Stopping premium texts

My son's just got home from school to tell me that he's been receiving
some sort of dodgy text all day at 1.50 a pop, which has eaten all his
Tesco PAYT credit (only just topped up with the minimum 10 GBP - grrrr).

He swears he has no idea why they started coming, and that he replied to
one with the word "STOP" to no avail - but TBH I can't confirm the
accuracy of either statement...

Anyway - to the point: unfortunately he's deleted all the texts so I
can't do much about it right now. But I'm concerned that if I credit
the account with another tenner, is it likely that he will he
immediately receive a deluge of texts which have been storing up for
him, before I even have time to reply to one with "STOP"?

Any suggestions before I top up the phone again?

Thanks
David

---

› See More: Stopping premium texts

Lobster wrote:
> My son's just got home from school to tell me that he's been receiving
> some sort of dodgy text all day at 1.50 a pop, which has eaten all his
> Tesco PAYT credit (only just topped up with the minimum 10 GBP -
> grrrr).
> He swears he has no idea why they started coming, and that he replied
> to one with the word "STOP" to no avail - but TBH I can't confirm the
> accuracy of either statement...
>
> Anyway - to the point: unfortunately he's deleted all the texts so I
> can't do much about it right now. But I'm concerned that if I credit
> the account with another tenner, is it likely that he will he
> immediately receive a deluge of texts which have been storing up for
> him, before I even have time to reply to one with "STOP"?
>
> Any suggestions before I top up the phone again?
>
> Thanks
> David


Forget that SIM and get another one.

> > Any suggestions before I top up the phone again?

IANAL

Depending on *how* dodgy the texts are - and if he says he definitely
didn't subscribe - why not report it to the police, and force the sender
to prove how and when "he" is alleged to have subscribed.

You might even get a refund once they realise they've sent illicit
material to a minor.

Lobster wrote:
> My son's just got home from school to tell me that he's been receiving
> some sort of dodgy text all day at 1.50 a pop, which has eaten all his
> Tesco PAYT credit (only just topped up with the minimum 10 GBP - grrrr).
>
> He swears he has no idea why they started coming, and that he replied to
> one with the word "STOP" to no avail - but TBH I can't confirm the
> accuracy of either statement...
>
> Anyway - to the point: unfortunately he's deleted all the texts so I
> can't do much about it right now. But I'm concerned that if I credit
> the account with another tenner, is it likely that he will he
> immediately receive a deluge of texts which have been storing up for
> him, before I even have time to reply to one with "STOP"?
>
> Any suggestions before I top up the phone again?
>
> Thanks
> David


Not wanting to sound like an old cynic, but I work for a telco
and it's amazing how many times people never subscribed to
services, only to wade through every single text they've sent,
and find the message they sent that set it all off.

Ring tesco, find out the customer service number of the
company that has been sending them, and if it is a genuine
mistake then they will refund it with no questions asked, I
hate these companies as much as the next person, but jamster
of all companies out there offer refunds back to bank
accounts as they're not able to replace the credit, I think
most of them work in this way.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

"Charlie Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Lobster wrote:
>> My son's just got home from school to tell me that he's been receiving
>> some sort of dodgy text all day at 1.50 a pop, which has eaten all his
>> Tesco PAYT credit (only just topped up with the minimum 10 GBP - grrrr).
>>
>> He swears he has no idea why they started coming, and that he replied to
>> one with the word "STOP" to no avail - but TBH I can't confirm the
>> accuracy of either statement...
>>
>> Anyway - to the point: unfortunately he's deleted all the texts so I
>> can't do much about it right now. But I'm concerned that if I credit the
>> account with another tenner, is it likely that he will he immediately
>> receive a deluge of texts which have been storing up for him, before I
>> even have time to reply to one with "STOP"?
>>
>> Any suggestions before I top up the phone again?
>>
>> Thanks
>> David
>
>
> Not wanting to sound like an old cynic, but I work for a telco
> and it's amazing how many times people never subscribed to
> services, only to wade through every single text they've sent,
> and find the message they sent that set it all off.
>
> Ring tesco, find out the customer service number of the
> company that has been sending them, and if it is a genuine
> mistake then they will refund it with no questions asked, I
> hate these companies as much as the next person, but jamster
> of all companies out there offer refunds back to bank accounts as they're
> not able to replace the credit, I think
> most of them work in this way.
>
> Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Hmmm. I thought the same as you until I started getting premium texts some
time ago.

