How to disable direct carrier billing?

maximusnew

Does anyone know how to turn off, disable, get rid of, stop direct carrier billing?

Direct carrier billing is when on your android phone you go to the Play store or make an in app purchase and you are given the option to charge to your phone account. I think with no security and one click!

I hate this. I'm with Vodafone and in effect they have turned my phone in to a walking credit card. Anyone getting hold of my phone can spend unlimited amounts.

I have spoken to Vodafone twice and they tell me they can't (read won't) disable this. I've looked in the google account settings and I can't see a disable option. And I've looked through the phone settings and can't see a disable setting. I'm told Vodafone also used to allow you to block charges above an amount - but I was told on the phone they have also stopped this.

I used to have an iphone and I could let my little ones play with it safe in the knowledge they wouldn't start buying things. But now I am petrified one of my little ones - or someone else - will get hold of the phone and go crazy.

Does anyone have any ideas? I think I just have to wait for my contract to expire then ask around to see if any other network will turn off direct carrier billing for me, or change to an iphone.

Yes I know I can set a password on the phone and make sure no-one else ever has access to it etc. But that's not what I want. I want to have a normal phone - not a walking credit card.

Rusty!

Add a PIN for Play Store purchases.

Buzby

It is inbuilt into the firmware - when you customise at the point of sale you are giving the information it needs to set this up. You could always update your cc details to an old or cancelled account, which will prevent any successful billing.

Rusty!

No it's not to do with that. It's automatic when you put a Voda SIM in, no set up.

It's not a card that gets charged, you pay with your phone bill.

Buzby

I'm with Voda (PAYG) and it doesn't come out of my balance! I need to link it to a CC before items can be bought, so there mus be more to this.

Rusty!

Do you have a branded handset? If not that might explain it.

Notmyrealname

Its certainly not how it works on my Three phone - my CC gets billed.

Earthworm

I believe carrier billing on android requires a 3G connection. Just turn off 3G when you are in the house letting the kids play on it and use WiFi. I can't seem to find another way. Ultimately when you give your phone to your kids to play with there are a variety of other ways they could also rack up charges... Premium rate numbers, picture messages, excessive data usage outside your plan etc. This is no different really they just need to understand how to use it properly and the consequences of abusing it.

spiro

I have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus from VF. If I open the Play store, select Settings, there is a section called 'User Controls'. If I then select the option 'Set or Change Pin', it sets a pin so that you can't change the setting without a pin. If also enables an option 'Use Pin on purchases'. Dont know if your phone is different but that does exactly what you want.

By the way you should ALWAYS have a PIN on your phone and sim in casse it is lost or stolen - see the horror stories on here from people who did not.

chattychappy

maximusnew wrote: »

I have spoken to Vodafone twice and they tell me they can't (read won't) disable this.

I don't have the answer, but this reminds of me of Continuous Payment Authorities on credit cards where for years people were told that (unlike DDs) you couldn't cancel with the CC. Once given, you had to cancel with the merchant.

All turned out to be nonsense, the Payment Services Directive requires CCs to act on an instruction not to make further payments to a merchant. I believe Barclaycard have changed their T+Cs, but its still normal for operators to tell cardholders that they can only cancel via the merchant.

No doubt at some point some judge will hold that the PSD applies to phone companies too, or the law will be changed so that it does. (Obviously the situation is rather different, so I'm guessing the latter.) Seems wrong to me that you can't stop this.