PREMIUM SMS
Premium SMS (PSMS) services are information and entertainment services such as casting a vote on TV shows or entering TV competitions. Premium SMS is a payment option that lets you receive content and services offered by companies other than Telstra, on your mobile phone or tablet. You agree to pay for it by sending to a number starting with ‘19’.
Even though the charges appear on your Telstra mobile bill, we have no control over the cost; your agreement is with the third party content provider. That's why we recommend that when you buy content by texting a 19 number you keep a few things in mind:
Do you understand how much you'll be charged?
We don't set prices of content provided by third parties for Premium SMS. Usually they are charged at a higher rate than a standard SMS.
Do you know how you'll be asked to pay?
If you see additional charges on your Post-Paid bill (under Third Party/Separate Purchases) or money debited from your Pre-Paid Extra or Recharge Credit, it is because we pay the content provider on your behalf then recover the cost on your account.
Reasons you may not receive the service you signed up for
Premium SMS charges aren't included in the 'Free Text' programs on a Pre-Paid service so if you don't have enough credit, you won’t get the content. For Post-Paid, Premium SMS is not included in discounts or within your allowance.
Barring Premium SMS
From 10 November 2020, we are applying default barring on Premium SMS for new consumer Post-Paid services and customers who change to a new plan. To unbar Premium SMS, you can submit an unbarring request via online webform, or via My Telstra Messaging app by typing ‘Unbar Premium SMS’. Please advise us your intended spend limit in the request. Every time you change to a new plan, you need to call us to unbar Premium SMS.
Barring Premium SMS services on your mobile means you won’t be able to receive, be charged for or use these services. There’s no charge to activate barring and it won’t restrict your access to other services. To arrange barring for existing customers or if you’d like information about other options (like setting spending limits), call us on 13 2200 and say “premium SMS” or go to online webform. Please allow up to one business day for Premium SMS barring to be activated.
Limiting Premium SMS
You can cap the amount you spend on Premium SMS. The standard spend limit for Premium SMS is $100 per month for Post-Paid customers and $500 for Pre-Paid customers, but you may also qualify to have other limits applied.
To request a change to your spend limit or make a complaint about Premium SMS charges, contact:
- Telstra Post-Paid – call 13 2200 and say "Premium SMS".
- Telstra Pre-Paid – call 125 8880
Got more questions about Premium SMS?
19SMS.com.au is a free online guide to how to use Premium SMS.