To expect 02 to have told customers about this?

[notnagging]

if your bill is more then expected this month its because 02 have started to send things such as emails, long texts, contact cards & emoticans as picture messages then charge for this. They havent told anyone but if you complain you are entitled to 50% off as a goodwill gesture.

From their website-

If you?re using a Smartphone to send text messages to more than one person at the same time, you could be charged the cost of sending an MMS (picture message)

Below is a list of reasons why a text message is sent as a MMS (picture message) and how you can avoid this.

1. Text messages to email addresses - Don?t use an email address in the ?To? box when creating a text message.

1. Text messages sent to multiple contacts which include email addresses and mobile numbers ? Send to mobile numbers only. If you need to send to an email address send it separately.

1. Using subject headers ? Don?t use subject headers

1. Contact cards ? Don?t send contact cards

1. Long Messages ? If you?re sending a message with more than 360 characters, send it as 2 messages. There is a character counter on most phones that you can see when you?re writing a text message.

1. Smiley faces or emoticons ? Don?t use smiley faces or emoticons.

1. Sending to more than 25 people ? Try breaking the message up into smaller groups

1. Attachments (pictures, videos, sounds, music, drawings and locations) ? Don?t add any attachments to the text message.

Note ? Your phone will tell you if it is changing your message to an MMS (picture message). Keep your eye out for it and don?t ignore it.

ALSO-If the contacts on your Facebook account are the same as in your iPhone address book, your iPhone will merge the two together. If you include one of these contacts in a message that goes to more than one person it will change the message to an MMS (picture message).

I THINK O2 ARE BEING VERY UNREASONABLE but like many others I am locked into a contract

This isn't new. It's always been this way.

ive never paid for this before Tee. My dh got charged extra this month & they said it was form the 1st January?

That's shocking! I'm always popping in a little emoticon - eg the dog one is the spitting image of my dog and text my dog walking buddies each evening!
Not happy 02.

I thought it had always been like this too, I've been on various networks over the last couple of years and have had these charges, I assumed they all did it.

That is rubbish and definitely not always been the rules. I send quite a few contact cards due to work and they've always just come out of my allowance.

Well, maybe not though. I thought it had, although they did change my tarif which shocked because what's the point of a contract then?

I just read it again, the attachment part is certainly not new.

Its also worth remembering sometimes its not the networks fault, if I add an emoticon its the phone that turns it into a mms not the network, i can send emoticons galore with my sim in dds phone for the usual price of a text, but get charged for mms when its in my phone.

That explains why my bill has gone up! I send lots of long texts and emoctions!

But you say it tells you if they do that? They don't just do it?

The only thing that's new here is them charging for emoticons. Everything else has always been the same.
On all of previous phones, all on O2, it told me when the text type had changed from SMS to MMS.

If you check they've also merged your contacts with your Facebook contacts. They told my dh they will automatically choose this contact which is chargeable.

They have not merged my contacts. That would be against FB terms of service as they haven't asked my permission to do so.

They have merged mine on my contacts. I noticed because all my contacts have got their Facebook pictures on.

Huh. Well I am 99.9% sure that O2 can't do that without your permission and I know FB can't. So you might want to check your settings.

I rang O2 to confirm. They said whatsapp don't charge for picture messages so to use that in future