Don’t get caught out by hidden phone charges
WHILE holidays, job rights and online shopping are the most complained-about subjects, people are beginning to turn to their bills and bank accounts and are discovering they’ve been paying for things they hadn’t authorised.
In the last 12 months, 16,000 people made a complaint about a mobile phone issue – and numbers are rising. Most people in the UK have a smartphone, and there’s a bewildering range of tariffs out there for us all to choose from.
Many of us opted to go for online only bills too – then promptly forgot our passwords. So while we may know what we pay each month, we don’t always know what’s behind the bill itself.
Enter the premium rate phone scams. Remember the bad old days of 0898 numbers and huge bills? The premium rate phone industry is still around – it is just re-branded.
You can pay for a range of subscription services through your phone bill these days, such as digital content, gaming services, film streaming, music and more. In the past, it’s been easy to sign up – but not so easy to notice or realise how much you’re being billed.
One of the biggest sources of anger is premium text charges. If you enter one of those ‘text to win’ TV competitions or sign up for a free offer from a firm on the understanding they’ll text you every now and then, you might have unwillingly found yourself being billed up to £5 (or more) for a load of spam text messages that you don’t want. Radio 4’s Moneybox recently highlighted a person who was charged £1,200 by just one service – and I’ve helped people who’ve been charged thousands thanks to multiple accidental sign-ups.
The good news is there is a regulator for premium rate phone charges – and you can take the matter up with your mobile phone company too, if you feel they should have alerted you to excessive charges.
HERE ARE FEW TIPS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH DODGY FIRMS:
■ DON’T IGNORE YOUR BILL: It’s likely that the vast majority of people affected by dodgy phone charges don’t know it. The charges might not stand out if you pay by direct debit and your monthly bill varies. Get into the habit of scanning through your bill and questioning unexpected charges.
SET AN ONLINE PASSWORD YOU’LL REMEMBER: Lots of us don’t check our bills because we’ve opted for online billing but can’t remember our log-in details. Get your mobile provider to resend or reset the information, set a password you’ll remember and check each month.
BE A SCEPTIC: Don’t trust ‘text in’ premium rate competitions numbers which can ‘mine’ your details. If you want to donate to a charity, check online to find out how to make a regular payment you can control. And if you’re using adult services, don’t give out your details at all.
COMPLAIN TO YOUR
MOBILE PHONE COMPANY: If you explain that you haven’t authorised the payments, the business should block the charges and should consider a refund.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Industry body, the Phone-paid Services Authority has introduced a range of rules to stop these excessive charges, but many people will have been billed for these texts or services for years.
FAILING that, you can take a complaint about a mobile phone provider to the ombudsman if they’ve failed to help you with your dispute. So check your bill right now! YOU can contact Martyn at Resolver: resolver.co.uk