What is a premium rate service?
The PSA (Phone-Paid Services Authority) identifies a premium rate number as goods or services that are purchased and are charged to your phone bill or pay-as-you-go tariff.
In the UK, premium rate numbers include those that begin with: 0871, 118, 0872,0873,070 or 09. They can also appear as a 6-digit SMS text.
Service numbers are usually 084,087,09,118 and can cost more.
How are they used?
Premium rate numbers are commonly used for TV voting and competitions (i.e. X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing), horoscopes, adult lines, chat lines, professional help services (i.e. technical or customer support) and directory enquiries.
As described by Ofcom, using a premium rate number can be very expensive. This is because the cost of calling is usually made up of two parts:
Access charge – going to your phone company
Service charge – set by the company you are calling.
For example:
The service charge for calling an 09 number can cost between 1p to £3.60 per minute and you may also be charged a one-off call charge costing around 5p to £6.
Your phone company will also charge you an access charge on top of this for dialling the number- This will make up the rest of the call cost.
You can find out the access charge for premium rate numbers by contacting your phone provider.
If you are receiving texts or being charged, text “STOP ALL” to the shortcode provided. We advise getting in contact with the service provider if the texts continue.
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How to complain:
1. Keep your service texts and messages which confirm your one-off payment. Should you need to file a complaint, these will be very useful as it will provide details of the service and payment.
2. Check if it is a premium service.
3. Contact the company/service provider to try and resolve your complaint.
Please note, to be eligible to make a complaint about a premium rate service, you must have already complained to the company directly in writing and either received a final written response (sometimes known as a ‘deadlock letter’) or given the company eight weeks to respond to your dispute.
If the company ignores or rejects your dispute, you can file it with us FOR FREE. CommsADR will provide a written decision within 90 days. If your application is successful, you keep 100% of your compensation
To learn more about premium rate numbers and charges you can visit
https://www.gov.uk/call-charges
To file a complaint with CommsADR, please click here.
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