Many Telstra customers have at some stage downloaded a catchy ringtone, favourite football team wallpaper or logo to their mobile phone. New and exciting products are being made available for you to enjoy and we'd like to make sure that you understand these Premium Services.
What are Premium Services?
Premium Services are content and advice services that can be accessed by making a phone call, sending a text message, or requesting them via the internet or data connection from your mobile phone.
Examples of some fun, useful and informative Premium Services provided by third parties include:
- psychic and horoscope lines
- weather services
- voting lines for television shows or competition lines
- dating and chat services
- ringtones and fax back services
- exam result hotlines and other corporate applications.
Premium Services provided by third parties other than Telstra are offered via numbers usually starting with '190' and '19'.
You can access some of these services through another provider by dialling their override code followed by the service number.
Premium Services offered directly by Telstra can be accessed online or via BigPond® Mobile Services with various content services available through your mobile by dialling #100# or sending an SMS request to '176'.
Concerns with Premium Services
- "I sent a text message requesting one ringtone/wallpaper/joke. Now I am:
- receiving a ringtone/wallpaper/jokes each month - and getting charged for it."
- getting charged each month although I only requested and received one ringtone/wallpaper/joke."
- getting charged monthly and I did not receive a ringtone/wallpaper/joke."
- "I have sent several text messages to 'STOP' but I continue to get charged."
- "I never requested a ringtone/wallpaper/joke and am being charged."
Solutions: The first step to stop further messages is to reply to the received ringtone/wallpaper/joke and type in the text:'STOP RINGTONES' or 'STOP JOKES' or just 'STOP'.
If this attempt to unsubscribe has been successful you should receive a confirmation text message.
If you are receiving Premium Services from multiple providers, you will need to send a 'STOP' message to each provider.
If after sending 'STOP' messages, you continue to receive the messages, contact the provider directly. The contact number for the provider is in the SMS you sent the 'STOP' reply to and can also be found on your Telstra mobile bill under 'Separate Purchases'. Examples are set out below:
On a mobile account the charges may appear as:
Separate Purchases
| Seq | Date | Time | Provider | Purchases | Quantity / Units | $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 26 Dec | 15:03 | Provider A | ABC 19947253 | 1 item | 0.55 |
| 3 | 09 Jan | 15:03 | Provider B | XYZ 19947253 | 1 item | 0.55 |
| Total for Separate Purchases | 1.10 |
On a Single Bill (multiple services billed together) the charges will appear as:
Separate Purchases
| Seq | Provider | Purchases | $ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOK154I | 2 | Provider A | 191999 | 1.10 |
| MOK154G | 1 | Provider B | 19742226 | 0.55 |
| Total for Separate Purchases | 1.65 |
Note: There are times when a Single Bill may only display a summary of Separate Purchases.
If you have a Pre-Paid service and you are unsure of how your credit is being spent, you can call 125 8888 (a free call from your Telstra Pre-Paid service) and ask for a list of your charges. This list will contain the provider's contact information.
Some providers can supply a copy of requests received and items they have sent to customers (via fax or email). This can be useful in comparing subscriptions that have been requested and the 'STOP' messages sent, confirming whether the correct cancellation codes have been sent through.
How can I avoid ongoing subscriptions to Premium Services?
You can request a barring code on your service that will prevent the ability to subscribe to these services. A spend limit for Premium Services can also be placed on the account which will help you to manage your costs.
Things you need to know
View your rights and obligations relating to Premium Services:
- Premium SMS (PDF, 59KB)
The full terms and conditions may be accessed in Our Customer Terms.
