22 million mobile phone users burnt by high mobile phone bills

With more Brits than ever planning on taking  their mobile phones  abroad on  holiday  this year, research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, suggests that many more could also be coming back home to an unexpectedly hefty bill. 

33 million people (71%) plan to take their mobiles away this year compared to 22 million last year, but just a fifth (22%) will be checking on the charges for overseas use  before they go.  Over four in ten (42%) will have no idea what they'll be charged,  running the risk of racking up huge bills on their return. And they are not alone - nearly half of mobile phone users (49%) have been burnt by roaming costs in the past, coming home to an average bill of nearly £150.

Nearly seven in ten Brits (67%) run the risk of high bills by leaving their mobile phone switched on while abroad, even though more than half of these (35%) don't even intend to use it. A further quarter (26%) will turn their phone on sporadically to check messages. But by doing this, consumers are unwittingly opening themselves up to high overseas charges. This is because the minute you switch on abroad and your phone registers onto a local network you will be billed at overseas rates - you will have to pay to receive calls, for someone leaving you a voicemail message and to pick up voicemail messages.  

Brits are also being caught out by their need to keep in touch with those back at home while they're abroad. A third (33%) admit they will use their phone abroad to check emails and nearly a quarter (24%) intend to use Twitter or Facebook on their phone. Nearly three in ten (27%) will browse the internet when they're away, a quarter (26%) will use apps and 16% will check the weather. 14% will even risk racking up high bills to check their work emails.

But even though 83% of people think that overseas charges are too expensive, they are still missing a number of simple tricks when it comes to cutting the cost of using their phones abroad. Seven in ten (70%) don't switch their voicemail off before leaving the UK and less than half recognise that local SIMs and roaming packages are the cheapest way of staying in touch while abroad. And although O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange all offer roaming packages, just one in ten (11%) savvy mobile users always get a special roaming package from their provider to cut the cost of using their phone abroad - a third (33%) don't know about them and one in ten (10%) think they're too much hassle to sort out.

Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com, says: "Contacting your mobile phone network should be high on every mobile user's holiday checklist, alongside packing your passport and sun cream. If people don't want to add to their post-holiday blues by coming home to a ‘bill shock', they need to take control. If you really can't do without your mobile while you are away, at the very least you should make sure you understand the charges and try to limit the scope for a huge bill. Just switching your phone on while abroad - even just to use the alarm clock or the camera - can open you up to unexpected charges so it's definitely best to ‘know before you go'. 

"You could opt for a special roaming tariff like one in ten savvy Brits do, fix a cap or even using a cut price local SIM card. But if this seems like too much effort, or you run out of time, at least ask your network to switch off your voicemail service before you leave the UK to avoid these hidden charges - over two thirds of Brits are missing this simple trick.

"But with smart phones taking over, one of the biggest ways to get burnt while abroad is by the high cost of data roaming. Mobile internet users must ensure they check that this is turned off when not in use to prevent online services such as email updating automatically. And although telling your friends about the bar or the hotel pool on Facebook or Twitter may be difficult to resist, it's best to avoid visiting sites like these which are heavy on the visuals, as data is charged per megabyte."