Brits issued £1,000 warning over using mobile phones abroad | Travel News | Travel

Brits are being warned about using mobile phones abroad after some travellers received £1,000 phone bills.

The obligation for phone operators to offer surcharge-free roaming in the EU expired after Brexit, leaving some unsuspecting travellers with bills up to £1,000 after just one holiday.

Some of the main networks have reintroduced charges, and bills can now rack up considerably as the daily limit on roaming costs also expired on June 30, 2022.

British travellers are being urged to check their policies before they travel, turn off data roaming services and set bill limits to avoid any surprise fines.

The five year EU Roaming Regulation agreement which started in June 2017 enabled UK travellers to use their domestic allowance of minutes, texts and data throughout the European Economic Area (EEA) without additional charges.

The regulation also meant there were limits on the wholesale roaming prices mobile operators could charge each other.

Due to end in 2022, it was renewed until 2023 throughout the Brexit transition period, however it now isn’t obligatory and many operators have returned to the surcharge system.

Until 2017 before the agreement, most mobile operators charged customers higher prices for using their service abroad to help cover the cost of wholesale roaming agreements.

According to government, mobile roaming occurs when a mobile customer travels abroad and continues to use their home mobile service.

The customer’s home network operator makes agreements with foreign mobile operators so customers can connect to their network abroad, known as wholesale roaming.