Charge to Mobile & Premium SMS – A Community Guide

[Chris_K]

➥ What is Charge to Mobile?
Charge to Mobile allows you to make digital purchases and charge them to your mobile airtime bill. These could be one-off purchases or a weekly/monthly subscription.

Charge to Mobile is a popular and effective way of paying for a wide range of content, goods and services. These can include music subscriptions, gaming, donations to charity and big brands like Amazon, Spotify, Google and Apple.

Charge to Mobile services will show in the “things I have bought” section of My O2. You will be able to see which third party has charged you and then by using the premium service checker will be able to get the contact details of the third party provider should you wish to further discuss the charges.

➥ Is Charge to Mobile Safe?
Yes. We only work with partners we trust, and we pre-approve every Charge to Mobile service to ensure they meet industry standards. Our partners are required to carry out thorough due diligence on each merchant, including credit checks. Additionally, we require that each merchant is registered with the Phone-paid Services Authority. We will revoke approval and suspend any service that doesn’t continue to meet these standards. We also review customer feedback relating to these services and act accordingly.

In addition to our two-step customer confirmation process which we already have in place, we have recently introduced an extra layer of protection for our customers in the form of a PIN that is sent to your device, or a text which you need to respond to before any purchase is processed. This will be required any time you purchase a Charge to Mobile service accessed through an online banner or advert. All our partners must implement this payment approval mechanism by 11th May 2019.

➥ Charge to Mobile & Premium SMS – What’s the difference?
Charge to Mobile allows you to make digital purchases and charge them to your mobile airtime bill. These could be one-off purchases or a weekly/monthly subscription. Charge to Mobile services will show in the “things I have bought” section of my O2.

Premium SMS & Premium rate numbers are used by TV shows, quiz companies, chat providers and some websites. They appear on your monthly airtime bills under the “what I’ve used section” then premium SMS – these are charged at a higher rate than a standard text or call.

You will be able to see which third party has charged you and then by using the premium service checker will be able to get the contact details of the third party provider should you wish to further discuss the charges. It’s important to identify which charge you have incurred and follow the correct process:

• Charge to Mobile
• Premium SMS

The short videos below (click the spoiler tag to open) will help you understand the difference

Spoiler

Charge to Mobile ⤵

Premium SMS ⤵

➥ I never gave you my bank details, how did I get charged?
Purchasing through your mobile is a simple and quick process and it could be if you don’t recognise the charge, that you have purchased something whilst browsing on your phone.  Phone paid services are heavily regulated and we constantly review providers to ensure they are doing enough to let customers know before they commit to a charge.

Before a charge is added to your bill, the companies in question will display:

1. An initial payment page including the charge cost and subscription details if applicable as well as a link to the terms and conditions, to proceed to the next page you need to click on a button saying Subscribe/Buy Now.
2. On the second payment page you need to click on a further button to confirm the charge to the mobile. The purchase is then confirmed.

As highlighted in the “Is Charge to Mobile Safe?” section, we have recently introduced an extra layer of protection for our customers in the form of a PIN that is sent to your device, which you need to respond to before any purchase is processed. This will be required any time you activate a Charge to Mobile service accessed through an online banner or advert.

➥ How do I stop these charges happening?
Customers can opt-out of the Charge to Mobile service by putting a bar on your O2 account which means you’ll be unable to use your monthly phone bill or pre-pay balance as a payment method. To do this, customers need to contact our customer services team and request a bar on their O2 account. You can find out contact info here. Please note: This bar will only apply to Charge to Mobile purchases, and not Premium Services.

Another option you have to get recurring Charge to Mobile payments to stop is to contact the company providing you their service directly. This option will give you the most information and details about what you were charged for, and gives you a chance to speak to someone. However, if you have just changed your mind and want to cancel, you need to text STOP to the 5 digit short code you received in the confirmation message from the company. STOP messages will ensure that all charges from that service will cease and will cost 10p at most.

➥ Can you refund my charge?
With regards to a refund of charges, this is something that you would need to discuss with the third party providers’. From an O2 perspective the charges on your bill are valid.  Contacting the company directly will give you the most detail about what you were charged for and how the charges were incurred. They will be best placed to deal with any disputes and if they deem appropriate, process any refunds you may be owed.

Are there any safeguards to stop me getting an unexpected high bill from charge to mobile

Yes. Every time you buy something the 3rd party provider of the Charge to Mobile service will always contact you to let you know of any charges. These messages aren't spam – so don’t delete them. They’ll tell you what you’ve bought, how often you’ll be charged and how to stop them if you’ve changed your mind.

You can also keep track of your spending by checking recent charges on My O2 or texting the word BALANCE to 21202. Everything you've bought will show up within 48 hours in the 'Things you've bought' section on your online mobile bill, so don't forget to regularly check that too.

➥ Is there a limit to how much I can spend on Charge to Mobile?
You should only buy what you can afford to pay for.

If you're on Pay As You Go, you can spend up to the limit of your credit. If you're on Pay Monthly, anything you buy will be added to your monthly bill. The amount you can spend depends on how long you've been a customer, how much you normally spend and if you pay your bill on time.

Some sellers set their own spending limits too.

➥ I have a Spend Cap on my account- how did this happen?
Spend Caps are great to have however they do not cover all out of bundle services. Charge to Mobile is one of the services excluded from Spend Caps. If you want to ensure Charge to Mobile cannot be used then you will need to request a Charge to Mobile bar to be placed on to your account.

