Text stop to 68866

Shrimply

Hi guys,

Wondering if you can help. I've been charged, not a lot (25p) for texting "STOP" to 68866 in reply to a text message.

Stupidly I have deleted the text so don't know where it came from, I'm a bit annoyed though. I remember it happening, I even googled to try and establish that replying STOP was the right thing to do, and if I was likley to be charged and couldn't find anything suggesting I could.

The thing is, any texts that are obviously spam I'd just ignore. This, I'm pretty sure came from a legitimate source. In fact, during the course of writing this I have come to the conclusion it was possible First Utility or Noddle

I'm pretty annoyed if I've ended up being charged to NOT receive texts from them, I know it's a small amount but surely there should be some sort of warning. Is this normal, I feel like I'm being very naive but googling the number really isn't telling me anything. And the moneysavingexpert guide doesn't mention being charged for texting stop which seems like a fairly big omission. If I can work out who sent the text it's definitely worth a email making my disappointment known.

grumbler

Shrimply wrote: »

Hi guys,

Wondering if you can help. I've been charged, not a lot (25p) for texting "STOP" to 68866 in reply to a text message.

Stupidly I have deleted the text so don't know where it came from, I'm a bit annoyed though.

Pretty often you can't know where it comes from.

I remember it happening, I even googled to try and establish that replying STOP was the right thing to do,

IMO, it's a wrong thing to do because:

• you can get charged,
• you just confirm that your number is active thus encouraging even more spam.

If it comes from a legitimate source, usually there are other ways of stopping/unsubscribing.

I'm pretty annoyed if I've ended up being charged to NOT receive texts from them,

Absolutely.

I know it's a small amount but surely there should be some sort of warning.

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/for-consumers/what-are-premium-rate-services/premium-rate-numbers

Premium rate numbers

This is a quick guide to premium rate numbers, what they are used for and how much they cost:
SMS shortcodes

What are they?
Mobile text shortcode numbers are five or six-digits long and usually begin with 5, 6, 7 or 8. These numbers are often used to pay for new features in apps, to donate to charity, to enter competitions and to download games and ringtones. You may see these numbers in promotions asking you to text a certain word to a number or, you may receive promotional texts asking you to reply to them.
How much do they cost?
It can vary, check the promotion's terms & conditions to find out the exact costs.

Shrimply wrote: »

And the moneysavingexpert guide doesn't mention being charged for texting stop which seems like a fairly big omission

I find their advice to text 'STOP' incorrect, to put it mildly.

Shrimply

Hi Grumbler, Thanks,

I did know where the text came from, I wouldn't have done anything if it had been spam. But I don't hand my number out much, so whoever this company was, I knew who they were and knew that they had had legitimate access to my number. I also knew I didn't want their marketing texts.

Googling 86688 brings up ScotRail. Which is a possibility.

I'll probably never know, and it was obviously stupidity on my part. But obviously these short code numbers don't have to cost anything, and when they come from a big company supposedly providing a service you won't expect a charge without them making you aware of it. Lesson learned I guess, still not impressed though.

Ian011

If the message comes from a mobile shortcode the correct response is to send the STOP message. Your mobile provider may charge you to send this text, but there will be no charge by the company that sent you the original text message.

It is vital to stop the subscription as the chargeable messages they are about to start sending can cost up to £10 each.

If you choose to use your phone settings to block messages from this source you will not see any future messages that they send but you will still be charged for them.

If the message comes from a normal looking mobile number, never send the STOP message. This simply confirms to the sender that your number is active and will often lead to even more junk being sent to you.

It is usually safe to use your phone settings to block the number so that you do not see any of the future messages that they might send.

Be careful when setting blocks that you do not inadvertantly block the reception of appointment reminders from your doctor, dentist or hospital.

grumbler

Ian011 wrote: »

If the message comes from a mobile shortcode the correct response is to send the STOP message. ...

...only if you subscribed to something and know why you received this message.

Your mobile provider may charge you to send this text

You don't have to pay anything for stopping something that you have never requested in the first place.
If it's an unsolicited money-making spam, then texting 'STOP' is unlikely to have any effect.