"Extra text charges" Sky Mobile

[user9086336]

I have an additional contract SIM I pay for an elderly family member.

My bill has included £4.50 in "extra text charges" for 45 10p texts, I don't understand this when the contract has unlimited calls and texts, surely that includes longer texts (the only thing I can think of). Sky can't currently see the bill (nor can I) to break it down, so whilst they try to fix it just wondering if anyone else has seen this and know what it is?

We are with sky, we also have several additional sim only sims in the contract.
I’ve never seen this.

My first thought was could it be one of those premium rate text services?
Either entering a competition or signed up to some kind of text service?

You can put a block on any out of contract charges, it can be done in the my sky app, we have this on all of ours.

Have you sent pictures to anyone, through normal sms (not WhatsApp or iMessage)? I’m on O2, and pay an extra 10p per message if I send photos via text.

It's probably phot messaging

It will be a premium rate thing - does he enter TV competitions?

I don't think it's photo messaging as they are 40p each (the phone doesn't have a camera and he wouldn't know how MMS works), and any kind of TV competition would cost more than 10p, it clearly says 45 extra texts (so must be 10p each) so that doesn't say premium anything to me.

When I go into my own SIM I can see a breakdown of everyone I've text, I can't do that on this SIM (it's the first month so might not be set up right yet) I don't want to keep close tabs like that but I'm worried he's doing something wrong but I can't think what, I'm sure an extra long text would just be classed as 2 texts which should be included?

Long texts do get converted into picture messages but is unlikely to be it as the cost is not the same

Some of the premium text services just charge as multiple text message fees.

You should definitely put a spending cap on the sim until you’ve figured out what it is, otherwise it could end up happening again and for significantly more.

Thank you I've put a £1 spending cap on until I've gotten to the bottom of it and he's reached 80% of that in one day he's not able to speak on the phone so I can't ask him what he's doing, and feel a bit mean outright asking him via text as it's a bit awkward with me paying the bill (I think he'd be mortified to know he's spending money- although the 80% warning might give it away if he's texted as well!)

I think they've put him on a PAYG tariff by mistake. It's not photo messages, they're 40p each, but if you're on PAYG then normal texts are 10p each.

@Orf1abc but confusingly there is a separate line that says Texts and he's sent about 80 which weren't charged.

If he had signed up for some kind of premium text service, that might explain the confusing bill, it could be something that is charging the cost of a text for every message he receives, iykwim.

@JollyAndBright yes possibly, I'm slightly nervous as to what the premium service could be..... 😬 not sure I want to know, maybe I should just put on the spending limit and leave it be?!