This carry on makes me so angry. It happened to my mother before Christmas, she's an older user and couldn't figure out where her credit was going, she thought she was leaving the phone "off the hook" or something but eventually realised it might be something to do with the strange texts she was regularly receiving, and deleting straight away as she presumed they were nothing to do with her.
I did a bit of research and ranted at her service provider, my mother also contacted them and complained (and told them I was looking up the internet etc.!), and somehow got refunded enough credit to keep her happy.
A few snippets from the stuff I looked up are quoted below, hopefully they may be of some use. I had hoped to follow up on this situation soon after Christmas but various other pressures have put it on the back boiler. But I really think that TDs, Councillors etc. need to be contacted by large numbers of people in an effort to do something about this.
From Regtel's site, a few quotes:
"Do you dispute that you subscribed?
In order to verify a subscription to a Premium Rate Service, you need to request from the Service Provider - using the menu below - the date and time that is on their records of your mobile telephone having subscribed to the service."
[broken link removed] - you can check who is sending unwanted texts by entering the 5 digit code -
"In the event that you discover this service was unsolicited, please write or email us providing all the relevant information to
[email protected] or Cresent Hall, Mount Street Cresent, Dublin 2."
" If you have subscribed to a SMS service you should receive:
I don't know where I got these quotes from, I'm guessing it's Regtel:
11.1.6 Service Providers are permitted to charge Consumers, whether on a subscription basis or otherwise, only for specific PSMS services and content which the Service Provider can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Regulator the Consumer in question has agreed to receive and pay for.
11.1.8 Text messages sent and received by Consumers must be stored by the Service Provider for a period of six months from the date of the message.
11.3.6 Where a Consumer has subscribed to a PSMS Subscription Service and fails to respond to a sent message within 40 days, the Consumer must be opted out or unsubscribed automatically from that an/or related PSMS Subscription Services and must be removed from the database. The charge for unsubscribing/opting out be no more than the standard text charge.
Promotion/Marketing
11.4.4 For the period that a consumer remains on a direct marketing database, Service Providers must retain records of:
(i) the Consumer opting into the direct marketing database;
(ii) the Consumer subscribing to a Subscription Service; and
(iii) the sending and receiving number of the date, time and content of direct marketing promotions.
The Regulator will investigate complaints … within a three month period from the date the Call complained of was made …
If anyone is seriously interested in campaigning against these texts I would be happy to join in such a campaign and hope to have a bit more time by the end of June.
I did a bit of research and ranted at her service provider, my mother also contacted them and complained (and told them I was looking up the internet etc.!), and somehow got refunded enough credit to keep her happy.
A few snippets from the stuff I looked up are quoted below, hopefully they may be of some use. I had hoped to follow up on this situation soon after Christmas but various other pressures have put it on the back boiler. But I really think that TDs, Councillors etc. need to be contacted by large numbers of people in an effort to do something about this.
From Regtel's site, a few quotes:
"Do you dispute that you subscribed?
In order to verify a subscription to a Premium Rate Service, you need to request from the Service Provider - using the menu below - the date and time that is on their records of your mobile telephone having subscribed to the service."
[broken link removed] - you can check who is sending unwanted texts by entering the 5 digit code -
"In the event that you discover this service was unsolicited, please write or email us providing all the relevant information to
[email protected] or Cresent Hall, Mount Street Cresent, Dublin 2."
" If you have subscribed to a SMS service you should receive:
- An opt-out information service at regular intervals
- On spending €20, you will receive a free reminder message containing details of the subscription service, charges and frequency of charges and how to exit the service by texting the word stop.
- An Interactive Service must not exceed €10 in any one transaction per day.
- Unsubscribing must only cost a standard rate charge.
- If your child has entered a subscription service but does not think they did, were they aware that all advertisements carry an age warning. You should contact the Service Provider for the details. If your child did not interact with the service, you should raise the issue of a refund directly with the Service Provider."
I don't know where I got these quotes from, I'm guessing it's Regtel:
11.1.6 Service Providers are permitted to charge Consumers, whether on a subscription basis or otherwise, only for specific PSMS services and content which the Service Provider can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Regulator the Consumer in question has agreed to receive and pay for.
11.1.8 Text messages sent and received by Consumers must be stored by the Service Provider for a period of six months from the date of the message.
11.3.6 Where a Consumer has subscribed to a PSMS Subscription Service and fails to respond to a sent message within 40 days, the Consumer must be opted out or unsubscribed automatically from that an/or related PSMS Subscription Services and must be removed from the database. The charge for unsubscribing/opting out be no more than the standard text charge.
Promotion/Marketing
11.4.4 For the period that a consumer remains on a direct marketing database, Service Providers must retain records of:
(i) the Consumer opting into the direct marketing database;
(ii) the Consumer subscribing to a Subscription Service; and
(iii) the sending and receiving number of the date, time and content of direct marketing promotions.
The Regulator will investigate complaints … within a three month period from the date the Call complained of was made …
If anyone is seriously interested in campaigning against these texts I would be happy to join in such a campaign and hope to have a bit more time by the end of June.