10/10/2018

New Ofcom Spend Cap Regulations

As of October 1^st, 2018, Ofcom regulations mean every mobile provider must offer the opportunity for existing and new customers to set a monthly spend cap on their mobile phone usage (Only available to those who have connected after 1^st October). Meaning you can set a limit to the out of bundle charges, which in the past have caused sizeable bill shocks due to over usage on data/premium calls.

Previously in the event of large overspend we ask the network to provide a credit, however, this change in regulation means we can pro-actively apply limits as and how the customer wishes.

What counts towards overspend?

· Additional calls/texts and data usage

· Calling/texting any international number from the UK

· Calling/texting any number outside of Europe when you are in Europe (excluding the UK)

· Calling/texting or using data when you’re outside of Europe.

· Any charity donations which are made from the phone

· Calls to directory enquiry services

Why have Ofcom implemented this?

The whole point of Ofcom introducing this new regulation is to prevent business mobile users from receiving bill shocks as it allows them to put a limit to their overspend. This is going to be especially useful for those with a large workforce as it can be hard to keep a track on how everyone is using their mobiles.

What happens if customers do nothing?

A lot of our customers currently don’t need to do anything as this change only affects those who have resigned or signed new connections up after the 1^st of October 2018. As of now, each time a new deal is done we will ask if you’d like to put a spend cap on any of your numbers or if you’d like to stay as is.

What happens if you reach your limit early?

If you hit your spend cap limit, a bar will be added to your device to stop any more charges from coming in. If this does happen and you need service back you can let us know and we will have the bar removed and up the limit to something more suitable.

How can you make changes to your spend?

The spend cap only comes into play when you go outside of your usual allowance, this could be down to exceeding your data allowance limit or calling premium rate numbers. If these are unavoidable, you can ask us to add a one-off data top up for the month, or even increase the spend cap to ensure you won’t be barred.

Below are the available caps for each of the networks:

O2	EE
Spend cap opt out	Spend cap opt out
£0	£0
£5	£5
£10	£10
£15	£15
£20	£20
£30	£30
£50	£40
£75	£50
£100	£75
£200	£100
	£200

The above caps are available on all business tariffs, excluding pay as you go and shared plans.

Vodafone
Vodafone Red and Mobile Broadband	Business Value, Business Plan and ONB
Spend cap opt out	Spend cap opt out	£150
£0	£0	£175
£8.33	£10	£200
£16.67	£20	£225
£25	£30	£250
£33.33	£40	£275
£41.67	£50	£300
£50	£60	£325
£58.33	£70	£350
£66.67	£80	£375
£75	£90	£400
£83.33	£100	£425
	£125	£450
		£475
		£500

If you have any questions regarding the new spend caps or would like to apply one to your business account, please get in touch with your Account Manager on 01928 715 724.

*If your Vodafone tariff doesn’t come under either of the categories, please let us know and we will be able to assist further.

*Please note the EE spend caps are only available to those who connect or upgrade after 1^st October 2018.

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