£10 text to Children in Need

SuperAllyB

I recently donated £10 to Children in Need via text. I was surprised on receiving my bill (EE) that i was also charged 10p for a text (have unlimited texts on plan) and £2 VAT (surely the £10 is a donation and not the value of service provided by EE).

I have donated this way before but used to always have extra calls/data on my old plan so wasn't as obvious what had been charged.

Is it right that VAT should be charged in this instance? I would much rather it went to the charity.

ETA: Google suggest VAT on text donations was abolished in 2008/9 unless that has since changed. Also realized I put "receiving my bill" without thinking - i have only viewed my account online - bill may differ so guess i'll just wait until printed bill is produced and query it then if necessary.

SuperAllyB

For completeness, the actual bill didn't have VAT on the donation even though it was shown on my online account. The text to initiate the donation isn't an inclusive one though, charged 10p for it.

Ian011

Inclusive text messages cover:
- geographic numbers starting 01 & 02 (except Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man)
- mobile numbers starting 071-075 & 077-079 (except Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man).

The allowance does not cover:
- landline and mobile numbers in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man
- text messages sent to mobile shortcodes
- receiving premium text messages from mobile shortcodes
- text messages to international numbers
- text messages sent while roaming.

You'll see the cost of donating via the mobile shortcode was advertised as "Your donation plus the cost of one standard rate text message".

Your mobile provider is required to state that cost in their price list.