➥ Top Tips

• Watch what you click on - Be careful of pop-up ads & buttons when browsing the internet. Not everything is free and some purchases can involve recurring charges.
• Don't ignore texts - 3^rd party providers of charge to mobile services will always contact you to inform you of any charges. These messages aren't spam! The message advises you on what you’ve purchased, how often you will be charged and how to stop them if you’ve changed your mind.
• Contact your mobile network - O2 can bar Charge to Mobile services. Adding a bar will stop any existing recurring charges right now but if you remove the bar at any point, the charges will come back. It’s Always best you still contact the company directly to get these stopped permanently.
• Treat your phone like a credit card - Your phone bill can be used to pay for things. This can be very convenient; like a donations or music services. But it can lead to extra charges so be aware.
• Stay informed - Take a look at other content on the PSA website to learn more about Charge to Mobile services and how they work. Knowledge is power!

[jonsie]

I understand what you are saying @Payforit_Sucks and will take onboard your good advice.

A question for you.... 

Almost all my browsing is done either on the laptop or the tablet. As there is no mobile number associated with either I presume I'm fairly safe. Social media apps and websites don't have my number so presumably I'm fairly safe. Other websites which as airline and local government sites do have my number.

Disregarding the promised new measures by O2, just how safe can I feel? 

[Bambino]

I would like to say, and I'm sure I speak for many who frequent this forum, that you are to be highly commended @Payforit_Sucks for all the hard work you have put into exposing these scams, and your diligent efforts to try to get O2 and the other networks to finally do something about this scourge, i.e.EE having safeguards already in place.

I find it quite laughable that O2 are now touting that they are going to do something about this, when we all know that they've known about it for years, and have reaped the benefits from the scum who perpetrate these scams. Now O2 crows about getting on board, when the truth is they're only doing it because they've been forced to. 

[Payforit_Sucks]

---

@jonsie wrote:

I understand what you are saying @Payforit_Sucks and will take onboard your good advice.

A question for you.... 

Almost all my browsing is done either on the laptop or the tablet. As there is no mobile number associated with either I presume I'm fairly safe. Social media apps and websites don't have my number so presumably I'm fairly safe. Other websites which as airline and local government sites do have my number.

Disregarding the promised new measures by O2, just how safe can I feel? 

---

The issue isn't what you are using, but how it is connected. There have been a number of cases where consumers using a 4G dongle to connect their PC to the internet have become "subscribed" (using the phone number associated with the dongle).

If you are connected via a broadband WiFi connection, you should have nothing to worry about. There has been no recent evidence of phone numbers being harvested from other sources for these scams, although because O2 make no checks it is always possible.

[Northerner]

I am pensioner who has inadvertently clicked on a sight run by Sb7 mobile Ltd so initially, because O2 are used to collect this charge I thought it was them. On contacting  O2 and on call probably longer than normal I had a bar put on as advised texted stop to Sb7. Looking at the forum dates that are dated 2018 ,some of issues were tagged in 2016. My questions are this. Although this type of company is unethical and morally inept there is a 7 year minimum history for me where O2 have worked in tandem with this company in particular as they collect revenue for them knowing full well how they operate. It may be legal and no laws are broken but its mode of operation is to extract money using a perceived  ethical company O2 to do its dirty work. Surely you should  be vetting companies like this and refusing to even deal with them. To my knowledge at least 7 years at least, it could be longer, one might be lead  to think that there is some financial gain for O2 who also are profiting  out of this situation. From peoples comments on the forum and the many subscribers to Trustpilot  and particularly Sb7. Why is this company being allowed to operate when most conclusions would be, it is perceived  that is a legal way in which to basically rip people off  by stealth. Do we know if trading standards are involved  or if even offcom are involved?. People at this time are concerned about the cost of living and existing full on with surviving day to day so when they inadvertently press a disguised button, or however they are snared like I was it causes more anxiety. All Customers of O2 or any likewise company deserve the protection from their providers and should not be seen providing support to an immorally operated business by collecting on their behalf. Please O2 stop them. By the way I  followed the STOP  process and I appear to have got another email from the same company within hours thanking me for joining again ,how does that work? 

[Oxonian]

@Northerner 

This is a customer to customer forum so you have not actually addressed that to O2. 

If you wish to complain, please see :-

How to Complain | Help | O2

Customer+Complaints+code+250523.pdf (o2.co.uk)

However, as you have noted, O2 have been working with the organisation in question for seven years so it would seem unlikely that a complaint will be successful.  

If you feel that you have been misled, you could 'phone your local trading standards ; you will soon get a feeling as to whether or not they might pursue this issue for you. 

[Cleoriff]

@Northerner 

SB7 are a bunch of scammers. They are NOT linked to O2, If you have at any time clicked on a link then they have you.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/sb7mobile.com 

You need to contact O2 and ask them to put a bar on Charge to Mobile. They wont be able to take money from your account.

Give O2 a call on  202 or 0344 809 202 (Contract)  4445 or 0344 809 222 (PAYG)

Or you can message O2 on social media on Instagram https://o2uk.co/O2CIG), Facebook ( https://o2uk.co/O2CFB) , Twitter ( https://o2uk.co/O2CTW)