What are "out-of-plan" charges?
Out-of-plan charges apply when you use more data, minutes or texts than your allowance includes. You'll be charged for any extra usage, as well as services not covered by your plan, such as premium rate calls and texts, international calls, and using your phone abroad. These charges are often higher than standard UK rates.
To avoid unexpected costs, 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) | 54.37p 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) | 15.52p 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 | 45p per message |
| Calls to service numbers (starting 084, 087, 09 and 118) | Calls consist of a 46.60p 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 |
Roaming and international charges
All BT mobile plans have Roam Like Home included, which allows you to use mobile allowances the same way you do at home in 47 inclusive countries. To understand more, go to our Roam Like Home page.
For all other all other roaming and international call charges refer to out Tariff Guide (PDF, 1.6 MB).
Scroll down and open the International and roaming charges section.
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 from happening. But if it's happened to you, please contact us.
Will my BT Mobile plan price change if I cancel my BT Broadband?
If you have BT Broadband and a BT Mobile plan (excluding Family SIM plans), your BT Mobile monthly price may increase if you cancel your BT Broadband service.
The amount your BT Mobile plan increases depends on when you bought it:
- Plans bought before 26 August 2026 will increase by £5 a month.
- Plans bought after 26 August 2026 will increase by £10 a month.
Family SIM plans aren't affected by this change.
If you're not sure when you bought your plan, please contact us.
Charge to bill
Charge to Bill is a generic term for Services or goods purchased on your mobile phone and 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 consist of a BT Access Charge, charged per minute, plus a Service Charge 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 are charged at 15p for SMS and 45p for MMS. Short code numbers usually begin with 6, 7, or 8 and are used for things such as making charity donations, entering TV- or Radio-advertised competitions, or paying for games and other digital content downloaded to your handset or device.
- Text messages received from short code numbers are charged between 15p and £10 per message. Received messages either appear on the bill as a 5-digit number beginning with 6, 7, or 8, or as 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 in and access to the Service.
BT cannot stop these services for you. To stop the service, you will need to check the messages from the service provider; there should be instructions or T&Cs in the original messages that explain how to cancel.
No one likes getting unexpected high bills. With BT Mobile, you can set a monthly spend cap on any charges outside your plan. The default spend cap is £40, but you can cap your spend as low as £0 above your monthly plan charge. Go to www.bt.com/mymobile, set up or change your spend cap.
You can find more pricing information in the BT Phone Tariff (PDF, 1.6 MB).