Is Your Smartphone Running Up Huge Bills While You Sleep?

British phone customers are facing bills which can total thousands of pounds - run up by their phones while they slept.

The problem is caused by smartphones which access the internet, download data and even huge software updates for apps - without asking the consumer.

Outside the EU, where travellers can be charged up to 6 per MB, this can be extraordinarily expensive - and even in the UK,, some users have faced bills totalling thousands.

Speaking to the Guardian, Stacie McCormick explained that she faced a £15,000 bill from O2 after she turned on data on a phone to use sat-nav software - and then left it on, thinking she was safe as she was not using it.

She said, ‘Three days into the trip I had reached my agreed data limit of £120, and because I needed the phone to navigate round South Africa, I phoned O2 to lift the cap.

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‘Within 14 minutes of that call the charges had gone from £120 to £7,000.’

Other customers have faced bills upward of £1,000 after large data bills have been run up on their accounts.

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In any of these cases, customers can be left saddled with a huge bill - and unaware of how they have actually run it up.

Phone networks are often unable to provide detailed breakdowns of how data charges were incurred.

Telecoms regulator Ofcom advises all travellers to switch off data roaming while abroad.

Ofcom says,, ‘If you don't switch off data roaming before you leave the UK, your smartphone will automatically seek out an internet connection when you reach your destination and you may start using data without realising it.’

‘Remember, even low data usage that you wouldn't notice at home could end up costing you more abroad as it may not be covered by your standard usage allowance.
It's simple to turn off data roaming on your handset.’