Charges made for text received - not requested

evenasus · 6 April 2009 at 12:30PM

Anyone else having problems as below?

I have a T Mobile PAYG sim and having just checked my calls online I found that I had been charged for texts received. One of the text numbers was 81415.
These are how the appear on my account.

06/04/2009 10:47:33 700034857TMO Network MT SMS SMSReceiveDUnbranded1 Events£1.50

01/04/2009 09:53:47 700036004TMO Network MT SMS SMSReceiveEUnbranded1 Events£2.50

01/04/2009 09:52:10 700034857TMO Network MT SMS SMSReceiveDUnbranded1 Events£1.50

I range T Mobile and they appear to have their call centre in India and the person I spoke to was of no help whatsoever.
He just told me I had to get the charges back from the sender of the texts.
As far as I'm concerned, T Mobile have charged me and they should refund me.
Anyone any advice please?

Buzby · 6 April 2009 at 12:48PM

It is a real pain that customers are not in control anymore, but as the current rules stand, your network is correct. You need to complain to the premium call/text 'regulator' PhonePayPlus.

evenasus · 6 April 2009 at 2:26PM

Then the rules certainly need changing.
If anyone can call/text your phone with a chargable call, without your knowledge, it is wrong.

You need to complain to the premium call/text 'regulator' PhonePayPlus.

Is there a telephone contact number for this 'regulator' please?

I didn't get a satisfactory response from the call centre, so I sent a strongly worded email.
I received a call back about 30 minutes later, from their Indian call centre though.
To cut it short, I have been refunded in full, in their words, as a gesture of goodwill. GOODWILL? HA!

I've just found this other thread, Possible scam from company called Mobile Shop re scams on mobile phones.
I'll be having words with my Trading Standards Officer husband tonight.
Something should be done about this. I think it should be up to the 'companies' to sort out, not us.:mad:
I'll go and calm down now.

wantmemoney · 6 April 2009 at 2:37PM

@evenasus
this is a disgrace.
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Calls.aspx/700/m

81415 is a short code owned by

PhonepayPlus has the following information about the number 81415.

WIN (Wireless Information Network) Ltd
1 Cliveden Office Village
Lancaster Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP12 3YZ
Tel: 01494 750 500
[EMAIL="customerservices@winplc.com"]customerservices@winplc.com[/EMAIL]

they have been fined numerous times.
http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/business/adjudications/search.asp?AD=05%2F03%2F2009&SP=Wireless+Information+Network+Limited&ST=&SpLookup=Search&Keywords=&cmd=2
the problem is the 'fines' are regulatory fines and cannot exceed 10% of the revenue.

The mobile Network Operators debit the accounts and pocket 20-50% before passing the rest on to companies like Win plc. Phonepayplus brought in new measures this year supposedly to protect the public from this type of unauthorized debiting but a fat lot of good it has done.

You most certainly should report this to Phonepayplus (they are bloody useless and are in fact part of this 'self regulating' industry problem)
http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/consumers/complain/default.asp
and contact your Network Operator and insist on the contact details for the company they were billing for. If it was me I would write to my MP and ask why after years of this scandal there is still no protection from unauthorized debiting on pay as you go accounts.

sporedude · 6 April 2009 at 2:37PM

It would have been goodwill, When I worked for them they told us never to refund 3rd party sms charges.

lawbunny · 6 April 2009 at 3:47PM

Whilst I don't doubt that many of these unscrupulous companies do send some unrequested chargeable texts to people, I would double check and double check again that you did not request these texts.

At the risk of playing devil's advocate here, I must admit that in the majority of cases where people have called and spoken to me regarding third party text services claiming that they have not subscribed, if you look back through the call records to anything up to a couple of weeks before there is usually an outgoing text to the company, often at dodgy (ie drunken weekend) hours of the morning.....

evenasus · 6 April 2009 at 4:38PM

lawbunny wrote: »

Whilst I don't doubt that many of these unscrupulous companies do send some unrequested chargeable texts to people, I would double check and double check again that you did not request these texts.

At the risk of playing devil's advocate here, I must admit that in the majority of cases where people have called and spoken to me regarding third party text services claiming that they have not subscribed, if you look back through the call records to anything up to a couple of weeks before there is usually an outgoing text to the company, often at dodgy (ie drunken weekend) hours of the morning.....

No 1... I don't drink, never have, hate the taste. Tried it of course in the 60's YUK!
No 2... I have never and never would want ring tones, chat/!!!!!! or any other mobile phone service.
No 3... The only people I have given my phone number to are family members. So how these unscrupulous vermin (yes vermin in my opinion) have aquired my number, I don't know.

wantmemoney - I have done as you suggested.

Never rains but what it pours does it? :rolleyes:
This morning, I've received three text messages from 07786202117 which I haven't openend. I can see from the message header that it's something to do with a chat service.
And shortly after receiving the texts, I received an UNKNOWN CALLER call. Needless to say, I didn't answer it.