Orange refused to refund them saying I must have got drunk and signed up for
them (!) until I pointed out that they were being sent to my line 2 number -
from which it is impossible to send texts. The company concerned had forged
the sign-up request.

Benedict.

Lobster <[email protected]> wrote:
> My son's just got home from school to tell me that he's been receiving
> some sort of dodgy text all day at 1.50 a pop, which has eaten all his
> Tesco PAYT credit (only just topped up with the minimum 10 GBP - grrrr).
>
> He swears he has no idea why they started coming, and that he replied to
> one with the word "STOP" to no avail - but TBH I can't confirm the
> accuracy of either statement...
>
> Anyway - to the point: unfortunately he's deleted all the texts so I
> can't do much about it right now. But I'm concerned that if I credit
> the account with another tenner, is it likely that he will he
> immediately receive a deluge of texts which have been storing up for
> him, before I even have time to reply to one with "STOP"?
>
> Any suggestions before I top up the phone again?
>
> Thanks
> David

The chances are he HAS subscribed to the service, probably in response to a
"free ringtone/logo" offer.

My Son, about 3 yrs ago, was sent a message that said he could have a "Free
ringtone" and all he had to do was "reply to this text". He did, and within
3 days his £15 credit was gone with loads of other texts being sent.

It took my around 50 minutes to find out the website of the service, and
buried within pages of pages of the site finally I managed to obtain the key
word to stop the service.

They even graciously sent one final text saying how "sorry" they were the
service was being stop...and that cost £1!!!

Get rid of the sim, and advise your child that he does not in any
circumstances reply to any unsolicited text supposidly offering "free"
ringtones or logos etc. Tell him to simply DELETE the offending text.

Kids really need to learn a bit more common sense when it comes to these
tones and texting services.

After my Sons experience, and me telling him that I will no longer be
topping up his phone, that HE has to pay for his top up, it is amazing how
many of these ringtone/texting services he has subscribed to, intentionallly
or not. NONE!

Be hard...it works. Your kid will get the message Best of luck.

Charlie Mitchell wrote:
> Lobster wrote:
>> My son's just got home from school to tell me that he's been receiving
>> some sort of dodgy text all day at 1.50 a pop, which has eaten all his
>> Tesco PAYT credit (only just topped up with the minimum 10 GBP - grrrr).
>>
>> He swears he has no idea why they started coming, and that he replied
>> to one with the word "STOP" to no avail - but TBH I can't confirm the
>> accuracy of either statement...
>>
>> Anyway - to the point: unfortunately he's deleted all the texts so I
>> can't do much about it right now. But I'm concerned that if I credit
>> the account with another tenner, is it likely that he will he
>> immediately receive a deluge of texts which have been storing up for
>> him, before I even have time to reply to one with "STOP"?

>
> Not wanting to sound like an old cynic, but I work for a telco
> and it's amazing how many times people never subscribed to
> services, only to wade through every single text they've sent,
> and find the message they sent that set it all off.
>
> Ring tesco, find out the customer service number of the
> company that has been sending them, and if it is a genuine
> mistake then they will refund it with no questions asked, I
> hate these companies as much as the next person, but jamster
> of all companies out there offer refunds back to bank accounts as
> they're not able to replace the credit, I think
> most of them work in this way.
>
> Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Well, I contacted Tesco customer services today, and also another dodgy
text has arrived on the phone - evidently they've given up sending the
premium ones as there's no credit left - so this time I at least got the
number. It came from 89888, and was from a sexy 28-year old blonde who
apparently wanted to cover me in sensual oil and have wild dirty sex
2nite (and all I have to do is reply with MORE). Think she's a bit old
for my 10-year-old son though.

Nothing in the text to indicate its source, and I can't track down the
shortcode anywhere other than ICSTIS.org, which just gives details of
www.winplc.com, who presumably just administer it?. Tesco looked it up
and said there was no record of it; they gave me a new number for the
SIM and have filled in a form for refund of the lost credit (which may
or may not be allowed).

Tesco reckoned it was perfectly possible for this to have kicked off by
some so-called friend of my son entering the number on to an iffy
website. Is that really allowed, without being solicited from the phone
which is going to be charged? or would that only happen with an outfit
operating outside the so-called regulations?

