When Three pay-as-you-go customers are in the UK or Europe, the cost of making a phone call will rise from 3p/minute to 10p/minute. Texts will go up from 2p to 10p. Data costs will increase from 1p/MB to 5p/MB.

If Three PAYG customers travel outside the UK and Europe, they’ll experience even bigger price hikes. It will cost 35p to send a text, up from 2p at the moment. This equates to a 33p per text or 1,650% increase. Data costs will rise from 1p/MB to 5p/MB.

Three claims its new rates are “extremely competitive” and said that the increases to international roaming rates aren’t linked to Brexit.

The price hikes affects Three PAYG customers who joined the network before March 2020. New PAYG customers who signed up from March 2020 are already being charged these higher prices.

Three’s PAYG add-ons and data packages, and pay-monthly prices, will remain the same.

PAYG customers aren’t tied into a contract so leaving Three is easy – you can switch networks or tariffs at any time.

Helen Knapman, assistant news and features editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “It’d be no surprise if Three’s pay-as-you-go mobile customers are unhappy about its mammoth price hikes to make calls, send texts and use data both in the UK and overseas. But the good news is these customers are free to ditch and switch at any point, penalty-free.

“If you’re not loyal to your provider, there are currently some top deals elsewhere to consider that beat Three. For example, some charge just 1p for each minute, text and MB of data you use. Alternatively, more regular phone users can benefit from a bundle, where you’ll have an allowance to use each month – but no contractual ties – for as little as £5 a month.”