1 - If you are receiving unsolicited texts from any company you should ask your service provider for that companies details.
"who will inform you that they are based in some far away land and have an 0871 or 0844 contact number, thus enabling more revenue generation"
-These companies have a UK base, representative or sub dealer - Yes almost always an 0870 number (which I am not defending) But you could just call them from a BT line for FREE!?
2 - You ring the company in question and ask them to prove that you initiated the service. Usually they will do this or offer a refund..
"You cannot be serious! Hurdles, hoops, blood out of a stone. "
- I have contacted many many many of these companies on customers behalf- They have always sent transcripts if asked or simply offered refunds. Note: Social skills will get you alot further than pitchforks and fire...
3 - If you don’t get any joy from said company, visit
www.phonepayplus.org.uk - They regulate all premium rate services and if they are sending unsolicited texts, they need to know about it!! You only need to search their history to see what kind of fines they have imposed on companies like Mblox ltd (Crazy frog)
"A wholly pointless regulator. It acts in the interest of PRS scammers. It pays lip service to the public. It is rotten to its core. "
- You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. They are endless records of scams they have efficiently stopped and heavily fined.
6 - Not everyone is evil and out to get you!!!!!!!!!
"Reverse-billed SMS *is* evil, and is a massive fraud that Ofcom and PPP will not act upon. Only in the UK, of course - scammers' paradise. "
- Only in the UK? Do your research..
- I don’t like reverse billed SMS and I have never used them, and probably never will. I have had to investigate hundreds of cases where people are screaming and shouting about these unsolicited texts. In ALL cases I have seen the texting transcripts for both messages sent/received - In ALL cases the customer has initiated either through a website or just by texting one of these short codes. They have THEN gone onto agree to the terms and conditions which were sent to the phone (and in some cases - Like the lottery - you have to agree by texting back unique words after twice reading the terms and conditions)
But lets be clear, I am not advocating for premium text messaging. I think they make most of their money from children/vulnerable/clueless people who have been given mobile phone by their parents and who will sign up to anything to get that 'Free tone' and still not recognise what they have signed up to.
I am investigating a claim regarding Tonesite club now (which is how I came across this site)
I'll post how that goes..
It remains the fact though, if you don’t want any dealings with Premium text message providers - Don’t sign up to them!