MP writes to Ofcom over ferry roaming charges

NORTHERN Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has written to communications regulator Ofcom over the “bizarre” roaming charges applied to some NorthLink ferry customers.

Shetland News reported this week that several folk have been left with huge mobile phone bills after being charged roaming fees – despite only making the domestic journey between the Northern Isles and Aberdeen.

For example one woman’s teenage daughter was charged three times after three ferry trips earlier this year, racking up £150 worth of extra charges.

It led to one network operator, iD Mobile, encouraging people to put their phones into flight mode.

Roaming charges are usually associated with someone going outwith their usual network area, such as to another country.

Carmichael said: “For people on a domestic ferry service to be charged international roaming charges on their mobile is utterly bizarre – I am grateful to local media for bringing public pressure to bear on this issue already.

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“Ofcom as the regulator must challenge this vigorously.

“Whatever the practical causes of this issue, it is difficult to see any principled justification for NorthLink passengers to be billed for roaming charges, or for their mobile usage to be treated as though it were international.

“This is a lifeline ferry service going from one UK port to another, entirely within UK waters. It is surely not unreasonable that passengers would expect their mobile charges to work as normal.”

Carmichael reiterated that NorthLink is not at fault, but added that there must be a solution that “goes beyond simply turning mobile data off”.

“Ofcom as the regulator must take a view on this anomaly and outline what can be done to secure a fairer solution going forward,” he said.