O2 claims £200 per GB excess data fee is simply a deterrent

Mobile broadband provider O2 has answered back to claims it's charging customers far too much for exceeding their download limits, explaining the fees are set in place mainly to act as a “deterrent”.

Charging the highest excess data fee of any of the UK mobile broadband providers , O2's out-of-bundle fees are currently set at £200.70 for every GB. When it was asked to defend the data charge a spokesperson from O2 explained its tariff was “used as a deterrent and to make sure that others using the network had a good experience.” Explaining its procedure for charging customers who go over their data allowance, even if they're not too sure their cap the provider's spokesperson commented: “Very few of our customers go over their limits. We text them when they are at 50 per cent of the usage, and again at 90 per cent and again if they go over. We keep them well-informed and people understand our pricing structure.”

Of course, the £200.70 mentioned here doesn't apply to users who have downloaded data out of their contract allowance whilst overseas. If customers stream or download content whilst overseas data roaming rates are also applied. Unfortunately, O2's terms and conditions do not specify to customers the consequences of this (even in the small print), only that the charges “may be significant”.