Premium Rate Mobile Spam/sms Refund Getter

MSE_Martin

I've just received a press release about a new service that stops premium rate SMS charges. This is a major issue. The problem is I have no way in testing if the service works.

What I would like to do is get MoneySavers to test it.

Here is the press release. If you try it, please report your problem and your feedback. Remember a press release is written by the company as a "sell document" so treat it with a pinch of salt.

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SMS Guardian Kisses Goodbye to Premium Rate Spam Messages, Logos and Ring Tones

Millions of UK mobile phone users are plagued by the growing problem of unwanted SMS text messages, ring tones and logos, which can literally add pounds to their bills every month. Simon Luttrell, a veteran of the SMS industry, is offering to eliminate the unwanted spam and obtain refunds for the unsolicited messages from the guilty companies, with his ‘SMS Guardian’ service http://www.smsx.biz/spam

SMS Guardian contacts the company which has sent the charged message, advises them of the offence, and requests a refund of the message costs. The customer care department of the relevant mobile network is also contacted and a request made to block all future charged text messages that are being sent by the named company to this customer. Finally, the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is contacted, and a request made to register the mobile number so that companies cannot lawfully make unsolicited marketing calls to the number.

Simon explains: “Some companies within the SMS sector are abusing the premium charged SMS functionality of the mobile networks. Spam SMS with premium rate charges isn’t just a problem for adults. Children are frequently the recipient of unwanted, expensive ring tones which they haven’t requested, or have unwittingly signed up to receive on a regular basis. In many cases, the recipient of the charged message is completely unaware who has sent it!”

He adds: “The mobile networks and industry regulator are very much aware of this problem, and have imposed new requirements on the companies who send this type of premium charged SMS message. Nevertheless, mobile phone users continue to pay millions of pounds every month to receive spam. My service is a simple way to minimise unwanted messages and hopefully obtain money back from the guilty parties.”

Suitable for all mobile phone owners, SMS Guardian is easy to use. When an unwanted, charged message appears, the mobile user simply notes the four or five digit 'shortcode' from which it was sent. He/she then texts the word SPAM, followed by the shortcode, to SMS number 83222. For example, if the unwanted message came from 81234, the user would text SPAM 81234 to 83222. SMS Guardian would then access a database of SMS companies and identify who was responsible for sending the charged message. SMS Guardian contacts the offending company, as well as the customer's mobile network, and the TPS is contacted immediately afterwards. The mobile customer receives a confirmation text message and further confirmation of the progress of their complaint.

There’s a one-off charge of £1.50 for using SMS Guardian to report a spammer (the fee remains the same even if the customer has received numerous charged messages from the same sender) and this is billed to the customer via, wait for it - premium charged SMS! But Simon Luttrell is quick to point out that it’s a small price to pay for achieving a result. He says: “Bearing in mind that we contact at least three different organisations on the mobile user’s behalf, if our service stops these rogue messages, or gets a refund, the cost is worth it!”

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TO GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK PLEASE CLICK REPLY: (I'm really looking for people who try it rather than general opinions on the concept)

greeners

Martin,
This appears to be a scam also. I text my problem to them a week ago and haven't heard anything.
I also tried emailing their support email on their web page but I had a reply saying there was no such yahoo account!!!!!!!!
No doubt I will be charged the £1.50 on my next bill!

greeners

I recently received around 40 text messages (which I did not request), from a company called Opera Telecom
and I have been charged £1.50 per message. I was getting about 3 of these text a day which I didn't open but deleted
straight away. My normal mobile bill is around £30 per month, but this month, to my distress, it was £130.00

Is there anything I can do to reclaim this money.

I have tried stopping the texts as per Orange's instructions but without success, and I have tried calling this company
but have been kept on hold and never got through.

Please Help.

Many Thanks,

Chris Greenway.

P.S. Great Website.

