Formal Complaint: Unclear EU calling terms, conflicting rates, and poor complaint handling

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing further to my earlier correspondence regarding my SIM-only contract with Simyo (“Simyo Onbeperkt”, ordered on 10 August 2026), and to the explanation subsequently provided by your representative Filiz regarding the treatment of calls to foreign EU numbers. Having now reviewed the actual signed contract document in detail, I have identified a direct discrepancy between its wording and the explanation Simyo has given me, which I set out below.

The relevant contract clause

The signed contract document, under the heading “Verbruik in het buitenland” (“Usage abroad”) on page 3, states in full:

“In het buitenland gelden in de EU dezelfde prijzen als in Nederland. Buiten de EU hanteren we andere prijzen.”

In English: “Abroad, in the EU the same prices apply as in the Netherlands. Outside the EU we apply different prices.”

This is the entirety of the contractual provision governing usage abroad. It draws exactly one distinction: between the EU and countries outside the EU. It makes no reference whatsoever to any further distinction based on whether the customer is physically located abroad when making a call, as opposed to calling a foreign EU number from within the Netherlands.

Why this contradicts Simyo's explanation

In her response to my complaint, Filiz explained that Simyo draws a distinction between (a) using my bundle while physically located in another EU country, which is included, and (b) calling a foreign EU number from the Netherlands, which is excluded and charged at the buitenbundeltarief. In support of this, I was referred to the page “Bellen naar het buitenland” on the Simyo website, and to information available via the “i” information icon on the order page.

This explanation cannot be reconciled with the wording of the contract I actually signed, for the following reasons:

1. The distinction Simyo now relies on does not appear in the contract. The signed contract refers only to “in het buitenland” (“abroad”) and draws its line at the EU border, not at the location of the caller. A reasonable consumer reading this clause, calling a UK or other EU number from the Netherlands, would conclude that EU pricing applies, since the call falls squarely within the EU as referenced by the clause.
2. The plan name itself compounds the ambiguity. My plan is named “Simyo Onbeperkt” (“Simyo Unlimited”). A plan marketed and named as unlimited, combined with a contract clause stating that EU usage is priced the same as domestic usage, gives no reasonable indication that calls to EU numbers from the Netherlands would be excluded and separately charged.
3. The carve-out relied upon by Simyo does not appear anywhere in the contract document itself. The four-page contract I signed contains no reference to a buitenbundeltarief for EU calls, nor to any distinction between roaming usage and calls placed to EU numbers from the Netherlands. This information was, by Simyo's own account, only available separately via a website tariff page and an “i” information icon on the order page, neither of which forms part of the signed contract.

Legal basis

Under Article 6:238(2) of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek), where a term in a set of general terms and conditions is unclear or open to more than one reasonable interpretation, the interpretation most favourable to the consumer must prevail. The clause quoted above is, at best, ambiguous as to whether calls to EU numbers made from the Netherlands are included at domestic rates. Given that ambiguity, and given that Simyo's own contract document contains no clear carve-out excluding such calls, the interpretation in my favour, that such calls are included at the same price as domestic usage, must prevail.

I consider this discrepancy between the signed contract and Simyo's subsequent explanation to further support my original complaint and my request for termination of the contract without an early-termination fee, as set out in my earlier letter.

Requested action

I request that Simyo:

1. Terminate my contract with immediate effect, without an early-termination fee, and provide written confirmation of this termination together with a final bill clearly stating the contract end date.

As previously notified, I have already submitted a formal complaint to the Geschillencommissie (Disputes Committee) in the Netherlands regarding this matter, which will be progressed and continued regardless of any response to this letter.

I would welcome your prompt written response addressing the points raised above.

Yours faithfully,

Benjamin Freeman

Thanks for digging that up. However, I think it actually supports my point rather than undermining it.

I'm not disputing that a tariffs PDF exists somewhere with a zone table. I'm disputing that my contract clearly told me calling zone 1 from NL is excluded. My signed contract says, in full, on the usage-abroad clause: "In het buitenland gelden in de EU dezelfde prijzen als in Nederland." That's it. No mention of a caller-location distinction, no mention of "except when calling from NL."