What a day.:mad:

evenasus · 6 April 2009 at 4:41PM

Forgot to say...
I was reading on another forum re these unsolicited call/text charges and read this.

Unscrupulous? It really bugs me how companys are regulalry alowed to legally steal off you. If you went up to their CEO and brushed his coat then billed him a fiver I bet he'd say he didn't have to pay because he didn't request the service!

wantmemoney · 6 April 2009 at 5:33PM

@evenasus
if you are wondering how these 'companies' obtain the number of their 'customers'

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/consumer_affairs/article5002795.ece

Even more worrying, however, is the growing trend among premium-rate companies to target people who have not given them their details. Most usually a company acquires contact details by buying lists of data from other companies. “Buying and selling of contact details is big business,” Mr Bates says. “Lists of phone numbers are passed around the industry. If your number is on one of these lists, you could receive a text about anything.”

Simon Bates is ex-Ofcom and now Phonepayplus

and here
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/06/phonepayplus_text_spam/

here's a recent case

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/business/adjudications/search.asp?AD=19%2F02%2F2009&SP=Zamano+Limited&ST=&SpLookup=Search&Keywords=&cmd=2

06 Nov 2008
Content and/or promotion provided by...........IMS Limited
Service provider responsible for
compliance under the Code of Practice..........Zamano Limited
Telephone network(s)...............................Mobile Operators
Service type...........................................Tex t and Calls Offer
Cost £3.00 per week
Number of complaints 174
Source of complaint Consumers
Fine £25000

BACKGROUND

The PhonepayPlus Executive (“The Executive”) received over 170 consumer complainants in respect of a service which provided a facility to make phone calls or send text messages, for a 'bundled' fee of £12 per month for calls and £3 a week for texts.

The majority of complaints related to unsolicited messages sent by the information provider to numbers purchased from a third party supplier. The subscription element of the service appeared to be unclear in the promotional messages received on the complainants’ handset.

According to the service provider the service had been promoted in a variety of publications including; the News of the World, The Sun, The Daily Sport, The Metro, The Evening Standard and London Lite. The service was also promoted through SMS marketing to opted-in numbers, which had been supplied by 'DLG', a customer profiling and marketing company and also via the company website imob.tv.

and it gets worse

DM Plc acquires DLG Ltd database: 6.2 million mobile phone numbers

DLG is one of the UK's largest providers of consumer lifestyle data to the direct marketing industry with one of the country's largest consumer lifestyle databases with postal details of over 20 million individuals; 4.5 million telephone numbers; 5.8 million email addresses; and 6.2 million mobile phone numbers. The DLG database covers consumer lifestyle data, purchasing habits and consumer preferences and operates in the large and growing UK consumer data services market.

DM plc
(“DM”, “Company” or the “Group)
Proposed Acquisition of Dodd Marketing Limited

Information on Dodd Marketing
Dodd Marketing is the holding company of McIntyre, a well established, privately owned, specialist list broker and promoter of games via addressed mail. McIntyre is based in Ross-on-Wye and has 4 full time staff and 2 part time staff.

this company is already well known on this forum.. this whole 'industry' is an absolute disgrace

or you can believe thousands of people are signing up when they are merry :rolleyes:

uksal · 12 April 2009 at 8:14PM

This is nothing other than a scam, so many people are having their credit taken by these unscrupulous organisations who simply hid behind the networks. Unless the networks are MADE to be responsible for what is taken from your bank, either on contract, or by your next top up, this will simply continue, the networks have no real reason to stop it, after all they take the lions share of any money charged.

Please consider signing up to my petition if you haven't already done so. Thanks for those of you who have already.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Paymentbymobile/

Incidentally, after my problem of trying to stop these unsolicited charges, I have just looked at my tmobile statment and notice I have also been charged 10p per stop message!!!!!! These are supposed to be free, and certainly since I didn't subscribe in the 1st place, I find it offensive that these companies even think what they are doing is anything other than fraudulent - remember I did not in any way shape or form, either intentitionally unintentionally, irrationally or anyway sign up for any free or chargble subscription.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1562285&highlight=

uksal · 12 April 2009 at 8:20PM

This is nothing other than a scam, so many people are having their credit taken by these unscrupulous organisations who simply hide behind the networks skirts! Unless the networks are MADE to be responsible for what is taken from your bank, either on contract, or by your next top up, this will simply continue, the networks have no real reason to stop it, after all they take the lion’s share of any money charged.

Please consider signing up to my petition if you haven't already done so.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Paymentbymobile/

Incidentally, after my problem of trying to stop these unsolicited charges, I have just looked at my tmobile statement and notice I have also been charged 10p per stop message!!!!!! These are supposed to be free, and certainly since I didn't subscribe in the 1st place, I find it offensive and probably immoral that these companies even think what they are doing is anything other than fraudulent - remember I did not in any way shape or form, either intentionally unintentionally, irrationally or anyway sign up for any free or chargeable subscription.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1562285&highlight

Charges made for text received - not requested

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