Refund for Premium Rate Messages: Glam Vidz 85878 Refund: Charging without Subscribing

A while ago I started receiving, and, being charged for premium rate text messages on my mobile phone, for a service I had never subscribed to.  Here I recount my experience and what I had to do to obtain a refund for the money.

I first started receiving the texts around eight months ago.  They were from the short text number 85878 and the subject matter was referred to as “Glam vidz”.  The messages started with the words “Freemsg” – giving the somewhat misleading impression that there would not be a charge to receive the message.  At first I didn't pay any attention and deleted the messages.  I resigned myself to the fact that my number had been obtained by a spam messaging service, and, I would be plagued with them forever.  I foolishly thought that if I ignored them they may go away.  The messages did end with the phrase text "stop" to the number should I wish to opt out.  I didn't do this as I thought it would just validate my telephone number, and, open myself up to further such premium rate spam messages.

The next major milestone occurred about two months later when I received a message which was annoyingly occurring about every week.  What caught my attention this time was the fact that the text contained the words I had subscribed to a premium rate service, and, was being charged £3.00.  I did not recall the previous messages stating anything about a fee, but could not check as I had already deleted them.  At this point alarm bells started to ring, and, I immediately rang my mobile operator who is T-mobile (EE) to check if the quoted charge was true.  As I waited for an operator to answer I was mildly optimistic that I would not have been charged.  Imagine my horror when I was told that in fact the charges had been added to my bill on a weekly basis, and, totalled over £30.  In fact my previous direct debit had already paid for over half of these, which I had not noticed as I do not check my bank statements on such a regular basis (In hindsight something that everyone should undertake if they have direct debits  being taken from their accounts).  I was absolutely devastated to hear this news.  I couldn't believe it had happened, and, felt like I had been robbed in broad daylight.  My mobile operator said that it could not refund the charges but gave me a number to contact to stop the messages and apply for a refund.  I ranted on about how this could happen, and, stated that I did not want any other charge on my mobile bill other than my agreed monthly fee.  Eventually the operator said they would stop the messages and charges by putting a block on fees for any third party services.  I did not know of this facility, which in my opinion should always be activated on your mobile account, unless you opt out.

The name of the company sending the premium rate text messages was Global Awareness, based in London.  I rang them from a land line about the issues.  I stated that I had not subscribe to the premium rate message service and asked them to tell me exactly how and on what date I had done so.  They could not provide this information but asked for my mobile number to put a stop on the messages.  They stated that I must have clicked a link on a mobile advert that would have subscribed me for the premium rate messages.  I then asked them to refund the charges they had already billed me for.  They said someone from the refund department would have to call me back within 24 working hours to action this.  In order to process the refund I was also asked the following questions:-

1. What network are you on?

2. Is your mobile phone contract pay as you go or monthly?

3. What type of phone did I have?

4. My name

5. My address

I refused to give an answer to question 2 and 5, and, was told that without my address they would not be able to process a refund as it would be sent by cheque.  I stated that I wanted the refund paid into a Paypal account, and, gave the email address.  Before I made the call to the company, I had created a new email address and Paypal account as I did not know what I was dealing with, and, expected them to be hacked, or, be inundated with spam email.  Let’s face it I already felt exposed that I had been robbed, and, was completely paranoid.

The next day I was phoned by the refund department.  They stated that I needed to provide my address so that I could be refunded by cheque.  I told them that I wanted the refund by Paypal, and, gave them the email address.  I did not provide my home address.  I asked when I could expect the refund and was told it would be between two to four weeks, but they would try to process it as soon as possible.  I must admit after the end of the call my heart sank, and, I did not hold out much hope of receiving the refund.

You can imagine my surprise when four working days later I received a full refund to my Paypal account, and, have so far not received any spam email.  I also have to add that the telephone calls with the company were courteous at all times.

You may wonder why if I had such a happy ending I have told the story in my blog.  Well firstly it may help others who are in the same situation, but secondly it just highlights the vulnerability of gadgets these days.  It all seems too easy how my details were obtained, and, used to charge me.  Surely there should be more controls than just clicking on a link, and, being charged.  The other issue is that when something like this happens you do not know who to turn to.  I had to piece everything together through research on-line.

Since stopping the messages I have only had one other message from “Nick” which again started with “Freemsg”, and, then went on to say “Guess who I f**ked last night?” along with a website link.  I mean how can companies get away with sending such explicit unsolicited messages?  There must be some law against this.

I have recently considered quitting my mobile phone and the internet because all of a sudden it is starting to feel like more trouble than it is worth, but so far have not done so.  

I can now report that a few months later my phone has been clear of spam or premium rate messages, and, at least for now I will keep it!  In fairness it does probably enhance my life.

If you are reading this because you are in the same situation as I was, then I wish you the very best of luck in sorting everything out.  I hope that my experiences will help you on your way.