One sharp-eyed Which? member spotted an unexpected charge on his phone bill for a mobile phone game that he didn’t sign up for…
Which? member Ian Darling from Rochdale wrote to us about an unexpected charge on his phone bill:
‘When checking my bank statement, I spotted that my monthly mobile phone bill had increased significantly. My account listed this charge as ‘games subscription services’.
‘Unknown to me, I’d been signed up for two games at £7.50 plus VAT per week. My account listed a contact number and email address for the company involved. I emailed to contest this charge, and received two separate replies, both stating that my subscription had been cancelled, although by this time I’d been charged for several more weeks.’
Our advice on mobile games subscription services
We’ve seen many complaints about mobile games companies like this one. They send phishing texts to trick mobile users into signing up for services. There are also suggestions that they can send fake confirmations to mobile providers to get further payments authorised.
If you’ve been hit by one of these charges then contact the games company that billed you to ask for a refund. If this is unsuccessful, contact PhonePayPlus, the regulator for premium-rate services. Mobile providers should be able to block any further charges from the company. If you never use premium-rate numbers, your provider can also block them all from your phone.
When was the last time you looked carefully at your mobile phone bill? Have you ever spotted any charges you weren’t expecting?