Mobile phone sex: why 09 calls cost more from a mobile

Mobile phone sex usually costs more than the same call from a landline because every call to an 09 number has two prices. The line's service charge stays the same whatever phone you use; your network's access charge doesn't, and on most mobile tariffs it is higher. Your network may also bar 09 numbers until you ask.

Hardly anyone rings from a landline any more. The home phone, if there still is one, sits in the hall next to the router, and the phone in your pocket is the one you actually use. So this is the practical version: what an adult chat line costs from a mobile, why the call sometimes won't connect, and how to keep an eye on it.

Why does mobile phone sex cost more?

Every call to an 09 number is priced in two halves. The service charge is set by the line you are calling and has to be printed next to the number. The access charge is set by your own phone company, and it is the same per-minute figure for every service number you ring on that tariff.

The service charge doesn't change depending on which phone you pick up. The access charge does. Mobile networks tend to set theirs higher than home landline providers, though the gap varies from tariff to tariff and has shifted over the years. Same line, same conversation, different total: that is the whole mystery.

For the full picture of how premium rate pricing is built, including the ways a minute gets counted, 09 numbers explained goes through it step by step.

Where to find your network's access charge

It isn't hidden, but it is rarely on the front page either. On EE, Vodafone, O2, Three, Sky Mobile, giffgaff, Tesco Mobile and the rest, look for the network's price guide or tariff document and search for 'access charge' or 'service numbers'. It is usually a single line: so many pence per minute.

Three things worth knowing while you are there:

• Different tariffs, different figures. An older contract, a SIM-only deal and a pay-as-you-go plan on the same network can each carry their own access charge.
• Virtual networks set their own. giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Lebara and the like borrow a bigger network's masts, not its price list.
• It changes. Networks review their prices, often in the spring. If you last looked a year ago, look again.

Pay monthly, SIM-only or pay-as-you-go: what changes

Inclusive minutes, however generous the bundle, almost never cover 09 numbers. They cover ordinary UK numbers, and premium rate sits outside. So on a pay-monthly contract or a SIM-only deal, the whole cost of the call is added to your next bill, and you won't see it until the bill arrives.

On pay-as-you-go, the cost comes straight off your credit. When the credit runs out, the call ends, usually without much ceremony. Some people find that a handy built-in limit; others find it abrupt, particularly mid-sentence.

A few networks ask pay-as-you-go customers to confirm their age before any adult service can be reached at all, which leads neatly on to the next question.

Why won't my call connect from a mobile?

If you dial and hear nothing, a recorded message or a quick disconnection, the likeliest cause is not the line you are calling. It is your network.

• Premium rate barring. Many mobile networks may bar 09 numbers by default, particularly on pay-as-you-go and on some new contracts. Lifting the bar means asking your network, usually through your online account or customer services.
• Adult content controls. UK networks apply content restrictions to many accounts by default, and adult premium rate numbers can fall under them. Your network may ask you to prove you are over 18 before removing them.
• Work and family plans. Company phones and phones on a family account are often barred from premium rate numbers altogether, and it is the account holder who decides.
• Abroad. 09 numbers generally can't be reached from outside the UK, so a call from a holiday let in Spain is unlikely to go through, and roaming charges would apply on top if it did.

If your call doesn't connect from a mobile, your network may bar 09 numbers by default. Ringing them to ask is dull, but it takes about five minutes.

Mobile or landline: which is better?

If you have both, the landline is often the cheaper route, simply because its access charge tends to be lower. Plenty of people use the mobile anyway, for privacy as much as habit. A household landline bill is often shared, and an itemised bill lists the numbers called; your own mobile bill is, at least, your own.

Neither is right or wrong. It is simply worth knowing the trade-off before you choose, and worth remembering that the call itself is identical either way.

A worked example, without the pence

You don't need exact figures to see how a call adds up. Say you ring for twenty minutes. On a per-second line, you pay twenty minutes' worth of the service charge plus twenty minutes' worth of your network's access charge, and nothing for the ringing tone. If the line rounds up to the minute and you hang up at twenty minutes and five seconds, you pay for twenty-one.

Now picture the same call with two minutes on hold at the start. That is twenty-two minutes billed for twenty minutes of talk, and the mobile access charge applies to every one of them. On a mobile, where the access charge is the larger half of the problem, a line that answers quickly is worth more than a line that shaves a penny off its rate.

Keeping an eye on the cost

Nothing on a phone call shows you a running total, so you have to keep one yourself.

• Add the two charges together before you ring, so you know your real per-minute figure.
• Glance at the timer. Every phone shows the call duration on screen.
• Decide in advance how long you want to talk, the way you might decide how many rounds you are staying for.
• Ask your network about spending controls if you would like a hard limit, or a bar you can switch on and off.

How ringing Covmod from a mobile works

From a mobile, it is the same as from any other phone. You ring our number, key in the code of the woman you would like to speak to (it is on her profile) and you are through. There is no account to create and no card to enter. Our service charge is shown next to the number on every page and set out in full on our cheap phone sex page; your network adds its access charge. The women who answer are real adults, working with our telephony partner.

The whole route, from choosing someone to hanging up, is on how it works. And if you have ever wondered why the 09 prefix exists at all, the history of UK chat lines starts with the 0898 numbers of the tabloid years.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my call to an 09 number not going through?

Most often because your mobile network bars premium rate numbers, or applies adult content controls, by default. Contact your network through your account or customer services and ask for the bar to be lifted. They may ask you to confirm your age first. Phones on a company or family plan can only be unbarred by the account holder.

Does calling from a mobile cost more than a landline?

Usually, yes. The service charge set by the line is identical whichever phone you use, but mobile networks tend to set a higher access charge than landline providers. The difference depends on your tariff, so check your network's price guide under 'service numbers' before you ring, then add the two figures together.

Are 09 calls included in my mobile bundle?

Almost never. Inclusive minutes cover ordinary UK numbers, not premium rate. On a contract or SIM-only deal the call is added to your next bill on top of your monthly charge; on pay-as-you-go it comes straight off your credit, and the call ends when the credit does.

Will the call show on my mobile bill?

Yes. The charge appears on your bill or comes off your credit, and an itemised bill will show the number you rang along with the date and length of the call. If the account is in someone else's name, such as a family plan, they will be able to see it too.