Yahoo News Vodafone customers hit with roaming bills 'worth thousands' by mistake
Furious Vodafone customers took to Twitter today after being hit with huge roaming charges by mistake while abroad.
The mobile phone giant apologised to those affected and claimed a technical glitch had caused the error.
Many said they had been cut-off by the provider and were unable to use their phones and could not reach the company.
They had received alerts from Vodafone that said their data had run out despite many still having data remaining in their allowances.
@VodafoneUKBiz Pls DM me I cant get through to anyone at Vodafone by any means , I'm still showing a £7k bill. I've been a customer for 20 + years ( not including the years you sponsored that lot from down the road ) Any reason I should stay a customer ?
— Fruity Buckmaster (@tourandting)
Users reported on social media their bills had risen by hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of pounds in less than 24 hours.
One mobile user said he had been billed £7,000 and was considering moving to a different provider despite having been a loyal customer for over 20 years.
Another complained that because of the large bill he had been unable to use his device even though he had been promised the issue would be fixed on Sunday.
It’s fine vodafone you’re only charging me nearly £4000 and my bills due to come out in 3 days 👌🏾 https://t.co/GuUZIiDal3 pic.twitter.com/22peqhndm2
— Emily Parker (@emjparkerr)
Andy Pearch contacted Vodafone to say his phone had been cut off after being charged £4,903. Mr Pearch said the stress of the situation was ruining his holiday.
Under EU regulations UK consumers have been able to use the minutes, texts and internet data included on their mobile phone tariffs when travelling in the EU at no extra charge since 2017.
Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, has been notified by Vodafone of the error. Replying to a disgruntled customer on Twitter, Ofcom said: "They have assured us that they fixed the issue as soon as they could and will ensure that no customer is wrongly billed."
This is a JOKE! £4903 on my bill and now I get a text informing me I’m cut off till I pay some of my bill. Stress of this is ruining my holiday but Vodafone don’t care
— Andy Pearch (@pearchandy1)
Vodafone said: "We are very sorry that some customers could not use their phones yesterday, when roaming abroad. This was due to a technical error, which we have now fixed.
"Some customers are receiving billing messages in error; we are working through these as an urgent priority and are removing any errors from customer accounts. Customers will not be charged and do not need to worry about contacting us as we are proactively checking accounts.
