Beware terms and conditions

Very few people enjoy reading through lengthy terms and conditions written in heavy legal jargon.  So often we just shrug and quickly click 'I agree'.  Some companies are counting on this human trait and try and exploit it.  Buried in those terms and conditions may be surprising items, i.e. that you have agreed to give them access to you email address book.  However, sometimes what you have agreed to is going to cost you money.

Websites, often 'adult' sites, may use a clever terms and conditions ploy.  They promise 'free' pornography and, when the curious come across the terms and conditions, they click agree.  In those terms can be an agreement that your time online would be shifted to a line where 0900 time charges would be assessed.  The next phone bill can have an awful surprise... hundreds of dollars of 0900 charges that are your responsibility.  If it is your child that accessed the adult site, you as parent are still responsible.

Another trick can be saying that you have to download software to 'view' the free pornography (in the case of an adult site).  The software can sometimes be an automatic dialer that calls the 0900 number with some regularity, so a series of charges appear on your phone bill.  The software can also be for pop-up ads or other types of nuisance.  Be careful with any such software downloads that you are dealing with a reputable company.

One thing parents can do is have an 0900 toll bar put on your home phone to block access to any 0900 number, whether accessed by phone or the Net. This eliminates the risk that others in the household can run up bills without your knowledge.  There is no charge for this toll bar service and it can be removed if you later change your mind.  This suggestion came from a parent who had just this sort shock in their phone bill.  We are grateful to that parent (and the Commissioner for Children's Office) for bringing this issue to the attention of the ISG so other parents could be warned.