[Ben]

-T-Mobile (funny tune) did this a while back, didn't they?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7564787.stm


The National Consumer Council (NCC) has criticised Vodafone for increasing mobile phonecall costs without telling its customers.

Vodafone plans to raise minimum call charges by 25%.

But a letter to users does not mention prices are going up and tells customers they should not be affected much.

Part of the reason it needs to raise prices, it says, is because the European Commission has made firms cut the cost of calls made from overseas.

Headline tariffs

Vodafone is not changing its headline tariff rates but it is increasing some costs for calls that are not included in these deals.

Minimum call charges are rising by 25% and calls to 08 numbers, including 0800 and 0845, will be rising by more than 30%.

In a letter, Vodafone does not mention that prices are going up. It says it does not believe the changes will have a significant impact on its customers.

The NCC has called on mobile phone providers to make sure they are absolutely clear on prices.

Roaming limits

Last year, the Commission set limits on roaming charges for mobile phonecalls across the European Union.

At the time, mobile phone companies warned that prices of other calls may go up.

In June, the Commission unveiled plans to lower the cost of mobile phone calls by reducing the fees operators charge each other for using their networks.

The Commission said it was these charges that were, in part, to blame for mobile calls being more expensive than fixed-line calls in the EU.
I can't believe the mobile operators have the nerve to raise domestic tariffs in protest of the cutting of overseas ones, especially when they and the UK government had such a massive victory in making the price restrictions so generous! I mean, seriously, they still make a killing on EU roaming, so what's all the fuss about?

This is purely about spite and milking it.

[gorilla]

This is one of the reasons I would not use vodafone. They always seem to be that little bit more expensive than the rest, but this is underhand.

I'm going to spain in 10 days time, will I be using my iphone to phone home, browse the net? I don't think so. One thing I will be doing is sending texts; these come out of your existing inclusive sms. 1 roaming text = 4 inclusive texts. Not great, but for the likes of me who nevers uses their allowance, ideal. Now what about similar pricing for calls?

Is vodafone passport still around? Does that not eat into their profits?
What happens if the credit crunch detroys the low cost airlines and thus ruins the tourist industry, will the mobile networks hike charges at home because less of us are roaming?

[Hands0n]

All of the mobile operators, and the GSMA, utterly refuse to acknowlege the boost to income when the roaming charges were reduced. They all reported profits, not the [self] predicted losses.

Yet here we see Vodafone, and no doubt others from the GSMA cartel to follow, raising their domestic costs. Next years financial figures will be very telling - in a global economic downturn the mobile operators will declare record profits.

The arrogance is breathtaking.

[selena]

The price rambles come as the economic downturn in the country but will also affect their customer base at a time when prices are rising for basics such as food and fuel.

[Hands0n]

It is pointless raising mobile call rates - in times of economic downturn the first things to be jettisoned are the luxuries such as mobile phones and driving cars for frivolous journeys etc. People are being faced with paying the bills or putting food on the table - the mobile phone will be the first to go.