Pre-pay mobile users punished

[Gadget17]

Originally Posted by BBC News Site!

Contract customers get a better deal
The Consumers' Association has warned of the heavy costs paid by pre-pay customers using their mobile phone from abroad.

Pre-pay customers will usually pay much more to make and receive calls abroad than those that pay monthly. according to the Consumers' Association.

Holiday Which magazine found that pre-pay users with Orange are charged double the monthly customers' rates to phone home or receive calls from the UK while on holiday, as a result making a five minute call home from Europe costs £6 rather than £3.

In one case, pre-pay Vodaphone users are charged £9.95 for receiving a five minute call from the USA.

Industry regulator, Oftel is currently investigating the pre-pay phone charges market.

"The cost of that mobile 'wish you were here' call home has caught out many holidaymakers...If you fail to plan in advance, your tan may turn pale when the bill arrives," Patricia Yates, editor of Holiday Which said.

Instead, the Consumers' Association urges mobile phone users to consider the merits of phone cards. These, they say, offer much cheaper rates - a s low as 7p a minute for a call from France.

However, Holiday Which admits that the convenience of having a mobile abroad can be hard to beat.


Pre-pay v Monthly mobile charges
Cost of five minute call to UK from Europe
O2 £4.75 (Monthly) £7.45 (Prepay)
Orange £1.50 (Monthly) £3 (Pre-pay)
T-Mobile £3.50 (Monthly) £5 (Prepay)
Vodafone £3.75 (Monthly) £3.75 (Pre-pay)
Source: Holiday Which magazine

[GhostDog]

Gadget,if you dont mind,will you tell the The Consumers Association to come here and investigate a little because we are being ripped off.
The prices that you have posted,dont seem high to me,not even the prepaid ones compared to ours.
Do you mind posting local call prices?

[Gadget17]

On Vodafone SmartStep
Standard Call daytime 30p for first 3 minutes each day, 5p thereafter
evening/weekend

Vodafone to Vodafone daytime 30p for first 3 minutes each day, 5p thereafter

evening/weekend
Voicemail daytime 30p for first 3 minutes each day, 5p thereafter

evening/weekend
Calls to other mobile networks daytime 35p

evening/weekend
WAP over GPRS Live!/Vodafone pages 0.1p per KB
Other pages 0.73p per KB

Sending text messages (per message) 12p for first 3 messages each day, 9p per message thereafter


So 5min phone call using above prices I would pay the following for a local call:-

First call of day = £0.90 (first 3 mins = £0.25 rest of calls on same day £0.05)

A call after first 3 mins = £0.25

But Vodafone on chart above have better prices. I think this is they have contracts with other European providers and can provide a better price.

[SwitchBlade]

Pre-pay phones have always been more expensive for calls than pay monthly. That's why I went on contract after about 6 months of owning a mobile. Being on contract halved my mobile costs.

[jamella]

i agree with you pal! because when i was using pre-paid, i care less about my phone transactions for my thought about it is that i've pay for it already while when i am using the post paid line, my thinking was, how much am i going to pay for my next bill... he..he..he..