Football fans warned about extortionate phone bills

Following a report by the Telegraph and mobile phone analyst Billmonitor, football fans are being warned to watch their spend as extortionate roaming costs and foreign connection fees could see phone bills rise to eight times their normal cost.

Unlike 2006's Germany world cup where European Union price caps applied, British phone users aren't currently protected outside the continent.

The Telegraph revealed that customers of the cheapest mobile network – Virgin Mobile – could expect to pay £201 for two weeks of average text and call consumption while customers of the most expensive network – 3 – could expect to fork out a staggering £410.

Users of smartphones have also be warned about the cost of receiving and sending emails; the cost of 50 emails alone could easily exceed £10.

A spokeswoman for Consumer Focus was quoted as saying:

"International roaming charges outside of the EU can be staggering. Consumer Focus is compiling a league table of the type of charges people will face.

"We would urge England fans travelling to South Africa to check their mobile phone fees before they leave and look into the add-ons available on their network to ensure they don't get hit with a hefty bill on their return."

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