If the real rule requires citing an EU roaming regulation, a zones table in a separate PDF, and a distinction between roaming and calling, to explain why I'm being charged despite that contract clause, that's exactly the kind of ambiguity Dutch consumer law (Art 6:238(2) BW) resolves in favor of the consumer. Two documents that contradict each other doesn't mean the more restrictive one wins by default, it means the more favorable reading to me wins.

Whether the Geschillencommissie agrees, we'll see. But "it's legal and other providers do it too" isn't the same as "it was clearly disclosed to this customer in the contract they signed."

I would really appreciate the support of a Simyo moderator to help reconcile the situation.

Morning ​@benjaminfreeman  

I fully agree to what @ Groentjuh wrote in his reaction and I wish you good luck.

Simply said you have a Dutch mobile number, 06xxxxxxxx. When you're calling from the Netherlands to a number in zone 1 does not belong to the EU Roam Like At Home rules/agreement. Simyo does work following to this plan aswell other a lot of providers also do. In short term it is also known as RLAH. 

By ordering an Sim only you also agreed to the general terms and conditions.  That is something to keep in mind.   And yes,  buying online,  is buying with a distance so to speak and indeed than you have 14 days to think . . . 

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-telecoms/mobile-roaming-costs/indexamp_en.htm

Usually it is common that a moderator will react on your topic within 24 hours. 

Greetings and have a nice day. 

Just like Groentjuh and you I am also a (helping/think along) customer of Simyo. 

“In het buitenland gelden in de EU dezelfde prijzen als in Nederland.”

translates to: “when abroad within Europe, the same prices as within Netherlands apply”.

That sentence is not completely true! For that it needs to be "In het buitenland is bellen/smsen/internetten niet duurder dan in Nederland.”, because calling while abroad is actually cheaper in cases.

If you would want to argue that you feel cheated, because you weren't charged extra while calling zone 1 phone numbers while abroad (within zone 1), then I would agree with you. But given what you got is cheaper, nobody would care.

I doubt your argument holds up the other way around, because the sentence means you should look at the Dutch tariffs and should expect those same tariffs when abroad within Europe. You apparently are using tariffs from one of the zone 1 countries and are saying those should be the Dutch tariffs. That's pretty far fetched to be honest.

I do honestly hope Simyo would make calling to zone 1 numbers from within The Netherlands the same as from within zone 1 countries (when abroad). That would be better of us, but I doubt that would happen from such complaint.

Fair point on the translation.

But here's the thing: that clause tells me what happens when I'm physically abroad. It says nothing about calling an EU number while I'm sitting in NL. It's not ambiguous, it's just silent on that exact scenario. So the real question isn't "which reading of this sentence is right," it's "where did the contract actually tell me this specific case gets charged extra." And the answer is: nowhere in it.

That's kind of the whole issue. To justify the charge, Simyo needed a webcare rep pointing me to a website page, an "i" tooltip in the order flow, and now a tariffs PDF plus an EU roaming rule explained by a fellow customer on a forum. None of that is the actual contract. If it takes that much digging to explain a charge after the fact, it wasn't made clear up front, whatever the legally "correct" answer ends up being.

I get that "cheaper abroad, not free when calling abroad" is a totally coherent policy. If the contract had just said that, I'd have nothing to stand on. It didn't say that, it said nothing. That gap is what I'm putting in front of the Geschillencommissie, not some argument that Dutch rates should apply to a UK number.

Appreciate you actually engaging though.

Hi ​@benjaminfreeman,

Thanks for your message. I’m sorry to hear that there was a misunderstanding regarding the actual situation.

I agree with the responses from the other forum members, though I certainly understand that this is an unpleasant situation for you.

I’ll send you an email so we can look into the options.

Best regards,
Shaniqua

If ​@benjaminfreeman (who has obviously been stung by the high cost of placing international calls) will eventually be victorious in this dispute with Simyo, credit should be given to him for finding a potential legal loophole in the wording of Sim-Only contracts allowing him to jump ship without being charged an early exit fee. Maybe this is what it’s all about. Until the matter is resolved other disgruntled Simyo customers will benefit and should be grateful to ​@benjaminfreeman as Dutch people tend to be far less litigious than folk from the other side of the big pond.

It (probably) also doesn’t mention anything about calling non-EU numbers does it?

Would you expect a call to Australia to be free / in-bundle?