Holiday rip-off: Britons charged 1,000 times more to surf web abroad

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Ripped off: British travellers who use their phones abroad
There may be a cap on the amount companies can charge travellers to make calls and surf the web in Europe, but Britons are still being ripped-off by sky-high charges elsewhere in the world, research shows.Some holidaymakers are charged as much as 8 just to download one photo to their phone or iPad as mobile companies cash in.Those who make or receive a 10-minute call or send 10 text messages from outside the EU can end up with bills as high as 299.By comparison, the same usage by a Briton in France would cost 38.19.EU officials have put caps on the amount phone companies can charge users inside Europe, but travellers further afield are not protected in the same way.
According to consumer magazine Which? the most expensive country to visit and use your phone is Russia, where those on a contract with Three will pay 3 a minute to make a call and 1.20 to receive one.Other networks charge similar sky-high fees. A minutes call from Russia on Orange the UKs biggest mobile provider costs 1.75 a minute to make and 1 a minute to receive a call. Elsewhere, a call back home from South Africa will set you back 1.50 a minute on T-Mobile and 1.50 to receive on a Virgin Mobile phone.Data roaming charges, usually on smartphones such as the iPhone, can see some people returning home with huge bills.Caroline French-Blake, a charity worker from London, said she recently went to Kenya for two weeks to make a documentary, but when she returned she was shocked by the enormous bill that confronted her.

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She said: I needed the phone as my daughter was due to give bi! rth in A ustralia.I received about 20 emails a day and sent a total of around 20 emails.

During the trip I received a text from Orange to say that I had used in excess of 10 mb.I didnt know what this meant so I rang Orange as soon as I got back.An operator got back to me and said that I had a bill of 5,000, which was a terrible shock. Data charges are limited to about 40 in the EU due to an automatic bill cut-off brought into force last year.

Sky high: EU officials have capped the amount phone companies can charge users inside Europe but travellers further afield receive large billsSome operators have caps for use further afield, but others have none leading to the huge bills.Which? said that using tablet devices such as an iPad overseas can be as much as 1,000 times more costly than in the UK.Data use such as checking emails, watching videos and downloading music on a tablet device can cost as little as 7.50 a month in the UK for 1GB of data. But the equivalent use could cost Britons abroad several thousand pounds.For example, the charges per MB with Orange are 3.07 in EU countries and 8 in the US, while 3 charges around 10 in Canada.This brings a maximum for 1Gb of data use of 3,144 in the EU, 8,192 in the US and 10,240 in Canada.Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: Until data costs come down, anyone considering their tablet or mobile for using the net abroad should steer well clear of 3G data roaming and use free wi-fi access where available instead.