Vodafone blames ‘technical error’ after customers get £10,000 roaming charges

Vodafone (VOD.L) on Monday said that it was “very sorry” that customers were hit with thousands of pounds in roaming charges and had their phone services cut off on Sunday.

The UK phone network said a “technical error” was responsible for the issue, after customers complained on Twitter that they had seen their bills rise by as much as £10,000.

“We are very sorry that yesterday, some customers could not use data or calling services when roaming abroad. This was due to a technical error, which we have now fixed,” Vodafone said in a statement.

“Customers will not be charged and do not need to worry about contacting us as we are proactively checking accounts and fixing any issues. We apologise for this issue and will automatically compensate affected customers.”

Customer Jonathan Greig was in Sofia on Sunday ahead of tonight’s England vs Bulgaria football match when he got a text during dinner from Vodafone saying he had overspent on roaming. He told Yahoo Finance UK that his phone was cut off 15 minutes later.

Upon checking his account, he saw that he had been hit with over £6,200 in “additional charges”.

After returning to his hotel, he says Vodafone admitted its error during a customer service chat, but blasted the provider for their “bloody incompetence”.

Greig told Yahoo Finance UK that he knew of several other England fans in the country for the Euro 2020 qualifier that had been affected.

EU regulations enacted in 2017 mean that UK customers are able to use their minutes, texts, and a proportion of their data when travelling in the EU at no extra charge.

Tom McArthur contributed reporting.