Ignite

Contact ICSTIS and make a complaint to them. They have a database of numbers and you can enter the number of SMS shortcode and it will give you a company name and address. You can then complain to ICSTIS.

Rave

I simply cannot understand why Ofcom allow the current system of charging where companies can send reverse charge messages and receive payment from the mobile phone companies with little or no authorisation from the customer. I suspect it would be fairly trivial to implement a system whereby all premium content had to be specifically accepted by the customer- E.G. a message would pop up on the phone asking 'Do you want to accept this premium content from XYZ Telecom, cost £1.50? Yes/No'.

I've not had this problem yet, but if I were to be charged for messages I had not requested I would simply phone my mobile phone company and demand a refund, and if it were not forthcoming I would take them to the small claims court. It's not my job to reclaim the money from the spam company- I only have a contract with my mobile provider and if they're fool enough to pay money to a third party on my behalf without my authorisation that's their problem. If enough people did this the mobile phone companies would soon put a stop to it- as it is they're happy for the situation to continue since they seem to be getting their cut while fobbing off the customer with spurious excuses:mad:.

phil-99

Rave wrote:

if I were to be charged for messages I had not requested I would simply phone my mobile phone company and demand a refund, and if it were not forthcoming I would take them to the small claims court. It's not my job to reclaim the money from the spam company- I only have a contract with my mobile provider and if they're fool enough to pay money to a third party on my behalf without my authorisation that's their problem. If enough people did this the mobile phone companies would soon put a stop to it- as it is they're happy for the situation to continue since they seem to be getting their cut while fobbing off the customer with spurious excuses:mad:.

You are never charged without there being a message sent first. In my experience working for a mobile company for 3yrs+, I've never seen one example of a customer being sent ringtones/chargeable messages without there being a request made at some point previously for some content.

This is where the acceptance of terms comes in... Things ain't gonna change anytime soon until people start reading the terms of these "clubs".

Though I must say, I think the idea of the reverse charging system sucks. There are much better ways to do it from a customer's point of view.

durain

if i receive one of this premium sms and i delete it without openning, will it still charge me?

gromituk

Yes. You are charged on receipt.

http://www.grumbletext.co.uk/page.php?pn=gtsossmsmoney

RANDY_3

Premium rate scam
Another one of those scams going around
It is calling mobile customers randomly, i got a missed call so obviously called it back to see who it was, and was left hanging on until they could find someone to take the call, i got suspicious and hung up.
It appears from my billing it is an International or premium rate nbr.
07094631568
BEWARE the call back to see who called you is not cheap.

tin

This is a Scam or at the very least a bad deal.

All you need to do is check http://www.smsx.biz/internet.htm which is the same company's fabulous "free" internet access offering, and then take a look at (for example) UK2's similar offering at http://adial.co.uk/ which is the exact same thing but with a cheaper rate phone call and, crucially, without having to get a 1.50 text for the number.. dodgy? I think so.

tin

Rave wrote:

I suspect it would be fairly trivial to implement a system whereby all premium content had to be specifically accepted by the customer- E.G. a message would pop up on the phone asking 'Do you want to accept this premium content from XYZ Telecom, cost £1.50? Yes/No'.

I only have a contract with my mobile provider and if they're fool enough to pay money to a third party on my behalf without my authorisation that's their problem.

Unfortunately it would be pretty hard to do that directly as there's no mechanism to support that in the phones. The premium text system is a bastardisation of normal SMS - the premium bit only being added by the operators by billing more for the texts, and is the main reason why it is subject to no real authorisation for the users. The only way to do it would be for the operator to text you the question, and you'd have to text back yes or no, which would cost another 2 texts for the operator and be a bit cumbersome.

I do have to agree that the system of specific authorisation from the user is VERY weak. I am surprised there doesn't seem to have been more sucessful challenges to these. However phone companies are notorious for providing crap customer service when the customer is clearly being poorly served - what is the hope of decent customer service when there is some argument as to who's at fault? :eek: