While many of you may think we have it bad in the UK what has so far always been impossible in the UK has actually happened to me twice in Spain recently after using a geographic alternative number (as listed at www.nomasnumeros900.com) for their even more expensive (than 084/7 or even 0871) using 902 number using call centres.  More concerningly still the overcharge has happened not when using a local domestic Spanish Mobile SIM card (I have such a SIM card with Orange Spain) but when using a UK mobile SIM card from www.ovivomobile.com , I believe using Vodafone as their Spanish roaming partner.  This should make the over charge all the more impossible given that roaming calls in Spain on a UK SIM card to geographic Spanish numbers specifically have their call rates capped by the EU roaming directive.

In this case I actually used my ovivomobile.com SIM by accident since I had swapped it out in to a basic phone that I normally have my Orange Spain SIM in so I could use Smartphone features on my Orange SIM card (this now gives you 10MB of data a day for 1 Euro - enough to check a few emails).

But in any case I called two Spanish call centres who also use 902 numbers but in each case did not use the 902 number but used a geographic alternative starting 971 for the Palma de Mallorca office of Centauro rentacar and a 952 Ceuta number to contact www.fortec.es who also claim to BT ADSL Broadband of Spain.

As I suddenly found that my ovivomobile.com SIM had no credit on it and I could not receive incoming calls I checked why and found that £6.53 for a 3 mins 23 secs call to the Mallorcan 971 number for Centauro and had also been charged £2.03 for a 1 minute 3 seconds call to the Ceuta number run by Fortec.  As Fortec told me in that call that they were busy and not able to take my call in that message I didn't even get to speak to anyone for the £2 per minute charge.

Ovivo clearly show on their website at http://ovivomobile.com/pricing/ that they only charge 24p per minute for local calls within EU countries (Spain is in EU Zone 2) so there is no doubt at all that I have been seriously overcharged at the 902 rate (I believe these numbers some how get out of being covered by the EU roaming directive) for calling non 902 geographic alternatives.

I have also had problems in the last day with a delivery from UPS who seemed totally and utterly unable to find our address in this remote corner of the island (Correos.es, the equivalent of Royal Mail have never had any problem with this) and they again pull the scam of using 902 numbers to rip you off at 58 cents per minute (the Orange Spain rate for these numbers) or £2.00 per minute (the UK roaming rate for these numbers) even though all their US call centres use 0800 numbers.  There is an alternative at www.nomasnumeros900.com via the UPS switchboard in Madrid but who willingly connect you to the 902 call centre but unfortunately the switchboard closes at 5.30pm whilst deliveries continue until 7.30pm and the 90s customer call centre is open until 8pm.  Thankfully Orange Spain have not tried to charge me 902 rates for dialling 902 alternatives for these or any of the other 902 alternative numbers I have called in the last few weeks.

This shocking behaviour presumably by Vodafone Spain (since I am sure Ovivo merely passes on their raoming call charges) in charging 902 rates, even where the caller has specifically dialled a 902 alternative number that should be charged at normal Spanish geographic rates is really truly shocking.  It has never happened when using my Orange Spain mobile.

I think I will be drawing this to the attention of both the EU Commissioner and Ofcom as well also as Orange Spain's outrageous practice of charging 30,3 Euros per minute for calling UK 00 44 3 numbers when they should be charged at 1 cent per minute just like UK 00 44 1 and 00 44 2 numbers are by Orange Spain.

Basically the European mobile operators behave like the Mafia or illegal drugs vendors in the way they try to extort outrageous sums for certain calls that the caller has no way to know are being charged at these rates before they call.  Instead the first they know is when all their calling credit is gone and/or they receive a massive itemised calls bill.