Text from 61610

wantmemoney

sebwakefield wrote:

Today I have received nine text messages from either 61610 and 80122 and have been charged £1.50 for each text received, totalling £12 and that is just today.

Mobile Network Operators take 20% to 50%
Government take 17.5% VAT
Regulator(PhonePayPlus) take 0.4% + any fines collected

Zamano and their content providers(Blinck,2 Comm etc) share the rest

p.s.
The fines are payed by Zamano from revenue that the regulator instructs them to withhold from their content providers. It can never exceed 10% of that revenue.

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/consumers/adjudications/default.asp?AD=13%2F05%2F2008&SP=Zamano+Ltd&ST=&SpLookup=Search&Keywords=&cmd=2

paul_h

Beware! I'm another victim (I suspect)...

I switched on my 'phone today (it's been switched off for a week or so, it gets very little use, only for emergencies) to find that I have received 9 text messages from 61610 since 1st July. Three of them say "Thank you for joining the want-tone club", two of them stating that "Want-tone club is C$B#4.50 a week.", whatever currency that is...

No texts today, however.

I've rung Orange today, they say that there is nothing showing on my account yet - I am billed monthly on OVP Virgin - although he implied that there may be a delay before charges are made, and to check back again in a few days.

It's already started costing me money, ringing Orange CS.

Lorelai79

I have been receiving nuisance texts from 61610 (stating something about 'busty babes') for a very long time - I have never signed up to any such service - I'm a girl! (or not a lesbian anyway!). I have always just deleted them, imagining that if I replied trying to Stop them I'd be charged an extortionate rate and probably would still receive more!!

I have never been charged for them .. until I got an iPhone last month. My bill this month was mega - why?! I looked into my bill .. 61610 - £1.50 for RECEIVING these texts - !!!!!!!!!

So, I've been on my phone provider's website (O2), searching for an answer - can I block/bar text messages from a certain number? It doesn't seem so. But this is what I DID find:

"SPAM are unsolicited, non chargeable text messages that are used by companies as a form of advertising. They usually include a premium/ high rate number to call back or short code to text. You should not respond unless you are sure it is a genuine message. If you believe this to be SPAM we would like to know about it. The message can be forwarded to 7726 where we can investigate the message and take the necessary action to prevent our customers from any fraudulent activity. Messages that contain premium rate numbers can also be brought to the attention of PhonepayPlus (Premium Rate Regulator) who will also investigate their content, promotion and overall operation."

PhonepayPlus . org. uk - At the website I put the shortcode in the Number Checker field and this was the result:

"PhonepayPlus has the following information about the shortcode number 61610.
This is a text message service charged at premium rate. The types of services operating on this number can be ring tones, jokes, games, tarot, chat, mobile internet services (WAP) and more.

• This service costs £1.50 per text

If you would like to find out more about this service you should contact the company listed below.
Zamano Ltd
Bedford Chambers
The Piaza
Covent Garden
WC2E 8HA
0845 225 2244
cs @ zamano . com
If you want to log a complaint to PhonepayPlus you can also do so online.
Alternatively, you can call our helpline on 0800 500 212 (Mon-Fri, 0900-1700).
To cancel a subscription service (services that charge a regular fee - for example £5 per week) you simply need to send a text with the words "STOP ALL" to the shortcode number"


I was certainly NOT going to send any text to that number!! So I rang the telephone number and chose to speak to an operator. The girl I spoke to was perfectly happy to cancel my subscription to this service, although I will be waiting to see if I receive any more texts!


I will also be ringing my mobile provider to find out if there is anything else I can do if they continue, although I don't hold out much hope.


Let's just hope they stop and these people stop stealing my money - good luck to you all, and I hope you can stop them stealing your money too!!!


Lorelai xx