Vodafone launches service to prevent 'bill shock'

02/04/2017 08:05 AST

A new research from Vodafone has revealed how prevalent the issue of mobile 'bill shock' is for holidaymakers travelling abroad from Qatar.

Excessive mobile phone bills when travelling is the number one issue experienced by one third (36%) of people who had a travel problem in the last year. This finding is based on a survey of more than 200 holidaymakers conducted by Intelligence Qatar - a mix of Qataris and expats resident in Qatar - which uncovered the most commonly occurring issues that people travelling abroad have faced.

To help Vodafone Red Postpaid customers travelling abroad by ensuring they never receive a shocking bill again, Vodafone Qatar recently launched Bill Manager. This innovative product automatically gives customers the benefits of Vodafone Passport when they roam without having to activate it in advance. Bill Manager will also automatically apply the best local data products when customers go out of bundle using local data.

Vodafone Passport is the only mobile product in Qatar that works on all operators in the counties where it applies. Once again protecting customers from shock charges that can apply from roaming on the wrong network while on holiday.

Other commonly reported complaints uncovered by the research included problems with hidden and additional charges affecting 18% of people and poor customer service, affecting 11% of people. The in-depth research findings also highlight the extent to which such travel troubles threaten to spoil the fun for Qatar's residents planning their perfect get-away, with more than one in five (22%) holidaymakers saying they've had a trip beset by problems in the past.

But the findings also reveal that too few holidaymakers manage such issues proactively. Less than half (46%) of those questioned have complained when faced with such situations, just one in six (16%) made a compensation claim, and almost a third (30%) took no action at all. Vodafone's Bill Manager is perfect for customers travelling abroad. As an illustration of how it works, for customers who start roaming in one of the 78 countries included in the Vodafone Passport Pack and who reach QR100 in terms of roaming data or voice usage, they will automatically receive 1GB data valid in 78 countries, 1GB additional data valid in the GCC countries and 100 roaming minutes valid for a week for absolutely no extra charge. If a customer consumes the data or minutes within a week, Bill Manager will give them the same benefits the moment their usage reaches another QR100 and so on.

"Our Bill Manager service has saved customers more than QR5m primarily from international roaming usage in just a few weeks. The response from customers has exceeded all expectations. It really is one of the most innovative developments to benefit consumers in recent years," said Mohammed Al Sadah, Chief Operating Officer at Vodafone Qatar.

The Peninsula