EE, O2 and Vodafone have all released statements responding to the recent events happening in Ukraine. Please see below the networks' response to the Ukraine crisis.
Response from EE
In response to recent events, we want to support our customers who may have family, friends or employees impacted by the conflict that's developing in Ukraine. This means that from 00:01am on 25 February, BT and EE mobile calls, texts and landline calls will be zero-rated (free of charge) for customers in the UK calling Ukraine. Calls, texts and data for BT and EE customers currently in Ukraine will also be zero rated. Some customers may have already been charged. These charges will be credited on a customer's bill if made after 00:01am on 25 February. We'll continue to monitor the situation and review our approach as required.
Response from O2
We recognise that O2 customers in Ukraine may incur unexpected roaming charges at this time. In addition, customers in the UK trying to contact family or friends in Ukraine may also incur additional charges. To support these customers, we'll credit all international calls, texts & data from and to Ukraine for the period 21 Feb - 6 March. This will include Consumer PAYM & PAYG customers and Business customers across O2, Virgin Media and GiffGaff.
What Does this Mean for our Customers?
We'll credit all roaming and international calling charges from and to Ukraine between 21 February - 6 March. We'll raise credits on a weekly basis for impacted customers. We're identifying a list of customers actively roaming or who have called Ukraine in the last two weeks and we'll text those customers w/c 28 February to let them know what we're doing.
What Do I Need to do?
If a customer contacts you about this, please let them know what's happening and reassure them that we'll be crediting their roaming and international calling charges from and to Ukraine between 21 February - 6 March. If a customer is unable to use their phone because of their Spend Cap, please discuss the options with them and amend their Spend Cap if needed to resolve the issue. This only covers charges from and to Ukraine, not any adjoining states. We recognise, however, this is a changing situation and we’ll be keeping the situation under review should events escalate. In the meantime, if you’re contacted by a customer who’s incurred roaming charges in an adjoining country as a result of the conflict, please use your discretion to decide on the right way to support that particular customer, taking each case on its merits and asking your line manager if you need some additional guidance.
Response from Vodafone
We want our customers to be able to stay in touch with anyone in Ukraine during this difficult time. We will be supporting customers by refunding and crediting calls and texts made to Ukraine or whilst in Ukraine. This means that any calls or texts made by our customers to Ukraine from 24 February 2022 to 25 March 2022 (inclusive) will be paid for by Vodafone and will not be charged to the customer. Customers will see a credit on their bill for these charges and there is nothing the customer needs to do regarding this. In addition to the concession above, if your customer is roaming in Ukraine, their £5 (ex VAT) roaming fee will also be credited back to their account and will be noted on their bill.
Please See Below for FAQ's:
Will the Fair Usage Policy Still be Active?
Fair Usage Policy is active (25GB) we will update when/if changes can be made to this policy for impacted customers.
What about Spend Manager?
Spend Manager is active but can be removed and increased where necessary. Please remind customers that credits/refunds are only for calls to and from Ukraine and removing spend manager could incur additional charges.
I Can't Roam, What Do I do?
Complete standard troubleshooting steps and BAU escalation if your customer is unable to make outgoing calls to/from Ukraine.
Who Will Receive These Communications?
SMS are going to end users of impacted business customers.