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Last Updated: Thursday January 22 2009 08:25 GMT

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Tough new rules for phone pests

A boy using a mobile phone

Being charged for text messages you don't want is becoming such a problem that tough new rules are being brought in for the companies that send them.

It's thought that up to one in three of you who have a mobile are regularly being charged for stuff like ringtones, wallpapers, games and chat services.

But sometimes you don't even know about it until you've run up a huge bill.

Now companies have to make it really clear if they're charging you, and if they don't they could be shut down.

Have phone charges caught you out?

Last year, the number of people complaining about being charged for unwanted things on their mobile phones more than doubled.

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Ben tells Newsround how he was surprised with a big bill after trying to download a ringtone.

Thirteen-year-old Ben got caught out after logging onto a website advertising a free ringtone.

He never received the ringtone, but he did keep getting text messages he was being charged for without realising.

"My dad found out in the end when he read the contract bill from the phone company," said Ben. "In the end it cost him £150 for something I didn't know about."

Getting tough

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Advice to avoid unwanted charges

The new rules being introduced by PhonePayPlus, an organisation which checks the things you can buy by charging them to your phone, are aimed at stopping the same thing happening to you.

Spokesman Paul Whiteing said the main change is that if a company is going to charge you, it has to send you a free text confirming all the details first.

"You will then need to send a message to say that's OK," he said. "If you do, you will be charged but if you don't, you won't."

Advice

Companies that break the rules can be investigated, fined and even shut down.

But you can help yourself too. The official advice is if you're not absolutely sure how much a mobile phone download will cost you - don't give out your number.