June 15th 2017 – if you live in Europe and currently not under a rock, you will surely know by now that, under EU agreement you’ll no longer have to pay any additional roaming charges for making calls, sending texts and using mobile data, whilst traveling within the EU.
Great news for holiday makers, right? WRONG! What…? But doesn’t this mean the end of that terrible post-vacation bill shock, or has this just become another way of encouraging us all to skip that digital detox we were planning to do?
Beware of Your Own Behavior – it may Cost You Unexpected and Unaccounted Roaming Charges
Well, before you start getting too carried away, the EU’s Roam-Like-at-Home reform doesn’t include any sea travel – so if you are taking a ferry between Barcelona and Rome’s Civitavecchia you will, most probably, incur additional roaming costs – which will depend on your mobile contract and your provider’s terms and conditions. You may want to check that before you go booking that cruise holiday!
Should you be in full swing of making the most and splashing out (excuse the Summer pun) on the no-additional-roaming-costs-within-EU, then mind you don't get over-excited and start dialing all local numbers of where you are holidaying at. These calls will be made just as if you are at home, so this means you will actually be paying for full-fledged international calls.
Remember this, if nothing else: Your phone behaves as if you are at home. Your behaviors don’t.
ROAM LIKE AT HOME OR IS IT FRAUD LIKE AT HOME ?
The EU’s "Roam Like at Home" is not intended to allow permanent roaming where a customer would take out a subscription in the cheapest possible EU country and use it to roam in their own home country. But how can this be avoided? Or caught? They say special rules apply to phone plans with unlimited data and pre-paid cards. Might be useful to check the official FAQs.
However, the principal is, if you spend more time using your mobile phone abroad than at home, your mobile operator may impose roaming charges
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