Member No 1 replied:

if i read you right..... you are saying that you "recieved" a sms which debited your phone account?...

or did you reply to the SMS you recieved?

they (telstra) wont get my money if it happens to me...no-one but no-one can debit my phone account except me!!!...and swmbo of course

Eric from Cape York Connections replied:

I think it is if you reply.

All the best
Eric

DIO replied:

Sadly this type of marketing has been around for some time. Generally the user responds to a competition advertised on TV, an offer for a ring tone, or some other trivial offering all of which the user pays for and having 'subscribed' will continue to receive unsolicited SMS until such time as the 'membership' is cancelled, usually by texting STOP to the provider - if you happen to know who they are and what their contact number is. Some of these 'offerings' can cost $5.00 - $10.00 - $15.00 or more per message. If you are not aware of what is going on it can cost you a fortune. The 'regulating authorities' did, some time ago, stipulate that such advertised offerings (usually on TV) must contain a warning to children and the cost(s) must also be advertised along with their name and contact number. So often the information is in very small font (type) and almost impossible to read - in a few seconds. There is also another 'scam' around where you will receive a 'missed call' and once you respond to it you are then pestered with unwanted SMS all at considerable cost to you. Don't respond to such calls unless you know for sure who it is calling you. If it happens to be friend, family, aassociate etc they will almost certainly call you back.

Nomadic Navara replied:

This sort of thing happens when you SMS to a company, don't read the reply fully and don't respond cancelling further calls and some time down the track you get the nasty surprise. Forget the exact details but this was discussed on one of these forums. I think one of the victims had received a free ring tone and forgot/didn't see she should cancel future offers and the further offers came at a cost. Other similar things were put forward as traps.

PeterD

Nomadic Navara replied:

This sort of thing happens when you SMS to a company, don't read the reply fully and don't respond cancelling further calls and some time down the track you get the nasty surprise. Forget the exact details but this was discussed on one of these forums. I think one of the victims had received a free ring tone and forgot/didn't see she should cancel future offers and the further offers came at a cost. Other similar things were put forward as traps.

PeterD

Wazza - (Vic) replied:

You are correct Brad. I had 30 Next G sim cards in telemetry units (modems) for collecting environmental data. I dialled into these from a base station, so at no time were they ever used to send an sms. They were in use for about 2 months before they started getting charged for receiving premium SMS at $5 a go. Telstra did put a premium SMS bar on each card, but no refund ($300 worth)

And you do not know it is happening until you get the bills.

Wazza.

Member - Mike DID replied:

If you get charged for any calls you did not make, then complain to Telstra and tell them your next step will be to report the issue to the TIO (Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman) - they should be a bit more attentive.
.

MEMBER - Darian (SA) replied:

Surely all states in Oz have a consumer law that renders invalid any demand for payment for unsolicited goods - far as I know in SA, we don't even have to respond to the sender / provider - just don't pay it.

daisygirl replied:

Where I work we have been getting phone calls from irate people saying that they have received their bill and have a charge for a text message that we sent.

Its hard to explain that we dont send text messages as we are a travel agent.

Seems like if you ring Optus to chase up the person who sent the text then Optus is giving them our work number so you cant even chase down the crafty litle mon*** to get them to stop sending the texts!!

dublediff replied:

Had a similar incident with ISIM ( read optus) prepaid card. My son had registered for a joke line and was being sent $5.00 jokes via sms every day till I stopped it - thought si anyway. Even changed the credit card for the direct debit after cancelling the sim card. Somehow after 6 months I was hit again on an inactive credit card for an inactive sim card....beat the hell out of me. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so illegal. Sorted it out with threats to bank and ISIM. Moral to storey is ....use carrier pigeons. Or check your credit card bills religiously.

Paul McDougall replied:

Hmmmm interesting that no one mentioned that telstra makes a pretty handsome profit from this type of activity too.

I agree with a coupe of comments.....if you don't know the caller then delete and don't respond to any messages or sms calls.

I also agree that the TIO can be extremely helpful provided you keep all evidence available to you when complaining and seeking a refund.

Don't threaten your carrier with the prospect you will go to the ombudsman hoping to get a favourable response, just politely tell them you are going to take the matter up with the TIO. Its happened to me a coupe of times and on each occasion I have received a favourable outcome.

Good luck in your endeavours WORM. Don't give up mate.

Andrew from Vivid Adventures replied:

Once more... ACMA is the place to complain, not TIO.

ACMA are very active and quite good at getting results in my experience.

The premium service provider's contact details have to be listed on the bill as I understand it - you should call them first irate as hell and demand a refund and that you never receive a charge from them again. Don't accept no for an answer. Ask to speak to supervisor...

ACMA website page.

Member - Roger B (VIC) replied:

I've got everybody I ever possibly want to, or care to hear from in my address book, and if I miss a call from one of them, the phone displays their name. Any other unknown, missed calls get the 'tijuana' very smartly by way of the delete button. As previously mentioned, if the call was important, they'll ring back. Because we travel a bit, we pay all our bills by direct debit, so the bank statements get a very thorough looking at. So far, so good. Cheers All.
Roger B.

Coolup replied:

Hi Worm
You should be able to reply the word stop back to the sms sender
and hopefully they won't send any more.It worked for me.Telstra should be able to block the number also.

Richard W (NSW) replied:

I had 1900 number calls barred on my mobile after I read about the issue some time back. Not sure whether this covers SMS's though.

Member - John Q (QLD) replied:

If you have problems with these SMS charges I am told the best action to take is to phone Telstra on 125111 or visit a Telstra shop.

John