Telstra To Enhance Mobile Premium SMS Customer Safeguards
Press Release, Telstra, Melbourne
Telstra’s Executive Director Mobility Products, Mr Ross Fielding, today announced Telstra would introduce additional measures to safeguard customers from unintentional subscriptions to Premium SMS services.
Mr Fielding said Telstra already led the industry in terms of the responsible provision of Premium SMS services and these extra measures would further enhance Telstra’s customer service initiatives.
“The first and easiest way for Telstra customers to control access to Premium SMS services is to simply request a bar on these services – as far as we know, Telstra is the only carrier to provide this barring option,” Mr Fielding said.
The new measures, to be introduced before the end of June 2009, include:
- Amending Telstra’s own Premium SMS Service Provider Conduct Policy to extend the double opt-in arrangement to all subscription services regardless of the method of subscription.
- A process to terminate providers that have had continued high and unacceptable complaint levels associated with their services.
- The development of an incentive arrangement which rewards service providers that maintain a good customer service record.
Mr Fielding said the new measures followed close on the heels of the industry lodging its Mobile Premium Services Industry Code to the ACMA for registration.
“These new measures are in addition to the industry code and the measures Telstra already had in place to improve our customer experience,” Mr Fielding said.
Telstra has already:
- Introduced a default monthly spend limit on Premium SMS to help customers manage their spend on Premium SMS.
- Issued our own Service Provider Conduct Policy which already includes a double opt-in requirement for Web and IVR advertised subscription services.
- Introduced a monitoring program where advertised Premium SMS services are “mystery shopped” and tested to check compliance against Telstra’s Conduct Policy.
- Suspended a number of premium services as a result of unacceptably high escalated complaint levels
Mr Fielding said in the vast majority of cases customers knew and valued the Premium SMS services they used, but in some cases customers were reporting that they were not aware they had signed up for a Premium SMS service and did not know how to unsubscribe.
“Telstra recognised, based on the high number of customer complaints received in relation to Premium SMS, further measures were required and we are confident these new steps will improve customer service and satisfaction in this area.”
Telstra also reminds customers to be wary when sending or responding to SMS from numbers they do not recognise. Some tips include:
Check the number – Premium SMS messages use a 19x number that is charged at a higher rate than standard SMS. It is possible to be charged for both the text messages you receive as part of a Premium SMS subscription service as well as the messages you send.
Be careful when registering – providing your details to any organisation may mean you leave yourself vulnerable. Ask yourself why they want your number and what will they use it for?
Know who it is – check who sent the SMS text message and see if they have provided their contact details. If you receive an unusual message from a number or name you don’t know, do not respond to it.
Check the terms and conditions – ensure you know what accepting an offer from a third party costs. Also check whether it is a one-off cost or an ongoing subscription.
Stop – send an SMS text message to the Premium SMS number with the word ’stop’ to discontinue ongoing Premium SMS subscriptions.
Telstra customers who have followed these simple steps but still received unwanted Premium SMS charges on their bill for a third party service should call 125 111. Telstra customers who would like to arrange barring to Premium SMS services can do so by calling 125 111 for Telstra post-paid mobile customers, or 125 8880 for Telstra prepaid mobile customers.
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