British consumers are being urged to wise up on the overseas charges they face for using their mobile phone abroad and avoid the little-known but avoidable traps

A study from Uswitch found that despite the fact that nine in 10 of us take our mobile on holiday, eight in 10 people have no idea what they are being charged for making calls or sending texts when abroad.

And although the European Union introduced a cap on overseas roaming charges on 1 July, costs still can vary between member states and don’t apply to countries outside Europe.

The price comparison site said there were some common pitfalls that people are completely unaware of. It said the biggest sting in the tale is for those who get voicemail messages while their phone is registered as being overseas.

Not only are they charged at overseas rates for the message being left, but they are then charged again at overseas rates for picking up the message.

It has urged people to contact their network provider to see if it has a roaming package for cheaper calls abroad or to find out about using an international Sim card. It also said holiday makers should not switch on their phone until necessary.

Steve Weller, of Uswitch said: “Consumers have to ‘know before they go’ if they don’t want to be hit with unexpected charges. As soon as your phone is switched on abroad the damage is done – it is registered to a local network and starts to incur overseas charges, even if you switch it straight back off again.”