Good on you 2 degrees! No scamming.

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Good on you 2 degrees! No scamming.

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rubygirl

67 posts

Master Geek

#249915 23-Aug-2009 20:57

Sheesh. OK, you guys win. These services are obviously a brilliant scheme for everyone involved and I am bashing my head against a brick wall. I have to admit, there is a LOT of support out there for these get rich schemes and far more people leap to the defence of them than to condemn. So with that I am no longer going try and drum up support for shutting them down. And anyone who has or will be scammed in future, it is your own fault and that of the community you live in that this has happemed because I bet you can't be bothered taking it any further than saying oh silly me, let the scammers keep the money cos that was just so much fun getting ripped off. Bye all.

johnr

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#249917 23-Aug-2009 21:01

Its the way you go about it Rubygirl jumping on public forums sounding like a stuck record

freitasm

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#249937 23-Aug-2009 22:01

Lurch: Question is why are you entering your phone number into a website in the first place? I dont think it's Vodafone or Telecom that are the issue.

Come on. While I agree that most people who have been "scammed" actually subscribed to the service without knowing what they were doing, I also believe some "services" probably don't use double opt-in, meaning anyone could enter numbers in their website, just to be a nuisance.

Or you think your email address was never entered into a porn email subscription list by a disgruntled co-worker?

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richms

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#249947 23-Aug-2009 22:35

Or you get a recycled number that has being signed up in the past.

Richard rich.ms

BlueToothKiwi

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#249976 24-Aug-2009 07:54

Hi Rubygirl - You sure have strong view on this subject.

I must admit - I never been subjected to any unsolicited text spamming except from Vodafone themselves. I get this annoying text alerts about Vodafone warriors that I never subscribed to. Despite repeated phone calls to Vodafone and my attempts to 'unsubscribe' using text, they never turn it off. It is so infuriating.

Tim M, Auckland
Blog: http://paddler.co.nz

VFNZPaulBrislen

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#250068 24-Aug-2009 12:59

Here's something I wrote for Juha a while ago with regard to Premium TXT.

Here's the lowdown on Premium TXT.

In order to sign up for the service you send a TXT to a short code (1234) OR go to a website (eg Facebook) and use an application there.

A TXT is sent to your phone and you must reply to this TXT to activate the service.

You'll then receive a TXT that includes: contact number for the service, a price for the service and how to stop the service (typically TXT the word STOP back to the originating short code, although there are a couple of services that have use a different code for the termination of the service: we're looking into that).

Without that process you can not get signed up to the service.

It's very hard to get signed up by mistake. In the time I've been with Vodafone I've only encountered a handful of people who were signed up outside this process - all of them had just bought a new SIM and the number was re-assigned from someone else. For some reason the previous user's services had not been cleaned off the number so they were getting TXTs they hadn't signed up for.

Every single other person who has complained that they didn't sign up eventually realises that either a: yes they did or b: someone else did for them (My brother's cousin's young sister did have my mobile that day... I wonder... etc).

What can you do if you're signed up and don't want to continue receiving these TXTs? Send the word STOP to the sending number.

If you want to argue the toss about the original singing up, ring 777 and tell them you want to know the contact details for whoever runs your particular service (in your case Megan that's 98434). The CSR will look up that number and give you the contact details for the provider.

You can also look them up yourself at www.vodafone.co.nz/premiumtxt.

Vodafone CAN NOT REFUND YOUR MONEY. You need to speak to the provider of the service.

If you don't get satisfaction with the provider (eg they don't answer the phone, refuse to refund when you think you've got a case, whatever) then call 777 again and tell them you want to escalate the problem to the Premium TXT team. Make it a formal complaint. Get a complaint number. Ring back and ask for a status update. Be the squeaky wheel.

The Premium team take it very seriously if a provider isn't living up to their part of the deal.

None of our providers will sign up a mobile number outside this process. If they do, they are terminated from the service.

There isn't a single instance of any Premium provider in NZ at the moment who will sign you up with only your mobile number. It simply does not happen. It's all double opt-in. You have to get a TXT and then REPLY TO IT to get signed up.

cheers

Paul Brislen
Vodafone External Communications Manager

Paul Brislen
Head of Corporate Communications
Vodafone

http://forum.vodafone.co.nz

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Aaroona

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#250105 24-Aug-2009 15:02

johnr: Its the way you go about it Rubygirl jumping on public forums sounding like a stuck record

Most definitely agree.

in the 10 years i've been using a cellphone, and at times, phones with numerous networks at once. I have NEVER in my whole time ever heard of anything legitmitly getting ripped off via this.

The thing is, i've never found a service via premium messages to be of any use to me and made me want to subscribe - maybe thats where im wise or ignorant.

I don't believe Vodafone and telecom are to blame here, as much as the end user should be.

but thats just my 2c

littlescott

70 posts

Master Geek

#250180 24-Aug-2009 19:05

Paul, so what you're saying (and have said many times before) is that if there is no opt-in text then you are not signed up to the service.

If the cell providers control whether or not the messages make it through (and charged) what happens with the texts that come from the premium service IF there is no corresponding optin reply text? Are they simply discarded at your end and not passed on (and not charged for)?

Perhaps if there was a little insight as to who handles the message flow (cell provider ignores texts for non-opted in numbers or confirmation is passed to the text service and they can then 'go for gold') this topic could finally fade away and die.

Cheers,

Scott

VFNZPaulBrislen

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#250195 24-Aug-2009 19:55

littlescott: Paul, so what you're saying (and have said many times before) is that if there is no opt-in text then you are not signed up to the service.

If the cell providers control whether or not the messages make it through (and charged) what happens with the texts that come from the premium service IF there is no corresponding optin reply text? Are they simply discarded at your end and not passed on (and not charged for)?

Perhaps if there was a little insight as to who handles the message flow (cell provider ignores texts for non-opted in numbers or confirmation is passed to the text service and they can then 'go for gold') this topic could finally fade away and die.

Cheers,

Scott

Much easier than that - if you don't respond to the "So you want to sign up to our service" TXT nothing happens. Nothing at all. You're not signed up so no messages come to your account so there's nothing for Vodafone to drop.

I heard today about a chap with one of those all too obvious phone number (021 123 456 kind of thing but NOT that number) who finds there are lots of people who put his number in to various sites and he gets asked if he'd like to sign up to all kinds of things. He doesn't respond so never gets charged but was sick and tired of getting so many "wanna sign up" TXTs so we sorted something out for him.

But in short: no reply = no service.

Cheers

Paul

Paul Brislen
Head of Corporate Communications
Vodafone

http://forum.vodafone.co.nz

littlescott

70 posts

Master Geek

#250200 24-Aug-2009 20:14

Great Paul thanks for that..

So how do these systems work(premium services)? If you put your number into one of their webpages how does it go from there (the webpage), to you (vodafone). It would appear the company get's it initally, what's stopping them from sending whatever they want to it? What (who) controls all this information?

If people have an understanding of this process they may be less inclined to question it.

Cheers,

Scott

BlueToothKiwi

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#250310 25-Aug-2009 10:48

Paul - Please tell me something - I am not the type of guy who subscribe to anything and I am not into NRL. Yet I get dozens of text messages every month with stuff about Warriors (last one on 21st from 92164) entitled 'Sport - WARRIORS NRL:

I rang Vodafone customer service twice - but they could not stop it.

It used to come from 97988. I sent it a 'STOP'. It then stopped on that number and started coming from a different number 92164!!

Tim

Tim M, Auckland
Blog: http://paddler.co.nz

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