FAQs
PREMIUM SERVICES
What are premium services?
How can you be charged?
Liability for cost
What steps can you take to lessen the risk of high, unexpected bills?
Concerned about your use of premium services?
What are premium services?
Premium services are content or live advice services which can be accessed by making a phone call, by messaging (e.g., SMS) or via a data
connection from your mobile phone. Premium services numbers usually start with 188X, 19X, 190X, or an international number, for example
0011.
Examples of premium services are sex services, psychic lines, weather services, voting lines for TV shows or competition lines, chat
services or ring tones. Premium services can also include high school test result hot lines. At Savvytel premium services are only
available via messaging or via a data connection.
Proprietary network services such as Vodafone Live also offer access to premium data services. Examples of such premium services
include news updates, sports or weather reports, ring tones or wallpaper.
How can you be charged?
You can be charged for premium services in several ways:
- Flat rate - this is where you are charged a fixed amount for each call you make. It is a good idea to keep track of how many calls you make as the cost can quickly add up.
- Timed rate - this is where your calls are timed and charged at a rate per minute or per 30 second rate. A fixed set up or connection fee may also apply. Keeping track of how long you spend on the call will help to keep your costs to a minimum.
- By data volume - this is where you are charged according to the amount of data you download from or via a proprietary network.
You should always check the cost of the premium service before you use it. It is also a good idea to keep track of how many calls you make, or how often you access these services, and how long they last as the cost can quickly add up possibly creating financial difficulty where the cost of using premium services is unexpectedly greater than the amount you may have budgeted for.
Liability for cost
You are usually responsible for the cost of any calls made from your phone, including calls made by family and friends, even when made
without your knowledge. There are a number of specific rules that relate to the provision of premium services aimed at ensuring that
customers are fully informed about the price and content of the services. If these rules have not been observed and your account is being
debited by a premium service provider, please refer your complaint concerning the premium service provider to the Telecommunications
Industry Ombudsman on 1800 062 058 (calls to the TIO from mobile phones are charged at mobile rates).
Note: If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment and wish to make calls to premium service numbers via the National Relay
Service, then you must have an account with Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) and you will be charged for the calls.
What steps can you take to lessen the risk of high, unexpected bills?
You can bar access to some or all premium services using one of the following options:
- Barring only 190 calls. This means all calls to 190 numbers are barred permanently. We have already done this for you.
- Barring access to proprietary networks: This means all access to all data services can be barred at your request.
- Barring all calls: This means all national, international, calls to mobiles and calls to 190 numbers are barred permanently.
Please contact one of our customer service representatives via email at service@savvytel.com.au to discuss your barring options. You can also remove a bar by contacting us.
Concerned about your use of premium services?
To discuss any concerns you have about premium services and/or the costs you have incurred, please contact us via email at
service@savvytel.com.au.
If we are unable to resolve this matter you can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). The TIO is an office of last resort
for complaints about telephone and internet services.
Freecall: 1800 062 058
Freefax: 1800 630 614
TTY 1800 675 692
Translator and Interpreter Service: 131 450
Email: tio@tio.com.au
If you have a complaint about the content of a 190 service you can contact the Telephone Information Services Standards Council (TISSC). TISSC investigates complaints about message content and advertising of 190 premium services.
Phone: 1300 139 955
Fax: (02) 9211 4447
Email: tissc@tissc.com.au
You can also contact the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) for information on telecommunications issues. The ACA is a Commonwealth government agency responsible for regulating the telecommunications industry.
For calls from Melbourne: (03) 9963 6988
For calls outside Melbourne: 1300 850 115
Fax: (03) 9963 6989