Premium
services
Important
information on 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. You can also access some
of these services through another provider by dialing
their over-ride code followed by the service number.
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. 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. The average
cost of a premium service can range from several cents
to a few dollars per minute, depending on the service.
Calls from mobile phones
– if you are calling from a mobile phone, additional
costs such as air time may apply.
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 an unexpected high bill and potentially contributing
to financial difficulty. Failure to be able to pay a
phone bill could result in the restriction of your telephone
service and ultimately could result in recording of
a default in your record with credit rating agencies,
reducing your ability to obtain credit for other purposes
in the future.
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 been broken,
your provider may not be able to ask you to pay for
the service.
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.
Barring all calls (excluding
local calls). This means all national, international,
calls to mobiles and calls to 190 numbers are barred
permanently through Telstra.
Temporarily bar all calls
(excluding local calls) using Easy Call Control. At
a small monthly fee, you can use this service to temporarily
bar calls to mobiles, national, international and 190
calls. We provide you with a PIN which you can use to
activate or de-activate the bars.
If you wish to bar all
international numbers with your service provider, but
don’t have a bar put on over-ride codes, you could
be charged by another service provider for an international
call. Over-ride codes are four digit numbers starting
with the prefix 14 and allow customers to use another
service provider on a call by call basis for long distance
and international calls.
Please contact one of our
customer service representatives (CSR) on 1300 669 073
to discuss your barring options. You can also remove
a bar by contacting us. You may also wish to discuss
other options to control your phone bill including
Logging into our online
billing system will allow you to view your unbilled
calls. All you need is a username and password.
Your computer modem may
dial an international number by using internet dialer
software to access content on internet sites (‘internet
dumping’). This can lead to unexpected high bills.
See a fact sheet on internet dumping that is available
on the Australian Communications Authority’s website
(www.aca.gov.au) to explain what internet dumping is
and how you can protect yourself from internet dumping.
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
Evolution Telecom Pty Ltd
Mail Address: GPO Box 111 Brisbane QLD 4001
Internet Address www.evolutiontelecom.com.au
Phone:1300 669 073
Fax: 1300 669 127
If you have received a
large bill for making premium service calls, you may
also want to have a Financial Counselor assist you when
you contact us.
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
Phone
For calls from Melbourne: (03) 9963 6988
For calls outside Melbourne: 1300 850 115
Fax: (03) 9963 6989
Call our Customer Service Centre on 1300 669 073 to
start saving today or join
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