Key Highlights
- The founder of Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, wants roaming charges to be regulated with the rocketing living costs.
- He said that he has no belief that mobile firms to self-regulate as they have broken promises.
Martin Lewis, Founder of Money Saving Expert, wants roaming charges to be regulated amidst rocketing living costs.
UK RPI inflation has reached 11.7 percent, the highest in the G7, and is set to increase further in 2022. People up and down the country are highly struggling to make ends meet, and the UK Government is widely seen as ignoring the crisis.
Energy bills are the most significant contributor to soaring inflation, and it’s where Lewis has rightly concentrated the majority of his efforts. Anyways, Lewis also has the telecoms industry of the UK in his sights.
Before the UK left the EU, mobile operators pledged not to reintroduce European roaming fees. Almost all operators broke that promise to various extents, except Virgin Media O2.
Lewis said that he has no faith in mobile firms to self-regulate. When the UK left the EU, it promised not to reintroduce European roaming charges. But, most of the extensive networks have broken that promise. So their report calls on Ofcom not to trust voluntary promises, and they need to reintroduce the formal, compulsory consumer protections.
He added that “It’s time too, to define time. We need to ban an everyday roaming fee charged for use ‘up to 11.59pm’ without even mentioning in which time zone. Instead, we suggest all providers must define a roaming ‘day’ as a 24-hour period from first use. And clearly explain that in the arrival text, and alert customers at least an hour before the daily charges end.”
Broken Promises
Mobile operator Three took many consumers by surprise. Even before the EU’s regulations, it pioneered free roaming around Europe and beyond. Customers could use their allowances in 71 countries without incurring extra charges.
But it’s not just operators breaking their promises. While serving as Brexit secretary, UK minister Dominic Raab said the government would prevent operators from reintroducing roaming fees.
In 2018, Raab told BBC that they would legislate for a limit on roaming charges to make sure in a no-deal scenario and would protect British consumers.
They had some good news from businesses, like Vodafone and Three. They have publicly said they won’t introduce roaming fees for UK consumers traveling on the continent.
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