Beware the not-so-smartphones that eat your data while you sleep

Stacie McCormick’s half-term break in South Africa cost her the equivalent of the net salary of the average British worker. But it wasn’t the flights or the accommodation that impoverished her; it was a £15,000 bill from O2 on her arrival home.

The charges, incurred over a 30-hour period, were for data roaming, and racked up regardless of whether McCormick made or received calls. For 16 of those hours she was either asleep or on a boat without internet access.

“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,” she says. “Within 14 minutes of that call the charges had gone from £120 to £7,000. I know that my phone would have been using apps and incurring charges, but I’ve been told that my bill equates to 120 hours of hi-res movie viewing, which makes no sense.”

McCormick’s case is an extreme example of the shock bills that can confront smartphone owners when abroad. Many travellers, accustomed to free Wi-Fi, are unaware that browsing the internet and checking emails can cost more than phone calls and texts. Even when the phones are asleep, 3G- and 4G-enabled handsets will automatically seek out networks to update apps.

Last year, the European commission introduced caps on data roaming charges in member countries, slashing costs for internet use and downloads from 45p per MB to 16p plus VAT, and making calls 15p a minute. Outside the EU, however, there are no international regulations governing charges, which can be as much as £8 per MB, although EU service providers are obliged to send customers a welcome message outlining charges when users go abroad.

Nor does telecoms regulator Ofcom restrict what UK service providers charge customers to access overseas networks, and providers are predictably cagey on the subject. It is estimated that data roaming outside the EU costs operators between 25p and £2.50 per MB, which means that O2, which charges nearly treble this in some countries, enjoys a profit margin of up to 2,400% per MB. “The agreements we have negotiated with the many networks around the world vary considerably,” an O2 spokesperson says. “To make it simple and transparent, we average that out to provide one price –no matter what network customers are using.”

The problem for customers is that, even when they are aware of the charges, it is difficult to know how much data is being used for each phone function. Browsing Facebook uses up to 2MB per minute; navigation apps or radio streaming can devour far more. The bills, when they come, are not necessarily enlightening. “My bill gave no indication of what I had used and how the £15,000 was arrived at,” McCormick says. “One customer services person said there must have been a mistake and that they would investigate, but another later insisted the bill was accurate.”

O2, which has since reduced McCormick’s liability to £2,000 as a “goodwill gesture”, blames her for opting out of the restrictions that cap data usage abroad to £120, and which sent daily alerts about usage. “When she removed the cap we sent her a text message reminding her that she would be charged at £6 per MB and that she could get in touch with us to reapply a data cap,” O2 says.

Customers do not have to leave these shores to rack up unexpected bills. Smartphones enabled for 3G and 4G automatically switch to a network when Wi-Fi access is unavailable or temporarily drops out, and data charges can then rapidly escalate – unbeknown to the customer.

Mark Pragnell from Dorset bought mobile phones for himself and his teenage daughter from Vodafone. He eventually discovered that his daughter’s mobile had powered through 48GB of data in 18 days, prompting bills of more than £1,000 for two months running. “My daughter was connected to free Wi-Fi with data roaming turned off, but apparently iPhones switch to 3G if the Wi-Fi signal drops momentarily, and continue to download and update while asleep.”

Vodafone claims it cannot cap data use in the UK, nor can it guarantee alerts warning customers of how much they have spent. “They can do this online by using the My Vodafone app or by ringing 44555,” a spokesperson says.

Londoner Juliet Chalk thought she was helping her family get a good night’s sleep by switching off the internet router at night; instead, she has actually endured sleepless nights after her son’s phone switched to 3G while he was in bed, ratcheting up a £313 bill in the process – despite a £50 monthly cap on his account.

“I was told that the provider needs 72 hours after any limit has been reached before it can stop further charges being incurred and that it does not text customers when they are approaching their limit,” Chalk says.

Customers who feel they have been wrongly charged can take their case to one of the alternative dispute resolution schemes all operators are obliged to sign up to if their complaint is unresolved by their provider after eight weeks, or after the provider sends them a letter deeming the case closed.

DODGING BILL SHOCK

To avoid unexpectedly high bills there are practical steps that smartphone users should take at home and abroad.

■ Phone settings can be altered to disconnect 3G while Wi-Fi is being used to prevent the phone automatically switching to expensive networks while on home turf; when travelling abroad turn off data roaming to prevent your phone downloading data without you realising, and stick to Wi-Fi in cafes and hotels wherever possible. Google and JiWire offer free iOS and Android apps that search out local Wi-Fi spots.

■ Make essential downloads such as maps or books before you leave the UK, and avoid watching films or downloading music unless you have Wi-Fi. Companies may charge for voicemail messages left on your phone (plus extra for actually listening to them) while abroad, so turn this facility off too if possible and avoid opening attachments in emails or loading photos on to social media.

■ Operators should cut your data connection once you’ve used around £40-worth per month, wherever you travel in the world, unless you choose another limit or opt out of the cap. If you do opt out make sure you are aware of the charges regardless of whether you actively use your handset. Uswitch reckons a holidaymaker who opts out and doesn’t make use of free Wi-Fi or switch off data roaming could amass a £500-a-day bill, depending on where they are in the world.

■ There are apps that compress the amount of data you use, and in doing so cut your costs. Onavo, for instance, promises to reduce data usage by 80% in 90 countries. It also has an app which monitors the amount of data you are using so you can keep tabs on cost.

■ Some providers offer packages with discounted rates for people going abroad, but be careful that when the bundle is used up the phone doesn’t automatically switch to standard rates.

■ A pay-as-you go sim card bought in the country you are travelling to, or a global sim from specialist UK providers such as Go-Sim, will ensure you only pay local rates provided your phone is unlocked, although it will mean using a different phone number.