Not sure whether to bother pursuing it via ICSTIS or not... but I'm
irritated by the lost credit, and more so by my kid being bombarded with
smut.

David

"Lobster" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...


> By the way - what's the accepted wisdom on how to handle spam texts? I
> certainly never react to email spam, but should I text back STOP to this
> outfit? Or will that just encourage them?
>


personally i'd like legislation to force networks to let their users opt out
of premium charges making them impossible - just like you can bar 0898
numbers on a landline.
end of problem - who exactly chooses to pay a quid per day for a 3 line
horoscope ?



--
Gareth.
A french man who wanted a castle threw his cat into a pond.
http://www.audioscrobbler.com/user/dsbmusic/

> It provided a URL as well:
> http://www.springauction.com/enter.html

IANAL

This site might be in breach of trading conditions for operating in the
UK - they're not based in the UK according to their WHOIS for starters

Do you know if she's actually been charged for the text ?

www.springauction.com = [ 202.56.197.93 ]

(Asked whois.enom.com:43 about springauction.com)

=-=-=-=
Visit AboutUs.org for more information about springauction.com
http://www.aboutus.org/springauction.com"AboutUs: springauction.com
Domain name: springauction.com
Administrative Contact:
Whois Privacy Protection Service Inc.
Whois Agent [email protected]

1.4252740657
Fax: 1.4256960234
PMB 368 14150 NE 20th St - F1
C/O springauction.com
Bellevue WA 98007
US
Technical Contact:
Whois Privacy Protection Service Inc.
Whois Agent [email protected]

1.4252740657
Fax: 1.4256960234
PMB 368 14150 NE 20th St - F1
C/O springauction.com
Bellevue WA 98007
US
Registrant Contact:
Whois Privacy Protection Service Inc.
Whois Agent [email protected]

1.4252740657
Fax: 1.4256960234
PMB 368 14150 NE 20th St - F1
C/O springauction.com
Bellevue WA 98007
US
Status: Active
Name Servers:
dns1.name-services.com
dns2.name-services.com
dns3.name-services.com
dns4.name-services.com
dns5.name-services.com
Creation date: 12 Feb 2007 10: 11: 34
Expiration date: 12 Feb 2008 10: 11: 34
=-=-=-=

"Jon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]

[snip]

> No,. Opt-in confirmation is required. What is more likely
> is that one of your sons mates has nicked the phone for a
> few seconds and sent a text to 89888.

I didn't opt in to the unsolicited SMS I received that cost me a quid. The
phone hadn't been used in 6 months and was switched off in my car
glovebox. The SMS arrived when I switched it on to make a short call to
keep the SIM live.

Oh it was Orange, Jon.

Ivor

"the dog from that film you saw"
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]

[snip]

> personally i'd like legislation to force networks to let
> their users opt out of premium charges making them
> impossible - just like you can bar 0898 numbers on a
> landline.

0898..? Which decade are we in today..?!

BTW what's wrong with your shift keys..?

Ivor

"Ivor Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "the dog from that film you saw"
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]
>
> [snip]
>
>> personally i'd like legislation to force networks to let
>> their users opt out of premium charges making them
>> impossible - just like you can bar 0898 numbers on a
>> landline.
>
> 0898..? Which decade are we in today..?!
>
> BTW what's wrong with your shift keys..?



i arranged for my shift keys to be barred by ofcom.



--
Gareth.
A french man who wanted a castle threw his cat into a pond.
http://www.audioscrobbler.com/user/dsbmusic/

t-mobile will bar reverse charging sms via a quick call to cs - maybe tesco
will do the same ?

i was being charge £50-60 pcm for these sms's. regardless of the number of
times I sent STOP they still came through until t-moby blocked them on my
account.

HTH,

regards, kev
"Ivor Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> "Jon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]
>
> [snip]
>
>> No,. Opt-in confirmation is required. What is more likely
>> is that one of your sons mates has nicked the phone for a
>> few seconds and sent a text to 89888.
>
> I didn't opt in to the unsolicited SMS I received that cost me a quid. The
> phone hadn't been used in 6 months and was switched off in my car
> glovebox. The SMS arrived when I switched it on to make a short call to
> keep the SIM live.
>
> Oh it was Orange, Jon.
>
> Ivor
>
>