Company charges mobile users four times maximum price

There is a warning over a loophole in mobile phone roaming rules that could catch out passengers on ferries off the Irish coast.

Mobile services in Irish and European waters are provided by a company in Norway which is not obliged to obey EU caps on roaming charges.

As a result the company, called Maritime Communications Partner, has charged thousands of Irish mobile phone users four times the maximum limit.

O2, Vodafone and Meteor are all partners with MCP, and they say they warn their customers by text about the higher charges.