Ais Roaming Charges

[mca]

Just got back from a trip abroad to Qatar and received my phone bill from AIS. Usually 1000 baht but this one's 6000. I had the AIS roaming package to call Thailand but only used it about 3 times for a maximum of 5 minutes a time for when skype on my PC couldn't connect or the like. I haven't got a smartphone so its not as if I was downloading data all the time. I've heard the horror stories of people getting 100s of 1000s of baht bills but 5000 just seems excessive for about 15 mins of calls and about 10 sms.

Being a techno-dolt I'm assuming when I return to LOS then i automatically return to my local tarif. ie I'm not calling Udon Thani from Khon Kaen and getting charged as if i'm still roaming.

Any feedback much appreciated.

[bobl]

Consider yourself lucky you don't have a smartphone and/or unwittingly made more calls...

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/thailand-expat-forum-expats-living-thailand/91942-ais-roaming-charges.html

Yes, your phone will revert to non-roaming once it locks onto a local cell...

I always advise when travelling, spend half an hour when you arrive sussing out the local providers and getting a local chip, which in most places can be done even at the airport. Save yourself a world of pain, roaming charges are criminal!

[lomatopo]

You can review the terms and rates of your AIS IR package here: http://www.roaming.ais.co.th/ais-ir-out-otc-web/promotion-out-otc1.html

Rates look steepish! 149.80 baht/min.

It's not unusual for some to return to a 60,000 baht bill.

Edited February 21, 2012 by lomatopo

[mca]

Many thanks lads.

[arthurboy]

Difficult to say exactly what happened here, but I recommend you visit your local AIS outlet and discuss this with the staff. They will check your usage against the roaming package you previously purchased, your other calls once back in Thailand and your general customer profile.

If there has been a mistake, they will offer you something to offset/ write off the excessive cost.

Edited February 23, 2012 by arthurboy

[Pib]

Has anyone ever experienced low cost roaming charges? I think roaming to telecommunications companies means digging around in your billfold.

[Gary A]

The AIS roaming charge is not pricey, it is outrageous. During a trip to the US, I had roaming enabled in case of any dire emergency. After I found out the cost, I bit the bullet and bought an ATT SIM with 100 minutes. That was expensive also but still cheaper than AIS roaming. The SIM and 100 minutes cost about $62. Or maybe it was $68. I don't remember for sure.

The trip before that, I bought a throw away phone for about $39. Eighteen miles away where I was planning to use it, there was no signal. That was a waste too. At least the ATT SIM worked wherever I went.

[mca]

Difficult to say exactly what happened here, but I recommend you visit your local AIS outlet and discuss this with the staff. They will check your usage against the roaming package you previously purchased, your other calls once back in Thailand and your general customer profile.

If there has been a mistake, they will offer you something to offset/ write off the excessive cost.

Thanks for that arthur

[saengsureeya]

I suppose that you have a contract.

There will be a credit limit on your phone-bill(s).

If you are in Thailand, set the credit limit to the double amount of your usual monthly bill.

If you're going abroad, you will receive messages as soon as the limit is reached AND that the provider adjusted the limit.

In that way you can either stop using your phone or accept the "damage" and continue using your phone.

Don't forget to decrease your credit limit to a normal level, once returned to Thailand.

I don't know about other providers, but yes, AIS is pretty steep.