Vodafone to pay €894,000 back to 20,000 customers

Investigation by ComReg found Vodafone had not adequately informed customers of charges on roaming services

Vodafone is to refund 20,000 customers over €894,000 for breaches of roaming regulations following an investigation by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).

Vodafone is to refund 20,000 customers over €894,000 for breaches of roaming regulations following an investigation by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).

The investigation by ComReg found Vodafone had breached the 2022 Roaming Regulation, under which providers are obligated to keep customers adequately informed of the charges which apply to their customers’ use of data roaming services.

“As a result of its investigation, ComReg was of the view that Vodafone had not provided its customers with the correct information as required by Article 14 of the 2022 Roaming Regulation,” said a ComReg statement. 

“Specifically, ComReg was of the view that Vodafone customers had received notifications that did not include the costs associated with each additional unit to be consumed as required by Article 14(4) of the 2022 Roaming Regulation. These suspected breaches affected approximately 20,000 customers.

“Over €894,000 of refunds are to be issued by Vodafone and this process is ongoing,” said ComReg.

A Vodafone Ireland spokesperson told the Irish Examiner the company has undertaken a comprehensive review of its roaming processes, in consultation with ComReg, and is now introducing additional measures to further enhance cost transparency for customers.

“Roaming spend caps of €50 and €100 are already in place, with customers alerted as they approach these limits to help prevent bill shock. We will now update our roaming spend cap SMS notifications to clearly include the cost per unit (out of bundle) when customers exceed their spend caps outside the EU. This will ensure customers have the information they need to make informed decisions and avoid unexpected charges when roaming.

“We have also updated our welcome messages for customers on Red Roaming to clearly outline the costs that apply when usage exceeds the daily 500MB data allowance.

“We recognise the importance of providing complete and timely cost information and apologise for any inconvenience caused in the past. We are now proactively commencing the process of reimbursing customers for historic roaming charges in cases where spend caps were exceeded without customers being fully aware of the applicable costs.

“Our priority is to keep roaming information simple, fair and transparent, and to ensure customers feel confident and informed wherever they travel.” “Our priority is to keep roaming information simple, fair and transparent, and to ensure customers feel confident and informed wherever they travel.” ComReg said it will continue to monitor Vodafone’s compliance with its obligations and to “investigate as appropriate consumer complaints whether arising in respect of the Roaming Regulations or otherwise”.