Texts to Twitter charged at international rates, even though UK number.

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Jonathan - 02 Jun 2008 19:54 GMT

Here's the proof - and a recording of a conversation with Three
customer services about this confusion, and how they explain it away.
Interesting...

http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/twitter-sms-scam-text-costs-warning

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andy - 03 Jun 2008 11:25 GMT

> Here's the proof - and a recording of a conversation with Three
> customer services about this confusion, and how they explain it away.
> Interesting...
>
> http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/twitter-sms-scam-text-costs-warning

It's an Isle of Man number, not UK.

Some UK networks count these as inclusive, and some don't

You can find mobile Java programs that would let you send int'l sms
for from 2 cents each

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Jonathan - 03 Jun 2008 14:46 GMT

> > Here's the proof - and a recording of a conversation with Three
> > customer services about this confusion, and how they explain it away.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> You can find mobile Java programs that would let you send int'l sms
> for from 2 cents each

Thanks. My beef isn't with the fact that it's an international number
masquerading as a UK number, it's the fact that three say:
"Inclusive allowance for Mix&Match are for calls from the UK to
standard UK landlines beginning 01, 02, 03 & UK mobiles or inclusive
texts sent from the UK to other standard UK mobiles.". They contradict
themselves three times in that phone call.

And twitter says:
"A special word of caution for International folks: some carriers
(such as Orange) don't charge an international fee to use the Twitter
UK number. Others consider it an international number and charge up
to .15 per message. Remember to check your phone plan for
international rates; be aware that standard messaging rates vary by
carrier, and do apply. "

Lie #1: It's not 15p, it's 25p
Lie #2: "A special word of caution for International folks" - I'm not
international! There's no dialling code.

I cannot get to the bottom of how much twitter make off each 25p, but
I wish they would be honest about it. I nearly got caught out like
others - my bill could have been £100's.

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Stephen Hammond - 09 Jun 2008 10:01 GMT

Isn't the Isle of Man part of the UK ?

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

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David Hearn - 09 Jun 2008 10:41 GMT

> Isn't the Isle of Man part of the UK ?

No.

D

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Jonathan - 19 Jun 2008 08:55 GMT

> > Isn't the Isle of Man part of the UK ?
>
> No.

OK, I got a reply from twitter....

-------------------------------------------------------
crystal, Official Rep, replied:
Hi guys,

Twitter does not profit from your SMS messages, but we do pay a hefty
bill for international SMS ourselves, which we consider part of
running the business. We do not want you getting a huge bill; that
doesn't do anyone any good.

We do caution people to check with their providers when using any of
our numbers to ensure that they are covered in their text plans. Some
carriers in the UK do not charge extra fees for using +44 762 4801423,
and some do.

We've updated the help articles with additional warnings that UK
carriers are not always excluded from potential international charges,
and we're working on ways to clarify that when you add your number to
the site. Our apologies for any confusion on that point.
-------------------------------------------------------

To which I replied:

-------------------------------------------------------
I'm even more confused now. If you don't make money from my 25p, what
benefit DO you get from this bizarre system? If they are giving you
outgoing messages for free, then that's one thing. But then that DOES
mean you are profiting from the charges. And if you DON'T get a
benefit, then why annoy SO many customers? More and more blogs and
media are starting to pick up on these as shocked people get large
bills.

I've now checked - only one of the UK's five major providers don't
charge.

Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and Three charge up to 25p for these
messages.
o2 appear not to.

I could be wrong about that, but I got that info from OFCOM.

So I think it'd be more honest to say "most UK providers charge up to
25p for sending to twitter".
-------------------------------------------------------

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Jonathan - 30 Jul 2008 11:55 GMT

If you want to do something about this, I suggest the following - I'm
on 3, so have tailored it for that.
If you do nothing, you'll get nothing.

Phone the following:
OFCOM: 020 7981 3040 and
OTELO: 01925 430049 - log a report and they will give you the name and
address of the highest UK complaints contact in 3, based in Glasgow.

Also, phone your local Trading Stadards and ask to log a report
against 3's UK Head Office in Maidenhead.

I then suggest something along the lines of the following letter to
your mobile provider (in this case, the chap at 3 in Glasgow)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

My 3 phone number:
3 Account number:

OFCOM reference:
OTELO reference:
Trading Standards Ref (Maidenhead):

RE: UK Mobile numbers being excluded from bundle without warning

In 3’s Terms and Conditions, it states that bundled calls and texts
are included “to UK mobiles”.
Most people understand the code +44 to be uk – for example:
http://www.thephonebook.bt.com/publisha.content/en/search/international/record.p
ublisha?id=L231

So, you would have reasonable expectation that sending a text to the
UK number
+44 762 4801423 should be included:– as I understand, and OFCOM and
OTELO agree – that the prefix +44 means “UK” and the number range
07xxx could be expected to be a “normal” number to send a text to
(rather than a short or premium code).

However, it appears that 3, along with 2 other companies, have decided
to charge this number as international. Fortunately, by chance, I
noticed this after only a few texts (to a service called “Twitter”).
Others have not been so lucky, and there are many web forums
complaining of unexpected bills of £60+.

This number turns out to be a Manx Telecom number but is NOT excluded
anywhere in your terms and conditions, and when I called customer
services, they actually suggested that for every person I call or
text, I should call 3 customer services, “just to check”. As the hold
time is often 20 minutes and calling CS is like pulling teeth, that’s
really not going to happen.

OFCOM and OTELO say that your choosing to charge for this number is a
commercial decision, however having reviewed your T&C they do not
believe that any warning was given. With regards to this, Trading
Standards compare the following scenario:
If I go to buy a lemon, marked at 10p, and when I reach the till it is
30p, I can choose not to buy that lemon. In this case, I have no
choice – the charge is applied without my being aware of it.

All three would like me to forward your response to this point, and
OTELO would like to know if you consider your reply to be a “deadlock”
letter so they can then proceed further

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't forget, this is constantly updated at
http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/twitter-sms-scam-text-costs-warning

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