Roaming overseas on Prepay

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heavenlywild

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#12601 27-Mar-2007 08:08

Hi guys,

To my understanding, prepay users can now use their SIMs in overseas countries.

I am travelling to the States next week and was wondering whether I should sign-up for it or not.

I see they bill you on your credit card. Any good/bad experiences with that?

Thank you:)

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#65111 27-Mar-2007 09:02

You always the option of using Prepay roaming, and it always involved having a credit card charge.

Remember, when roaming you pay to RECEIVE the calls as well. And it's not cheap.

cranz

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#65112 27-Mar-2007 09:05

Prepaid customers can use their phone globally for roaming but you need to sign up for creditRoaming at a Vodafone store which is $10 and does require a credit card for security. You will be sent a bill/statement when you return with all of your charges and usage which is nifty for PP customers.

If you're going to USA make sure your phone is Tri-Band otherwise you probably wont be able to get a network over there (don't you love America doing things differently)

Also make sure you're aware of all charges involved, you can check these here: Vodafone Roaming countries and prices as different networks have different surcharges and you can very easily end up with a large phone bill. Manual network select is your friend in this case.

You also need to keep your prepaid topped up while overseas, as prepaid roaming uses split charging.

e.g for TXTing, 20c is deducted from your PP balance and the network surcharge is added to your roaming bill. If your PP balance goes to $0 it will prevent you from outgoing activity.

sbiddle

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#65113 27-Mar-2007 09:09

heavenly_wild: Hi guys,

To my understanding, prepay users can now use their SIMs in overseas countries.

I am travelling to the States next week and was wondering whether I should sign-up for it or not.

I see they bill you on your credit card. Any good/bad experiences with that?

Thank you:)

Roaming works well - just be aware of the big $$ you pay for the service. If you are on holiday for an extended period of time buying a local SIM card for a local network will probably give you far better value for money.

You can only autoroam to a few countries, if you go to most countries with PrePay roaming you will need to lodge a credit card number with Vodafone to pay for it.

Bung

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#65115 27-Mar-2007 09:35

We've had mixed results with prepay roaming. First time UK for a month, Autoroam worked well. 2nd time involve other travel so setup prepay roaming. In UK worked for a few days then stopped. Don't know if that still used Autoroam. European leg, couldn't get service in some places. Only explanation at this end was "well sometimes roaming works better for account customers"

Have a Plan B.

heavenlywild

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#65118 27-Mar-2007 09:44

Thanks guys for the replies.

Hmmm, it does sound quite costly to roam on prepay and there is always a chance of Vodafone overcharging eh?

I better just rely on my work phone, which is on Telecom. I see only Sprint and Verizon support the CDMA network there. Hope the reception is fine in Boston and New York!

patdude123

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#65182 27-Mar-2007 17:14

Having just spent 6 months travelling across Asia, Europe and the USA my advice for prepay roaming is dont bother taking an NZ card with you, the charges are totally OTT. Buy a local prepaid SIM inthe destination you're visting and pay local rates, its mile cheaper!!!!

sbiddle

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#65183 27-Mar-2007 17:23

heavenly_wild:
Hmmm, it does sound quite costly to roam on prepay and there is always a chance of Vodafone overcharging eh?

My girlfriend had issues on several occasions after setting up PrePaid roaming in 2005 for the USA. We then went to London and she was charged twice - once on the credit card and also had the money deducted from her account with the PrePay auto roaming. We got home and she queried this and was given a refund only to find the following month when she went to Australia she got a bill the following month for those calls. Vodafone admitted that double charging in this case was quite common and it is hard for a user to know if it actually is happening.. Yet another reason why Vodafone should be providing online call details for *all* users.