EXCLUSIVE Tourists issued warning over hidden £300 charge in popular European holiday destination as people call it 'disgusting'

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

Holidaymakers heading to Corfu this summer have been warned of a hidden network charge that could cost them hundreds before they've even stepped out of the airport.
Tourists have been left baffled by a 'Welcome to Albania' text message they'd received shortly after touching down at Corfu Airport - despite being on a Greek island.
An employee from MailOnline, who recently holidayed at the popular European hotspot, shared a text he'd received upon landing from a service named 'Rate Advice.'
It reads: 'Welcome to Albania! Calls, texts and data in Albania are chargeable and do not come out of your standard allowances or UK data add-ons. Roam Beyond data add-ons for this destination are available in the iD Mobile app for as little as GBP5.00.
'If you haven't already purchased a Roam Beyond data add-on, it will cost GBP1.50 per MB. Minutes and texts are not included , and will cost GBP0.60 per text to roam. To protect you from excessive charges, a GBP45.00 roaming data cap is in place.'
Though Corfu in the northwestern corner of Greece, it is situated only a short stretch (48.2 km) from Ksamil, a small coastal village in the riviera of Southern Albania.
Because of the island's location, the strength of the Albanian mobile phone signals near the coast can cause phones to connect to them automatically, even when the user is in Greece.
Some holidaymakers have taken to social media over the summer to warn others of unexpected charges and sky-high phone bills.
An employee from MailOnline, who recently holidayed at the popular European hotspot, shared a text he'd received upon landing from a service named 'Rate Advice'
Steve Moore, from Chesterfield, shared his experience in the popular Facebook group, We Love Sidari, writing: 'I arrived Sunday, usual welcome text to corfu charges just the same as UK - 2 days later message welcome to Albania this is your charges.
'Wow what a rip off, phoned company and after 45 mins of conversation was told the network must of changed to a different mast. You need to keep an eye on it otherwise it will cost you a lot.'
Another Facebook user chimed, 'Only if you go to the east of the island. I did that mistake while on a quad. Using google maps. £128 to drive up road lol,' while a third added, 'We got caught out £298 bill when we got home.'
To avoid these charges, travellers are urged to either inform their provider of the situation, turn off 'roaming,' or manually select a Greek network in their phone's settings instead of relying on automatic network selection.
One Facebook user suggested: 'All you do is let your phone set it's paired Greek network automatically when you arrive on the island at the airport.
'Once it's selected the correct Greek network, go into your settings and turn OFF "automatically select network". This means your phone will not hunt for or connect to anything else other than your correct Greek network.'
They also warned users to 'remember to turn it back on when you get back to UK'.
Another urged: 'Just carry on then when you get back tell your provider to do one. You're not gonna pay for a different provider. I did and got all charges stopped,' while a third shared, 'We keep our roaming off at all times and just log into WiFi in bars, hotels, etc.'
Some holidaymakers have taken to social media over the summer to warn others of unexpected charges and sky-high phone bills
It comes after a travel expert revealed an overlooked phone setting that could end up costing holidaymakers hundreds in unexpected roaming charges.
Georgia Brivida, of international SIM provider Sim Local, is urging Brits to switch off the 'autoplay' feature on their phones before boarding their next flight.
The setting, she says, could quietly drain data and rack up a significant phone bill - often without users even realising it.
She explained: 'Autoplay is a feature that automatically plays videos as you scroll through apps like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, often without you even tapping play.