Text Messages - # of characters

[dereklola]

Basic charge for sending or receiving text messages is 30c. OK that's good. But when does the charge double to 60c or even 90c.? Approx how many words are included for 30c?   Thx - Derek

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[RogersMaude · Accepted solution]

Good evening @dereklola,

Thanks for posting your inquiry to the Community.

I totally understand you want to make sure you're not losing your Prepaid balance because you're sending text messages that count as 2 or 3. I'm sure other users are also wondering what the size limit is on standard text messages.

The SMS size is not calculated in words but in characters. Each 160 characters or less text message that you send are charged as one. Some phones can send and receive text messages with more than 160 characters and that's what seems to be happening when you're charged $0.60 or $0.90 per message

• Please note that certain phone models will not indicate the number of characters in a text message.

If you see that your text message usage increases, don't hesitate to purchase an add-on or text messagin package to lower the pay-per-use costs.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

RogersMaude

[dereklola]

Thanks Maude - that's useful.

In my case (other phones may vary) that's just over 5 lines of text so if I can count the number of lines on the fingers of one hand I should be OK. 

[Gdkitty]

Check the phone settings as well. 

Not 100% sure on android, but I would guess its there as well.
On iPhone, you can go into your settings, and say for it to count characters.

Will tell you when you do too much 🙂

[Medea]

Duplicate SMS charges dated for same day and same time

I have no clue how long this has been going on as I haven't been using my Pay-as-you-go cell since I've been self-isolating, however, I have since been online and noticed I have been charged for an SMS $0.30 charge five times for the same date and same time.  Example, June 10, 2020 at 22:48 there were five $0.30 charges, and two weeks later on June 26, 2020 at 10:27 four $0.30 charges.  Does anyone know how to get these reversed?  I am hearing impaired so the phone is useless to me (I only bought it in case of emergencies on the road).

[RogersTony]

Hello, @Medea

Thanks so much for posting your concern to our Community.

Seeing an unexpected charge on your bill is never a good experience. We definitely want to help you get this investigated but regrettably, we do not have access to the systems to manage Pay-As-You-Go accounts. Please follow the steps below to quickly get in touch with an agent who can assist you.

1. Dial: 1-800-575-9090  
2. Wait for language selection to finish
3. Press option 4 for “General information”
4. Press option 4 to “Contact Rogers”
5. Press option 1 to reach a live representative quickly

Hours of operation are as follows:

Mon-Fri: 8 am to 9 pm EST
Saturday: 8 am – 9 pm EST
Sunday: 10am – 8pm EST

I hope this helps!

RogersTony

[57]

@Medea : I have the following comments/suggestions:

1. If you receive a text that is really long it can count as a number of texts for billing purposes. I believe that anything over about 153 characters is charged as two texts and if the text is really long, it could be charged as 5 depending on the length.  This is how one text can be billed as many.

2. The only way I know to contact PAYGo is by phone as indicated in the post above.  Since you're hearing impaired, you may wish for someone else (trusted) to call on your behalf while you're present in case questions are asked that only you can answer (like your PIN number).  I have always found that the PAYGo people answer quite quickly and are very helpful.

3. If the above is not an option, you can try contacting the @CommunityHelps people here by PM, but I'm not sure if they can assist with PAYGo...  

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Rogers-Community-Forums-Blog/Get-to-know-your-Community-How-To...

[Medea]

I am currently on the phone and none of those options are accurate. 

[57]

If you follow the instructions very carefully and patiently, they will work. I just used them a couple of days ago and have used them many times in the past.  You have to wait for the voice prompts to at least start before pressing the number associated with that particular voice prompt, or you can wait for the voice prompt to complete.  Be patient and do it carefully.  There are sets of voice prompts and if you press 4-4-1 in quick succession, it won't work.

[OLDYELLR]

@Medea  My experience has been the opposite. I will see 2 or more duplicate spam texts on my phone, but when I go to my Call Transaction History on line, I only see one. I always forward such texts to SPAM. I also keep track of all charged spam texts and when I renew my plan, calling the PayGo number, I mention the texts and Rogers reimburses me for the charges.

[cafekief]

How many letters can I txt in one txt before it comes two text? Samsung galaxy note 9 or any android smartphone?

[57]

A search of the web quickly found the following:

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• Single text messages are limited to 160 characters, including spaces. The maximum length of a text message is 918 characters including spaces.

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https://ca.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrJ7KJHw2BgiAMAQHrqFAx.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcyMTAwMgRfcgMyBGZyA3...