and you'll have a fee of up to £2.50 deducted from your credit.

Three is to start charging new and upgrading pay monthly and Sim-only customers roaming fees of £2/day to use their monthly allowances in Europe from 23 May 2022. In addition, the mobile provider will ditch a core deal that allowed many customers to use their inclusive minutes, texts and data in 22 non-European destinations and instead charge customers £5/day.

Three pay-as-you-go mobile users will see the cost of calls, texts and data rocket from 16 February, with the price of sending a text outside Europe increasing by an eye-watering 1,650%. But you can leave penalty-free and switch to a cheaper deal. 

The price of making an international call from the UK to another EU country will be capped at around 20p/min from today – but you're still likely to be able to save by calling via the internet.

An O2 customer accidentally racked up over £3,000 in roaming fees, after receiving texts which said her calls and data would be taken out of her UK allowance – here's what you need to know to make sure you don't fall foul of complicated rules.