What are "out of plan" charges?
They're extra costs that mean you've used more than your inclusive data, minutes or texts. We'll charge for each minute, text or MB (megabyte) of data you've used outside of your plan. You can limit these extra charges by setting a cap on what you spend.
When we say "excluded from plan charges" we mean any extra stuff that wasn't part of your plan allowance. This would include things like premium charges, international calling and texting, and using your phone abroad. These charges are usually more expensive than charges in the UK.
To avoid an unexpectedly high bill, you can set a monthly spend cap by logging in to My Mobile >
Here are some of the most common out of plan charges. If you don't find what you're looking for, try our Tariff Guide > (PDF, 1.6 MB)
Standard charges within the UK if you go outside your allowance
| Calls (to any UK mobile or standard UK fixed-line number 01, 02, 03) | 49.33p per min (1 minute minimum call charge and per second charging after that) |
| Texts (to any UK mobile or standard UK fixed-line number 01, 02, 03) | 15p per message |
| Data (internet) | 14.09p per MB (megabyte) |
| Unlimited voicemail | Included |
| Calls to our helpdesk | Included |
| Calls to numbers starting 0800, 0808, 0500 | Included |
Standard charges within the UK not included in your plan
| Picture messages | 43p per message |
| Calls to service numbers (starting 084, 087, 09 and 118) | Calls consist of a 42.28p per minute access charge from BT, plus a service charge set by the company you call |
| Calls to emergency services such as 999 or 112 | Included |
| Calls to non-emergency services such as 101 | 15p |
International and roaming charges
For international and roaming charges go to our "what do calls cost section" >
Scroll down and open the International and roaming charges section.
Choose the name of the country you are calling or visiting to see prices.
You can also find international call costs in the Tariff Guide >
Why are there charges on my bill from abroad when I haven't been away?
Occasionally foreign networks can 'cross over' into the UK and your phone can pick them up and start using them.
That might mean you get charged roaming rates as if you were abroad. We do everything we can to stop this happening. But if it's happened to you, please contact us >
Charge to bill
Charge to Bill is a generic name for Services or goods that are purchased via your mobile phone and are charged to your monthly mobile phone bill.
Some examples of these services are:
- TV and Radio competitions entered via text message
- Charity Donations made via text message
- Digital content purchased via App Stores or Online Stores like Apple, Google, Sony and Microsoft
- TV and Radio engagement and voting, for example, reality shows such as X-Factor and Britain’s got Talent
- Directory Enquiries
- Adult, Chat and Psychic Services
- Gaming
- Gambling
Charge to bill services
Charge to Bill Services is the contractual responsibility (and subject to the terms and conditions) of the company providing the relevant Service. BT is not responsible for the content or provision of any of those Services.
Charge to Bill Services could appear on your bill in several ways:
- Voice calls to fixed-line premium rate numbers starting 118, 0870, 0871, 0872, 0873, 070 and 09. These charges are made up of a BT Access Charge, charged per minute plus a Service Charge which is set by the company you are calling. That company should advise you of the Service Charge element of the call cost.
- Voice or video calls to short code numbers (usually five or seven digits long and usually beginning with 6 or 8).
- Text or MMS messages to short code numbers that are charged at 12p for SMS and 40p for MMS messages. Short code numbers usually begin with 6, 7 or 8, and are used for such things as making charity donations, entering TV or Radio advertised competitions, or paying for games and other digital content that is downloaded to your handset or device.
- Text messages received from shortcode numbers that are charged between 15p and £10 per message. Received messages either appear on the bill as a 5-digit number beginning 6, 7 or 8 or a 9-digit ‘service id’ beginning with 70*. This also includes subscription Services, where you will be charged via text message on a regular basis for your membership to, and for access to, the Service.
BT cannot stop these services for you, to stop the service you will need to check messages from the service provider, there should be instructions or T&Cs in the original messages with information on cancelling.
No one likes getting unexpected high bills. So with BT Mobile you can set a monthly spend cap for any charges outside your plan. The default spend cap is £40 but you can cap what you spend to as low as £0 over and above your monthly plan charge. Go to www.bt.com/mymobile set up or change your spend cap.
You can find more pricing info at https://www.bt.com/assets/pdf/BT_PhoneTariff_Residential.pdf.