Do you need a Spend Cap?

A Spend Cap allows you to limit or block any services that aren’t included in your plan. It can help you keep control of your spending. However, it’s important to work out which Spend Cap is right for you or whether you need one at all.

Choosing a Spend Cap

Currently, if you’ve set a £0 Spend Cap, you can’t use any chargeable services out of contract. This includes things like international calls from abroad and at home, donating using short codes, and digital content like streaming subscriptions or app purchases. If you do want to use any out of bundle services, you might want to amend your limits here. While it’s good that your Spend Cap limits any extra charges, it can also block certain things which our customers find useful. So, to make things easier, we’ll be removing Three Pay from your Spend Cap limit. This means you’ll be able to buy the digital content you want without unnecessary restrictions. But this is currently a work in progress, so watch this space for news updates.

Top reasons for using a Spend Cap

There are a variety of reasons why many people decide to use a Spend Cap. Here are our top 3. We’ll also share some other ways you can keep control of your money without a Spend Cap.

1. To avoid spending over your budget

It’s natural to worry about sticking to a budget and our flexible Spend Cap options can help you with this. However, remember you can also check your data allowances and use My3 to track your spending. Find out how to do this and get more details on our Support page Understanding data and allowances.

2. To stop children over spending

Making sure that your kids aren’t splashing your cash is another incentive for wanting to protect your money with a Spend Cap. But it’s easy to set up passwords on Three Pay or to use facial or fingerprint recognition for app store purchases. This means that you can’t buy anything without approving it first. And you’ll know what they’re watching or playing without worrying about any nasty bill surprises.

3. To prevent extra data charges when abroad

No one wants extra payments when they get back from holidays, but luckily if your plan includes Go Roam, then you can plan ahead. If you’re a Pay Monthly customer, you can unlock your UK allowance 71 destinations around the world for 24 hours with our daily roaming charge. This will count towards your Spend Cap, so if that’s set at £0, you won’t be able to use Go Roam. If you’re on Pay As You Go then converting your credit into an Add-on will let you enjoy Go Roam. Or use our competitive rates for data. Check that your phone has international roaming switched on and read About Roaming to learn more.

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