SKINNY - Stop sending me your marketing messages! Please!!

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › SKINNY - Stop sending me your marketing messages! Please!!

Hiamie

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#139345 5-Feb-2014 16:42

Yesterday I got a TXT from Skinny (from +502) starting with "Our double mins+data promo's over..." and today another message also from Skinny +502, starting with "Use your included mins & texts on the $16 combo..."

I have opted out from receiving these messages from within the Skinny website under "Subscriptions' so as not to receive Skinny offers by TXT. What more can I do?

I called customer service, but they couldn't help. Seems that even when we specifically ask not to receive TXT's from your marketing division, you ignore that and force your advertising down our throats.

PLEASE SKINNY - STOP sending out marketing and unnecessary TXTs to your customers, that have specifically asked not to receive these messages. Not everyone sleeps during the night hours and not everyone wants to receive useless messages. But we DO need to keep in touch in case of urgent communications - so we have to keep the phone switched on - that's part of why we got the phone.

loceff13

1065 posts

Uber Geek

#980859 5-Feb-2014 17:18

Send a text back with just the word stop and see if that gets a response

JayADee

2148 posts

Uber Geek

#980865 5-Feb-2014 17:26

Maybe a 'do not disturb' setting on your phone? Mine has one you can filter out/in certain contacts.

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#980916 5-Feb-2014 18:43

does your phone have an option to block specified numbers/callers as nuisance callers? If so, block the Skinny number.

Alternatley, most phones let you assign customised rings and notification sounds to individual numbers and groups of numbers. You could try and get a "silent" mp3 or wav etc (something that makes absolutely no sound) and then make that the default notification sound for Skinny.

Last resort - port the number and change providers. Skinny's plans aren't that much better than the alternatives, and their practices (sim locking phones, refusing to turn off marketing spam texts on request etc) seem somewhat odious.

LennonNZ

2459 posts

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#980920 5-Feb-2014 19:01

Sending unsolicited SMS's is illegal in NZ and as you have said you have told them NOT to send you them and they still send them.

It may be strange reporting your carrier for spamming but complain via http://www.antispam.govt.nz

Hiamie

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#980950 5-Feb-2014 19:43

JimmyH: does your phone have an option to block specified numbers/callers as nuisance callers? If so, block the Skinny number

Just after I sent the original posting I discovered this setting on my Android.

My wife just got home so I sent a "Please call me back" message from her Skinny phone to mine. That ends up on my phone as a request from Skinny to call her back, but importantly, it is received as a TXT from +502, and sure enough it was blocked by my phone and considered as spam.

Yay! A work around option.

Only issue is that features like, "call me back" and probably confirmation TXTs such as successful top ups will also be considered as spam. Whatever, as far as I am concered this works and I can just ignore ALL Skinny TXT messages from now on.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

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Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#980952 5-Feb-2014 19:47

loceff13: Send a text back with just the word stop and see if that gets a response

This. Most services will unsubscribe if you reply STOP. That's easy to do.

Hiamie

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#981050 5-Feb-2014 22:47

freitasm: This. Most services will unsubscribe if you reply STOP. That's easy to do.

The TXT's are internally generated from Skinny - none the less I did try to send STOP... Twice I got a "Failed" undelivered response. Seems like Skinny only want to talk, and not listen!

For now, the treating all TXT's from +502 as spam seems to be a working solution :)