uSwitch warns World Cup fans of potential roaming bill

Fans following England to Russia could rack up a bill the size of a family trip to LA

Football fans travelling to Russia for the World Cup could face a roaming bill of up to £3,700.

That is according to new research from uSwitch which has pointed out that, as Russia is not part of the EU, roaming charges are still in place.

The research says that calls can cost up to £3.60 per minute and data averages out to £4.37 per MB meaning that a user can get through £50 in just over 15 minutes.

Despite the ‘Roam Like at Home’ legislation from the EU, one in five brits have returned to find their phone bill was higher than usual on return from a European holiday, typically costing £63.

Thirty two per cent of those caught out said they forgot to turn off data roaming while a quarter thought their WiFi was turned on and 16 per cent had to use their phone in an emergency.

uSwitch mobiles expert Ernest Doku said: “The rule when it comes to roaming is to plan ahead. With a single MB of data costing as much as £7.20 in Russia, there are plenty of reasons that travellers and football fans alike need to be wary when roaming outside of the EU.

“With the World Cup kicking off in less than a month and the summer holidays fast approaching, it’s well worth looking now at the roaming deals on the market to make sure you don’t get stung by sky-high bills when you return.

“There are other ways to mitigate the risk of bill shock. Some especially savvy mobile customers buy a local SIM or a monthly-rolling SIM-only contract with a network offering a better roaming deal, and then hop back to their usual network after their trip.”