I'm with Virgin and I also noticed my credit was used up rapidly when I went to Egypt.
Must confess I didn't take it any further but I'm now wondering if I was charged for all the delivery reports for messages sent

Pippy

I couldn't prove anything so just had to let it go.

This is exactley what your Network Provider wanted you to do. It was a pity that you decided to give up. I'm not with Vodapone, ( well yes I do have a Spanish Vodafone simcard, but I cannot access my account on line for that), but is there anyway you can access your account on line? If so then you should be able to obtain proof of your mobile phone usage whilst you were overseas.

Do you save all your sent text messages If your handset is capable of saving all your sent text messages in a folder, then you can easily check back on what you have sent. Sorry, I'm not trying to tell you how to suck eggs, I just don't like it when people get ripped off

Its always advisable to save every text message you send from overseas, until you are satisfied with the charges. Ok, you cannot save phone calls, but at the end of your call, you should see an on screen message telling you how long your call lasted for, well my handset does anyway. Jot this information down in a diary or somewhere (including the number you called, don't rely upon memory) and then you will have a record of your phone usage and can refer to if you later believe you have been overcharged.

Never give up if you believe you are correct. Persevere, and if need be threaten to (1) complain to OFTEL <all reputable Mobile Telephone Service Providers are governed by this>, and (2) tell them you intend to take your custom elsewhere.

Must confess I didn't take it any further but I'm now wondering if I was charged for all the delivery reports for messages sent

Pippy, have you registered your account so that you can access it online If not, then may I respectfully suggest that you do. You can then access your account and it will show you all the calls you have made, all the text messages you have sent and the destination numbers, with times and dates and durations etc. From that you should be able to see if you have been charged twice or more for each text message or call that you made.

You should then be able to print off a copy of your 'bill'. Virgin will not post you a copy as I have tried that and their response was as I was on a 'Pay-as-You-Go' tariff I was not entitled to receive paper statements, but they can be downloaded and printed off from their website.

I very much doubt you have been charged for the delivery reports, however I would not rule that out though. I always switch off my 'delivery report' function when I travel abroad just to be on the safe side. If you do that when you switch on your voicemail you should have no problems. Remember it is very expensive to receive voice calls on your mobile when you are in a foreign country. Sorry I know thats a wee bit but I feel its worth pointing out.

Hi all recently returned from Tunisia to find my T-Mobile phone bill a massive £95.00, I say massive cos it's usually only £25.00 per month on contract.

So I call them up and ask them the prices of these calls.. haha should've done it before, but I was too hyped up about my holiday to give a toss.

40p - per text message sent
20p - per picture message sent
£1.30 - per minute to receive a call
£1.40 - per minute to make a call

I wasn't even aware that if you don't answer the call and someone leaves a message on your voicemail, whether you collect it or not you are charged, so that contributed to at least £20 of the bill.

Next time I go (April), I am getting the phone unlocked and am going to buy a SIM card out there, because the prices are extortionate. Anybody would think I'm calling sex chat lines for that money per minute

At least with Vodafone you can opt for what they call Vodafone Passport. This simply means that if you make or receive a call you pay 75p per call plus your home tarif rate. If you are on a contract with free minutes then all you pay is the 75p per call. On a pay as you talk you pay the 75p plus whatever you normally pay at home per minute. On a long call this works out much cheaper. You have to of course use the Vodafone network.

I don't have voice mail but if I did I think I would disconnect it if possible when going abroad. Who wants to pay for a call which might not be of any importance?

With regard to accessing my account online to check my bill - that facility does not seem to be available on pay as you talk. I did not worry too much as it was only a couple of pounds or so as I did not send many texts.
This is the first time it has happened so hopefully won't again.

Pippa

I am getting the phone unlocked and am going to buy a SIM card out there,

That is really the best advise if you wish to take your mobile phone on holiday with you. Just make sure that you have 'unlocked' your handset from your own Network Provider before you go away though. There are places overseas that can arrange this for you, but you might pay more abroad then what you would do in the UK.

In Benidorm in Spain, in the Indoor market there is a very popular Phone Shop where they can unlock your handset for you, but the prices are quite steep as she has to send your handset away for it to be unlocked, so you will be without it for a few days. But its an excellent little shop though, sorry I can't remember what its called now.

But purchasing a local Sim Card in the Country you are visiting is relatively inexpensive and the cost far outweighs the extorniate rates you pay if you stick with your own Network. Just make sure you are clear of the Terms & Conditions though, as some Sim Cards require that you keep your account topped up or it will be disconnected after so many months. With VodafoneES, you need to ensure you add credit to your Sim Card at least once every nine months.

I suspose if you don't want to incur any charges then even better advice would be to leave your mobile at home.

In Benidorm in Spain, in the Indoor market there is a very popular Phone Shop where they can unlock your handset for you, but the prices are quite steep as she has to send your handset away for it to be unlocked

Sorry, that`s not true
The shop inside the indoor market in Benidorm is called Andy`s shop, and he will take your phone back to his house for a couple of hours during siesta and unlock it.
The prices are not steep, infact they are quite the opposite, I had mine unlocked by him, and he gives you the sim card back out of the phone and then takes the "empty" phone.
Just like there are different networks in the UK, the same applies in Spain, each will have different conditions that apply to their network and offers at various times.
Andy is very good at explaining the pros and cons of each supplier.
I had mine unlocked and I think there was 11 euros credit placed on it, I am with Amena, I have 12 months before I must top up, and the cost was 30 euros for everything.
Wherever I go in Spain and the canary Islands, I just put 10 euros on it to keep it viable.
I had my hubbys unlocked on the Costa del Sol later that year, the same network, but his cost 39 euros, but he had 15 euros credit placed on it and they did have to keep it for 24 hours.

