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Texting someone abroad?


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You sure that isn't when dialling a locally registered sim and not a UK sim?

 

I'b be very very surprised if the OP got charged anything extra for texting or calling a UK sim abroad. I've been on Vodafone, Tmobile and BT Mobile and never got charged extra when calling to a UK sim that was overseas.

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I'm yet to hear of a contract which charges extra for someone in the UK to ring or text a UK sim abroad. When calling though, the person abroad will probably be charged for recieving that call, but no extra for recieving a text message.

 

This was explained to me as the person calling/texting does not know you are abroad (and your operator won't either [unless it's the same one]), as a caller/sender, you can't be charged more. As a reciever abroad, you can reject an incoming call to avoid the charges, but you can't decline recieving a text message, so it would be unfair to charge you for it, with no way of avoiding the charges, apart from turning your phone off.

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it would be unfair to charge you for it, with no way of avoiding the charges, apart from turning your phone off.

 

even turning your phone off would not 'avoid' a charge for an incoming text message. It gets sent anyway. You get it as soon as you turn it on again.

 

as noted, you don't get charged extra for calling UK SIM's abroard. Foreign SIM's you do get charged quite a lot though from most of the main service providers like Vodafone etc, and if your friend is in the foreign country for long enough to warrant them getting themselves a foreign'local SIM card to keep their costs down, and you still want to text and call them a lot, you'd be better off getting a £5 SIM card from one of the companies that markets to foreigners here, where your calls and texts to foreign numbers are cheaper than Vodafone, etc, but your domestic calls and texts aren't. Those are IDT Mobile and Lycamobile, which specialise in serving people who want to text and call to foreign SIM's. With those outfits, a text to Japan from Fargate costs less than one to Jordanthorpe.

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You can never be charged extra for calling/texting a UK mobile number if they happen to be abroad. They may be charged extra for calls or texts or even voicemail but as you wouldn't necessarily know they weren't in the UK you can't be charged more.

 

Virgin mobile are pretty rubbish if you are on contract and go abroad. If you let it register at any point that you are abroad then any texts or voicemails after that point will cost you money. So if you don't want charges either don't take it or switch it fully off before leaving the UK.

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it would be unfair to charge you for it, with no way of avoiding the charges, apart from turning your phone off.

 

...

 

Doesn't everybody do that as a matter of course? ;)

 

If I leave my phone on the battery goes flat and I keep getting annoying phone calls and silly text messages.

 

I bought the phone for my convenience, not to make life easier for marketers.

 

If you're going abroad fairly frequently (and if you're going to the same places) then it might be an idea to get a foreign SIM card (pay as you go) and use that.

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