MSE News: That smile might cost you: beware being hit with huge emoji fees

Former_MSE_Paloma

Mobile phone users who send a smiley or sad face, or any type of picture icon in a text could be stung with big bills ...

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That smile might cost you: beware being hit with huge emoji fees




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pinkjets

Recently got a higher than normal bill and at first was unsure why, but now l've realised this was the cause!!! Now that I know I avoid using 'faces' in text messages or use WhatsApp or FB messenger/chat.
Be careful as using 'faces' in your mobile texts can really add up without you even knowing its costing you.

nednoodle

I am having this problem with my Samsung S5 on 02. They blame the manufacturer so were very unhelpful. I have largely stopped using emojis because of this but have noticed that if I even include a bracket (even if it is not part of an emoji), it converts it to a MMS. What a stupid feature - I would avoid Samsung phones in the future. I can't see why a phone manufacturer would think it a good idea. There doesn't seem to be an option to switch off the MMS on my phone. However I have found an MMS warning which I have turned on. So now cos I can use an emoji without paying....:T:A:(:eek::mad::money::p:D:grouphug::wall::wave:_party_:cool::D:p:beer::j;):eek::T:):A:(:money:

grumbler

Instead of avoiding Samsung, just change your messaging app.
For some suggestions see this recent threads:
Why VF texts changing to MMS? VF REP HELP PLS.
Texts changed to MMS. Not using emoticons. VF

Spigot

This seems to be an even worse issue than just not being advised about the charges by the phone supplier on signing up for the contract. My wife took out a contract with Talkmobile in April this year on a new S3 Neo, and no mention of this was made by the suppliers salesperson at the time, which amounts to concealment whether intentional or not. However, after noticing the excess charges on her first bill, she phoned the service provider who indeed revealed the charging policy. We also noted that a small amount of our data allowance had been used, which was a surprise, as she hadn't used the phone for any internet use, as she has an iPad for that. The following month we purposely used an emoji twice to see how it would show up on the next bill. Sure enough, she was charged an excess and had data usage deducted. Now it seems to me that it should either be a charge OR a data deduction, otherwise it amounts to charging twice for the same thing. Is this not called fraud, along similar lines to the ongoing PPI scandal?