At last, help tackling third-party phone bill complaints

IF YOU have ever been shocked by a huge mobile phone bill, the chances are it was down to additional charges levelled by third parties. These are known as “phone-paid services” and cover goods or services charged to your bill. Examples include the costs of music subscriptions, smartphone games and charity donations. Rather than sending money via debit or credit card, your mobile provider acts like a bank, facilitating payment via your bill, often as a recurring fee. Over the years, this practice has caused significant problems for consumers.The main complaint is often the difficulties in finding out who the third party is and what it was charging for. It sounds simple but, in practice, sometimes proves nightmarish.

Consumers often did not know they had committed to recurring charges, or claimed to have been the victims of fraud and never signed up to anything.

But finding resolution has been stressful and time-consuming, so I am delighted that today marks a turning point, with the launch of PhoneCharges.org – a new service.

The site provides users with links to the relevant pages of their mobile network’s website or to a number checker via the website of regulator the Phone-paid Services Authority. This lets users find out quickly where any charges have come from. It also provides easy-tounderstand information about how phone-paid services work, why users may have found charges on their bill and when a refund may be due.

The website has been funded by the Association for Interactive Media and Micropayments, the industry’s trade body. So, if you find third party charges loaded on to your mobile bill, your first step should be a visit to the new website.

It will arm you with all the information you need to contact the company that has charged you via your network provider. If you reach a deadlock with your complaint, you can then take it further through CommsADR or an alternative dispute resolution scheme.