Being charged for emoticons (smiley faces) as MMS/picture messages

[Anonymous]

I have had a good look through the forum but can not see anything like this problem.

A friend of mine had a large bill come through this month and contacted 02 customer service.

Basically she was told her bill was so high because she had used above and beyond her MMS/picture message qouta which she refused to except but was told that a Emoticon (smiley face) counted as a MMS/picture message.

Has anybody encountered this or confirm or decline this??

Thanks in advance

[Toby]

Thanks for the explanation MI5! Do you guys think we should perhaps create a short guide that I could sticky about this? As MI5 says, its a common issue.

[MI5]

Toby, some O2 advice here but I'm sure one of us could expand on it... http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=Companion,question=ref(User):str(Mobile),C...

[Toby]

If anyone would like to volunteer then by all means let me know

Another thing while I have you MI5, I'm trying to ensure that your thread where you've collated all guides is sign-posted more effectively. While its sticky'd in its own section, I want to make sure its really easy to access for everyone. I'll see what can be done!

I may also shamelessly copy you and collate all the reviews in a similar thread

[Cleoriff]

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@Toby wrote:
Thanks for the explanation MI5! Do you guys think we should perhaps create a short guide that I could sticky about this? As MI5 says, its a common issue.

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I think an updated guide would be of benefit @Toby  It does seem to be phone make and smiley type dependent?

IF I use smilies at all they are only the little green ones incorporated into my S3....hence no charge.

This particular thread was started in November 2012 so does need updating as it seems to be an ongoing problem?

Not volunteering however

[Anonymous]

Guys.

I can't believe o2 don't know what is going on. I knew it 2 minutes in to the topic...

Let me explain it to you. The problem is not with o2 but with your handset.

Until now to put a smiley face in the text you had to manually type : and ). Recipients phone converted it to a smiley face for user convenience. Some handsets actually make it easier for you by giving you an option of inserting a smiley, but it's just a short cut to insert a combination of characters in to text.

If you insert this kind of smiley in to text and send it to a really old phone, the reciptient will see it as : - ) and not a

Now there is a new things that came from US called "EMOJIS". They wanted more options than just 5-10 faces. And the only way of achieving this is to insert a small image in to text which will convert your message to mms. I guess mms are free over there...

THE CURE:

1. Either manually type smileys from your keyboard using symbols like : ) ( - ;  etc.

2. Check your keyboard (I'm using samsung S5) for options. When I type, I have a smiley icon which gives me access to a ton of smileys and other pictures THESE ARE EMOJIS and they will convert to mms asoon as you use them.

This keyboard have an option to assign words and shortcuts to number keys. You figure out the rest

3. You can install 3rd party keyboard without emojis....

Your welcome.

[Cleoriff]

I think many of us regular community members knew that @Anonymous 

Problem is, some new smartphone users dont and come on here asking why their bill is so high...

This is a subject that keeps being asked time and time again ...

However thanks for your input

[Anonymous]

Well I have read through all 10 pages and couldn't see an explanation for the "non regular" members so here you go.

Might help someone googling for their life in the future.

[Cleoriff]

Sorry I was making the point that there are numerous threads on this topic. This is why we are suggesting a sticky be made

[Anonymous]

Well I'm sorr that my complicated life is an inconvenience to your perfect existance...

Have a good weekend

[jonsie]

Not sure why the sarcastic comments are needed? It was just being pointed out that many people have asked this question and we have requested it to be made a sticky on the community.

However, any input is welcomed especially for customers searching for answers after suffering these charges.