Roaming charges for mobile phone users abroad have been reintrodced from today by one of the UK's main providers. Many customers on the Three network now face paying £2 a day to use their data, text and calls allowance while out of the country.
Mobile firms were previously banned from charging extra fees to use your UK allowance while holidaying in the EU. The new charges affect pay monthly or SIM-only customers who signed up or renewed their Three contract after October 1 last year, reports the Mirror.
If you joined the network before that date or haven't renewed since then, the charges will only apply when you start a new deal with them. Pay-as-you-go customers are also unaffected. The rules all networks had to stick to around roaming charges now no longer apply because the Brexit transition period is over.
READ MORE: Cleaning hacks that will get rid of flies from your home this summer
Three has also ditched its free 'Go Roam' service for certain destinations outside of Europe - including Australia, New Zealand and the USA - with a £5 daily charge now in place for some countries.
A spokesperson for Three said: “The new charge ensures that customers are clear on what they will pay when using their phone in another country and only those who roam will pay for the service. It will also ensure that we can continue investing in our UK network.”
The announcement follows similar moves from rival networks Vodafone and EE, who’ve also brought back roaming charges for millions of customers. O2 has also changed its “fair use” policy - this caps the amount of your UK data allowance you can use for free while roaming in Europe.
Network providers were allowed to set fair usage caps before Brexit, and this is separate to flat-fee roaming charges.
Full list of places where Three roaming charges will apply:
- Aland Islands
- Austria
- Azores
- Balearic Islands
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canary Islands
- Croatia
- Cyprus (higher roaming fees may apply in Northern Cyprus)
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guadeloupe
- Guernsey
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Isle of Man
- Italy
- Jersey
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madeira
- Malta
- Martinique
- Mayotte
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Reunion
- Romania
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- St. Barthelemy
- St. Martin
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Vatican City
Full list of places affected by "Go Roam" charges:
- Australia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Macau
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Peru
- Puerto Rico
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Uruguay
- US Virgin Islands
- USA
- Vietnam
