After reading your recent letter regarding BT, I felt compelled to share my own negative experience – specifically, the exorbitant roaming charges I incurred while sleeping on an overnight ferry.
Late in the evening, we boarded a Brittany Ferries service from Portsmouth to Bilbao. Exhausted from a long day of driving, we promptly turned in for the night. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, my phone continued to download data while I slept, possibly because I had forgotten to close Google Maps.
At 11:59 PM, I received a text message from BT warning that I was now utilizing maritime data at a cost of £12.01 per megabyte. By 1:44 AM, another text arrived stating that I had spent £35 and reached my data roaming cap, preventing me from using any further data.
Fortunately, I must have previously agreed to this data cap, sparing me from a much larger bill. However, I believe ferry companies have a responsibility to inform customers about these exorbitant charges. It is evident that they profit from the uninformed.
BT claimed that the issue was not their concern, as they were merely passing on charges imposed by Brittany Ferries. Nevertheless, after some persistence, BT agreed to refund half of the charge.
This seems illogical, as it implies that the charges were unreasonable and the warnings came too late, but BT still imposed a partial charge. I have learned a valuable lesson from this situation and believe it is important to warn others.
MM, via email
Luckily, your data usage was capped, preventing a hefty bill from ruining the start of your holiday.
This issue becomes particularly relevant as the school holidays begin in England and Wales, as well as for individuals embarking on cruises.
Surfing the internet while at sea is incredibly costly due to the connection to the satellite-based maritime network. The simplest solution to avoid excessive charges is to disable your data or activate flight mode on your mobile device.
If you absolutely need data during the journey, consider purchasing a data package for the ferry’s wifi.
We recently reported on the reintroduction of roaming charges for British travelers in mainland Europe. If your phone is always at hand, make sure to carefully review the details of your contract to understand your rights and limitations before traveling.
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