What are premium services?
Premium services include voice or content services that:

• are charged at a higher rate than a standard call or message, using a specific number range like 190, 191, 193-197 and 199 (eg. TV show votes, ringtones, pictures and info services)
• provide another service by using an international dialing prefix to make a connection eg. 0011 or a ‘+’ (note: it doesn’t count when you call personal numbers from within Australia with +61)
• are accessed through our ‘walled garden’ The Vibe, where they are not otherwise generally available outside The Vibe.

What are the main kinds of premium services?
The main types of premium services include premium voice, text, MMS, WAP, interactive or subscription services which are downloaded to your phone, either through calling a specific number or through requesting content through The Vibe. They include:

• entertainment content like chat, ringtones, pictures, animations and videos
• information services such as news, weather, horoscopes and gossip
• voting, polling and competition entry solicited by media (eg. TV shows).

Are there financial risks associated with premium services?
Because of the way premium services are charged, they can leave you with an unexpected high bill. You might not have realised that certain services are charged at higher rates than standard services, or you may have signed up for a subscription service without understanding the charging structure. Check out the service charges before using premium services and before subscribing to services.

Paying for an unexpected high bill could cause financial hardship. Where bill payment is delayed, Virgin Mobile may need to suspend some services. In extreme cases where bills are not paid, a service may be disconnected and a default may be recorded with a credit agency, which could affect your credit rating and future finance options.

What can you do to reduce the risk of unexpected bills?

• Use a prepaid service where you pay up front
• Ask Virgin Mobile to bar access to international services
• Don’t opt-in to international roaming
• Opt out of some premium services like WAP, GPRS or MMS
• Check your service bill online
• Check out rates and charges for premium services online or contact the Virgin Mobile Team on 1300 555 100.

How are premium services charged?
Premium services accessed through Virgin Mobile are charged in two main ways:

• flat rate charges, where the service has a single charge per call or download
• timed charging, where the call or service is charged at a specific rate per unit of time ie. 30 second, or minute (a flag fall may also apply).

Who’s responsible for paying?
Charges will either appear on customers’ monthly bills or be deducted from their prepaid balance. The account-holder will be responsible for paying all charges incurred, including those incurred by other people such as family and friends without the account holder’s knowledge. Note that Virgin Mobile strongly recommends the use of prepaid services where people are concerned about their bills.

Account holders may not be liable for charges:

• resulting from a fault or billing error
• where there was insufficient or no warning that premium rate charges would apply
• where the service did not comply with the TISSC Code of Practice (see below)
• where the service did not comply with relevant legislation or regulation
• which arose due to fraud and where you have notified us of the problem.

Liability might, in some cases, only be determined following an investigation by a relevant provider and/or the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO – see below). Customers also have the right to dispute premium call charges.

How can premium services be restricted through a Virgin Mobile account?

• Contact the Virgin Mobile Team on 1300 555 100 and ask to have access barred to international services and some premium services like WAP, GPRS and MMS
• For postpaid customers with access to 190 voice services, ask to have access to the numbers barred
• Don ’t request international roaming
• Don’t call or send messages to premium numbers or international numbers

Who handles complaints?
In the first instance, customers who have problems with their bills should contact Virgin Mobile. Of course, we will do what we can to resolve your complaints on the spot but, if you wish to, you are entitled to escalate your complaint to a supervisor or higher manager.

If complaints concern advertising and message content of 190 services, they should be directed to the Telephone Information Services Standards Council (TISSC). The TISSC is an independent regulatory body that sets standards for these services through a code of practice and assesses complaints about the industry’s compliance with that code. TISSC also deals with complaints about premium text/MMS services where customers have already complained to their carrier but are still dissatisfied.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is a free and independent telecommunications dispute resolution service for small business and residential consumers in Australia for billing and non-premium service complaints. The TIO is an office of last resort, so you must have tried to resolve your complaint with Virgin Mobile before making a complaint to the TIO.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is the independent government regulator for telecommunications in Australia. While the ACMA does not have a specific complaint-handling role in relation to bills for telecommunications services or premium services, it does have responsibilities for monitoring telecommunications companies’ compliance with consumer safeguards and service guarantees.

Virgin Mobile
website www.virginmobile.com.au
phone 1300 555 100
email click on the ‘contact us’ link on our website

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
website www.tio.com.au
phone 1800 062 058
fax 1800 630 614
email tio@tio.com.au
address PO Box 276 Collins Street West, MELBOURNE VIC 8007.

Telephone Information Services Standards Council
website www.190complaints.com.au
phone 1300 139 955
email tissc@tissc.com.au
address PO Box K1021, HAYMARKET NSW 1240

Australian Communications and Media Authority
website www.acma.gov.au
phone 03 9963 6800
fax 03 9963 6899
address PO Box 13112, Law Courts, MELBOURNE VIC 8010