070806 Premium Services

We want to help you manage your charges for Premium Services

Often, an unexpectedly high bill results from the use of Premium Services. 
We want to help you understand what a Premium Service is and some of the things to watch out for when using Premium Services, to help you avoid getting a nasty surprise when you receive a bill.

What is a Premium Service?

Premium text and MMS are a suite of messaging services including 
competitions, voting, content subscriptions, chat and dating services that are charged at a premium rate to your Crazy John’s account. Premium text numbers are called shortcodes and they are either 6 digit numbers starting with 191, 193, 194 or 195, or 8 digit numbers starting with 196, 197 or 199.

Premium Services may start with their own prefix such as "19", "190" or "188". Please note that international calls also cost more than standard calls.

Some services offer access to premium data services. Examples of such services include news updates, sports or weather reports, ring tones and wallpaper.

How can you be charged for Premium Services?

There are a number of ways in which you can be charged for Premium Services. These include:

• Flat Rate – this is where you are charged a fixed amount for each text or MMS message you send or call you make. For example, you could be charged $5.00 for a ringtone or, if you use an text chat service, you could be charged $1.20 for each text you send.
• Timed Rate – this is where your calls or data services are timed at a rate per minute. With some calls you won’t just pay for the length of the call, you may also be charged a connection fee, called a flagfall. For example, a live chat service may charge you $5.00 a minute, plus flagfall.
• By volume – with some premium services, you may also be charged according to the amount of data you download from or via the network.
• By subscription – in some cases you are required to subscribe for a Premium Service, which means ongoing subscription fees are payable even after the initial call or message, or after you have received the relevant data or other content on your phone.

Failing to keep track of your Premium Services can lead to an unexpectedly high bill, and financial difficulties for you if you are unable to pay (including the possible restriction or suspension of your service and the recording of a default in your record with credit agencies, which could affect your ability to get credit in future).

Who is responsible for the charges?

The responsibility for your mobile, and the cost of any calls made from your mobile, usually rests with you. This includes Premium Services used 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 been broken, you may not have to pay for the service.

If your phone is lost or stolen you should let us know straight away by calling us on 13 22 99, so that we can take action to block your account.

What can you do to reduce the risk of a higher than expected bill?

Some of the things you can do to help manage your spend on Premium Services include the following.

Before using a Premium Service, please check the price of the service carefully. The prices for each Premium Service should be listed with the number. We also suggest you keep track of how many times you use Premium Services, how long your calls last, and how many messages you send. The charges for Premium Services can quickly add up, especially 
when you use subscription-based services, and it can be easy to lose track 
of these costs.

• Always check the cost of the Premium Service before you use it.
• Keep track of how many calls you make, or how often you access these services.
• Keep track of how long they last as the costs can quickly add up, possibly creating an unexpected high bill and potentially contributing to financial difficulty.
• You can check your usage online at crazyjohns.com.au/myaccount or by calling our Customer Contact Centre on 13 22 99 (note there is a 24 hour delay in updating your usage).
• You can bar outgoing calls and messages. Please call our Customer Contact Centre to discuss your barring options.
• To guard against the risk of unauthorised use of your mobile phone, you may (depending on your phone’s functionality) be able to place a security access code on your phone. Check the instructions for your mobile phone handset to find out about security access codes for your phone.

Concerned about your use of Premium Services?

To opt-out of a specific Premium text or MMS service, reply with the word STOP to the service you want cancelled. Stopping a service will not affect any other Premium text or MMS services you may be using such as voting in your favourite TV show or entering competitions.

Alternatively from 1 July 2010 you can BAR all Premium text and MMS services for free. This means that your mobile account will be barred from sending and receiving Premium text and MMS messages and you will not be charged for any of these services. No other services will be affected. We will bar all premium text and MMS services from your account within 1 Business Day of receiving your request.

For more information about these services call 13 22 99 from your mobile to request to bar or unbar and follow the prompts.

If you have concerns about specific Premium text or MMS services, including about charges that appear on your Crazy John’s bill, you should contact the premium rate service provider operating the service in the first instance. Their contact details can be found at www.19sms.com.au. You should be aware that sometimes the service provider is not the actual content 
provider with whom you have an agreement, and they may refer you to 
a content provider.

If you are unable to resolve your concern with the service provider or 
the content provider, please call 13 22 99. If we are unable to resolve your concerns you may wish to contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman on 1800 062 058 or www.tio.com.au or the ACMA www.acma.gov.au/WEB/HOMEPAGE/PC=HOME.

If you have questions or concerns about Premium text or MMS services generally or about the barring of all Premium text or MMS services, you can contact us on 13 22 99, or the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman or the ACMA using the contact details above.