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

[MI5]

It's always easier to blame someone else though......

[Anonymous]

I think to be fair many got caught out by this. I did and got charged for one mms but noticed it almost immediately in myO2 app which is how I access Community.

The OPs could argue that they weren't made aware although there is a setting in the phone where by If entering a text when it converts to mms the phone vibrates. This is the default setting.

[Anonymous]

I would also add that the S4 and also other Samsung phones have also changed the setting for the length of texts before they convert. Previously my old s3 allowed texts up to 1600 characters and would break them down into individual texts of 160 each. However that is now 480 characters so again people who send long messages using Samsung phones need to be aware.

[MI5]

Every phone I've ever used has been 3 texts max (ie 480 characters).

[Anonymous]

Each Samsung phone I have had pre the S4 allowed more than 480. It was a noticeable change for me when I had the S4 arrive.

That said the S4 is an awesome phone so I could live with the change. It was not a deal breaker for me.

[Anonymous]

On the link one of you kindly provided it mentions long messages (below) - is this correct about 360 characters, or should it be 160 (if 480 is equivalent of 3 sms?). 

I have checked with my sister and she was so upset about this - she (like most normal users) saw the emoticon symbol on the S4 and used it, without warning it was a premium rate rip-off service.  At least she now knows how to access the standard android emoticons (thanks to whoever it was that identified that, piperdog123 I think?).  Glad I didn't waste money on an S4 for myself now too, this is like an in-app purchase on Candy Crush without the warning

Out of interest, is anyone aware of any tariffs (o2 or other) that have inclusive MMS in the price (too late for her contract now of course), or is this standard for all the major providers? Wouldn't have been so bad if they'd been to people in our Family Group, as they'd have been free then...

5. Long Messages – If you’re sending a message with more than 360 characters, send it as 2 messages. There is a character counter on most phones that you can see when you’re writing a text message.

[Anonymous]

On the S4 there are emoticons you can use that are not chargeable. Please see my post for information on how to access these. It is very straight forward. It just means the emoticons are all one colour instead of the new ones Samsung built in which are more colourful.

Glad to have helped you.

[Anonymous]

Most phones will split messages up to 480 characters however I have heard this is NOT ask phones so I would recommend checking with sending a message of over 160 first to see if it converts then trying one over 320. Over 480 must do convert to mms now.

[MI5]

Anyone can add an MMS bolt on for around £5 a month. The standard SMS limit is 3 text messages, so that is equal to 480 characters.
On the s4 you can turn on a warning in settings that sms are been converted to mms messages and hence save the costs.

[Anonymous]

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@MI5 wrote:
It's always easier to blame someone else though......

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Yes, like it's easier to blame the unsuspecting user rather than the profiteering network provider...

Anyway, I appreciate all of the positive and helpful comments from here, and in future will watch my O2 bills like a hawk, to stop such dodgy billing in future.