O2 iPhone data roaming robbery!

dib

So I'm heading off to Edinburgh for the weekend and decided I'd call O2 re data roaming as I figure it'd be nice to be able to use Google Maps and a few other location based apps while I'm away.*

The girl I spoke to immediately advised against it, telling me it was crazy expensive. When I enquired as to level of crazy she told me it was €5 PER MB!!! That is absolutely ridiculous. I couldn't believe it.*

It gets better. I then asked if there was some sort of bolt on package I could buy before I went away and she replied the positive. It's €75 for a 50mb add on data roaming package. Could be worse I'm thinking, until she advises me that this is a recurring charge for 3 months!! I asked her to clarify what she just told me and she said "yes, that is a recurring charge of €75 for 3 months".

These charges are absolute daylight robbery and utterly disgraceful. How can anyone defend charging someone a recurring fee for 3 months for such a service? A data roaming add on by it's very nature is a one time purchase.*

Sadly I'm locked into an 18month contract with O2 but when it does expire, so too will any and all future business between us.

I do however have one question for you boardsies. When I'm in the UK can I buy an O2 UK pay as you go sim and use that in my IPhone, which is not jailbroken. *

Random

You'll only be able to use O2 IE SIMs in your iPhone to the best of my knowledge.

The pricing is how it is, glad you read up on it before you went. Have a look into WIFI hotspots, they're all over the UK.

You might be interested to read this thread too about new EU Regs:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055842111

pieface_ie

no a uk sim wont work in your phone,i bought a new iphone 3gs,jailbroken from the uk (o2),i accidently updated it in itunes recently now its locked itself back to the o2 uk network (im o2 ireland) i thought it would work no prob,but the phone says no!:(

roaming is a rip off alright,i was using google maps while in london and i was greeted by a night bill when i got home.

make sure you turn off location services when you head away, Setting>general.

eamon234

That's a load of crap - you automatically get 50mb free per day when data roaming if you're a billpay customer. Should be enough to check your mails and use google maps for a bit and as Random said, there are plenty of hotspots just stand outside any hotel and you should be able to pick up something.

0mb to 4mb - €4.96 per MB charged per kb increments
4mb to 50mb - free
50mb amd above - €4.96 per MB

dib

eamon234 wrote: »

That's a load of crap - you get 50mb free per day when data roaming if you're a billpay customer. Should be enough to check your mails and use google maps for a bit and as Random said, there are plenty of hotspots just stand outside any hotel and you should be able to pick up something.

0mb to 4mb - €4.96 per MB charged per kb increments
4mb to 50mb - free
50mb amd above - €4.96 per MB

That's not what the O2 Customer Service representative told me and I'd tend to believe what's been told to me by a representative of the company that's going to send me my bill in a months time over someone on boards.ie!

Thanks to the other posters for your help.

eamon234

dib wrote: »

That's not what the O2 Customer Service representative told me and I'd tend to believe what's been told to me by a representative of the company that's going to send me my bill in a months time over someone on boards.ie!

Thanks to the other posters for your help.

Read it for yourself then

This applies to all customers including iPhone

aidan_walsh

eamon234 wrote: »

That's a load of crap - you automatically get 50mb free per day when data roaming if you're a billpay customer. Should be enough to check your mails and use google maps for a bit and as Random said, there are plenty of hotspots just stand outside any hotel and you should be able to pick up something.

0mb to 4mb - €4.96 per MB charged per kb increments
4mb to 50mb - free
50mb amd above - €4.96 per MB

Well, you get 46MB free after paying ~€20 anyway. The first 4MB (the ones that they are sure not many people will go over) will cost you.

eamon234

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Well, you get 46MB free after paying ~€20 anyway. The first 4MB (the ones that they are sure not many people will go over) will cost you.

Sorry you're right there Aidan I missed that bit!:o It's still not what he was told by the O2 person

O2_Sheena

Hi Dib,

Thanks for highlighting your case. The guys here are correct. The data rates have changed and you can now browse 50MB for €20.

Can you PM me your number so I can which agent you were speaking to and pass on the feedback?

blaz

That's why everyone reading this should switch to Vodafone and use their inclusive data roaming for the live.vodafone.com APN. O2's charges are indeed daylight robbery and they will not learn unless customers teach them. Switch away from O2 and tell everyone (including O2) why you are doing it.

O2_Sheena

Thanks for the feedback Blaz. Fully appreciate what you are saying and where you are coming from. I'll pass it back to our roaming team for you.

Valentia

I only got my iPhone (O2) at the beginning of the year at the €65 tariff. When the €60 one was introduced I immediately rang support and they were "delighted" to facilitate me. The 18 months new contract wasn't an issue because I had just joined up anyway.

There was no mention of tethering, either on the phone or on the new contract. AFAIK the conditions on tethering were changed after that.

Now I don't need tethering 99% of the time but when I am off in Kerry on my holidays in July it would be really really useful. Is that unreasonable?

To think that I can't use my unlimited 3Gb allowance for tethering for two weeks in the year is beyond reprehensible. It's pretty clear from my other posts re O2 what I think of them now. I really can't think of a company I could feel least loyalty for. They are, in my opinion, complete rip off merchants with no respect whatsoever for their customers.

I wish we lived in a country where there was a means of sanctioning such sharp practices but I suppose the head honchos in O2 are so well in with the head honchos in the Dáil that any likelihood of that happening doesn't exist!

This kind of disregard (disrespect even) for customers is a long way from the way I was reared.

keane2097

dib wrote: »

That's not what the O2 Customer Service representative told me and I'd tend to believe what's been told to me by a representative of the company that's going to send me my bill in a months time over someone on boards.ie!

Thanks to the other posters for your help.

That's a fairly obvious mistake there dib.

You'll find the first answer you get from an o2 rep will usually be wrong, go ahead and triple check anything they say every time imo.