You signed up for a great mobile plan, the price seemed perfect—until the bill arrived. Hidden fees lurk in the fine print, waiting to surprise you with unexpected charges. Activation fees, roaming costs, contract renewals… the list goes on.
But don’t worry! In this post, I’ll break down six common hidden fees in Swiss mobile plans and how you can avoid them, so you never have to deal with a CHF 300 surprise like Piyoko!
- 6 Common Hidden Fees in the Mobile phone contract.
- How Can We Avoid Hidden Fees?
- Conclusion: Check out ‘Factsheet’!
Many providers advertise attractive deals, but hide extra fees in the fine print. To avoid surprises, here’s what to watch for:
🚨 6 Common Hidden Fees
1. Promotion Price
When you look for a Mobile phone plan, you may find the promotion prices fascinating. However, they look great at first, but after the promo period ends, the price jumps unless you cancel or switch plans.
2. Early Termination Fees
If you cancel before the minimum contract period (usually 24 months), you must pay all remaining monthly fees. For example, it is written in Factsheet of Sunrise of Up Mobile M plan as following.
So it means that if a subscription is canceled before the minimum contract period ends, the full monthly basic fees must still be paid until the contract term ends.
However, for contracts without a minimum period or those past their minimum term, cancellation outside the regular notice period requires paying the remaining monthly fees up to the cancellation date plus an extra CHF 100.
3. Activation & Setup Fees
Some providers charge CHF 40+ to activate your plan unless there’s a promo. For example, Yallo’s Factsheet of SwissPlus plan mentions as following.
4. Roaming Charges
If you exceed your roaming limit, some providers charge per MB or GB, leading to expensive bills.
5. Excess Usage fees
International calls outside a plan’s allowance can be CHF 1-4 per minute—check rates before calling abroad! The following is the example of International Calls fee of SwissMax plan in Salt.
6. Unexpected Contract Renewals
Some plans auto-renew without notification—always check your account settings.
🚨 How Can We Avoid Hidden Fees?
To protect yourself from unexpected costs, here are the best strategies to avoid hidden fees when choosing a mobile provider in Switzerland.
1. Always Check the “Factsheet” 📜
Most mobile providers highlight the good points on their main website, but hide critical details in a small document called the Factsheet (or “Conditions générales”).
Why is this important?
- It lists all hidden fees (e.g., activation fees, contract penalties, roaming costs).
- It overrides anything a salesperson tells you—what’s written in the contract is final!
- Some providers make it hard to find, so always look for it on the plan’s detail page.
⚠️ Example:
Swisscom and Salt provide easily accessible Factsheets, but some providers bury them deep in their websites, making them difficult to find. The following screenshot is come from Sunrise website. You can find Factsheet in detail page for each plan.
2. Ask Specific Questions in Stores 🏪
If you’re signing up in person, never rely solely on what the salesperson says—they may only mention the good parts. Always ask:
❓ What happens if I cancel early?
❓ Are there activation or setup fees?
❓ Will the monthly price increase after a few months?
❓ Does the plan auto-renew?
🔹 Pro Tip: If the salesperson says “No fees,” ask them to show you where it’s written in the Factsheet! 📑
3. Set a Monthly Spending Limit 💰
Many providers let you set a maximum monthly cost for things like:
✔️ Roaming data
✔️ International calls
✔️ Extra mobile data beyond your plan
How to do this?
- Log into your provider’s app or website.
- Find the “Roaming costs management” or “Spending Limit” section.
- Set your preferred limit (e.g., CHF 0 for roaming if you never use it).
⚠️ If you don’t set a limit, you could get a huge bill without realizing it!
For example, you can set up Roaming spending limit from 0 to 500CHF in Data and 0 to 800CHF in Calls&SMS through Salt account.
4. Monitor Your Usage & Stay Informed 📲
✅ Check your account regularly – Don’t wait for your bill!
✅ Watch out for promotional messages – Providers often send renewal offers, but they don’t always warn about price increases!
✅ Set usage alerts – Many providers let you receive an SMS when you approach your limit.
🔍 Example: Some users have reported being charged extra for data overages because they weren’t notified when they reached their plan’s limit. Check your account often!
5. Turn Off Roaming & Limit Extra Charges 🚫
If you don’t need roaming, it’s best to disable it completely on your phone to avoid accidental charges.
📱 How to Disable Roaming (iPhone)
- Settings → Mobile Data →Mobile Data Options→ Turn Off Roaming
The following is the example in iPhone.
💡 Pro Tip: If you need roaming only occasionally, consider using an eSIM for travel instead of paying high roaming fees.
6. Be Careful with Automatic Contract Renewals 🔄
Some providers automatically extend your contract unless you cancel within a specific window.
How to Avoid This?
✔️ Check your contract’s end date and set a reminder.
✔️ If required, cancel early to avoid an automatic renewal.
✔️ Read all emails from your provider—some renewal notices are easy to miss.
⚠️ Example: Some users unknowingly entered a new 2-year contract just because they didn’t cancel in time!
Conclusion: Check the ‘Factsheet’!
Before making a decision, I strongly recommend checking the Factsheet for each plan. This document contains all the details—not just the attractive selling points but also the hidden costs and conditions that providers may not highlight.
Some Factsheets can be long and difficult to read in full. If that’s the case, focus on these key points to avoid unexpected fees:
✅ How much does the plan cost after the promotional period?
✅ What happens when the promotion ends? Will the price increase?
✅ Are there early termination fees? If so, how much?
✅ How can you cancel the contract? Do you need to notify the provider 60 days in advance?
✅ Are there extra charges like activation or setup fees?
✅ What are the roaming charges if you exceed the limit?
✅ What are the excess usage fees for calls, data, or SMS?
✅ How and when does the contract renew? Can you control the renewal process?
For those who don’t want to deal with hidden fees, I have a favorite mobile provider that keeps things simple and transparent. Check out my recommendation in the following post! 🚀📱