I was getting ripped off by T-Mobile PAYG at £1-50 a minute, the cost of having my phone unlocked and buying a Spanish sim card has paid for itself over and over again and saved me pounds.
Andys number is......96 585 8704
One advantage is, by having us both on the same network, we can be miles apart in the resort, but can get in touch for a few centimos, instead of the call being bounced to the UK, to come back again....and also any local calls that you make.
I think I pay 48 cents a minute approx 30/35 pence for calls to the UK, which is a big difference from £1-50...don`t quote me on that figure, I will have to check on the site to be exact.!!!

EDIT: Yes, it is 48 centimos and 42 centimos after 10pm until 8 am, and 15 centimos to each other in the resort.
Text messages are charged at 60 centimos, approx 40 pence and you can have 160 letters per text.
http://ingles.amena.com/amena/particulares/servicios_basicos/138.html
http://www.amena.com
besos xxx
Sanji

Also a tip from T-Mobile customer service. Before going away, phone customer services and ask them to disconnect the voicemail. The reason being is that if you turn it off yourself, if your battery dies, some phones default to the factory settings and you may therefore be charged for voicemail if this happens.

Not sure if this applies to other networks, but it's worth bearing in mind.

In Benidorm in Spain, in the Indoor market there is a very popular Phone Shop where they can unlock your handset for you, but the prices are quite steep as she has to send your handset away for it to be unlocked

Sorry, that`s not true

Sorry, Sanji. I stand corrected. However, when I last had occasion to use this excellent little shop, I was served by a lady with glasses, (in all the time I have been going to the Indoor Market, I have never seen a man serving behind this counter) and she did advise me that if I wanted her to unlock my phone for me, she would have to send it away, as "I don't have the facilities here in which to do that" And the price she quoted me at that time was something like €19. Well considering I can get a handset unlocked here in the UK, in town for £4.00, then in my humble opinion €19 is quite steep. But then that is just my opinion.

But if I have misled anyone with my previous post I can only apologise, I was merely quoting from my own personal experience. That said, 'Andy's Phone Booth' is a very good place to go if you have any problems with your Mobile whilst you are in Benidorm.

Sanji, as a matter of interest, did 'Andy' advise you to buy an Amena Sim Card? I ask because when I went there with the sole intention of buying a Spanish Sim card, the lady that served me recomended VodafoneES as being more economical than Amena. As this little shop is highly recommended and praised by even the Holidayu Reps, I took her advice and purchased a VodafoneES Sim. But from what you are saying, Amena would have been the better option?

Does your Amena Sim work here in the UK? My VodafoneES sim card does, and its no more expensive to use than when I use it in Spain.

Maybe there is more than one shop now in the indoor market
Andy does have a lady serving, I think it may be his mother, or I should say the lady looks old enough to be his mother or aunty.

Andy takes the phones home and unlocks them, and 19 euros at that time was a very good price, for a sim card and it unlocked they were wanting between £10 and £15 just to unlock it in my local market, the price may have come down drastically now, I am talking of at least 3 years ago.
Andy didn`t advise me to buy an amena sim card, he just advised me of the tariffs, it fitted my purpose of having 12 months before top up, some cards at that time like Movistar, you had only 9 months and whilst I usually go to Spain within 6 months, illness or something else may prevent me, so we both agreed that the 12 month option was the best.....I think the rates were 2 centimos difference, but the extra 3 months was more important than paying a couple of centimos more per call, as I am not a heavy user.
This is why you need to check the different suppliers tariff and work out which is best for you....just like you do in the UK.

Does your Amena Sim work here in the UK? My VodafoneES sim card does, and its no more expensive to use than when I use it in Spain.

Yes, my sim card works in the uk, infact it will work anywhere, the amena site will give you all the tariffs etc, you just have to click on the English button to have the page translated.
I`m not into all this phone lark, I just know that I have a bog standard siemens phone with an amena sim card in it, that I use abroad to either send/receive texts or phone the UK, and I am not being ripped off using it.
I will agree that if your phone is already unlocked, then you can just go buy a sim card, and within days the simcard will have paid for itself.
If you go away to Spain or the Canary/Baleric Islands before the 12 months is expired, put 10 euros on it, then you`re laughing for another 12 months.
Besos xxx
Sanji

and 19 euros at that time was a very good price, for a sim card and it unlocked

Sorry Sanji, I think you have misunderstood my post or I have misled you. The quote the lady gave me for €19 was only to have my handset unlocked. It did not include the price of a new Sim Card. Merely to unlock my handset so that a foreign Sim card would work. The price with a new Simcard and a Top Up Voucher to get me started was something like €55 - €60, if I recall. But that did include a €15 top up card.

But just to clarify, she quoted me €19 simply to unlock my handset, nothing more.

She is a very nice and helpful lady whoever she is, but as I say, she is the only person I have seen serving at the counter. I think there is another Mobile Phone Shop in the Indoor Market, but the one I am referring to is defiantely ANDY's. Now you have reminded me of the name I know we are talking about the same place.