Wapstar Content Message - Scam or Real?

ryanwilliams98

Hi,

Every month on the 25th, for the past 3 months, I am getting a text message from "Receipt".

The text message says
"FreeMsg: Reminder. You are subscribed to Wapstar Content for £4.50 every week from Wapstar until you text STOP to 83463. Charge applied to mobile phone bill HLEP? 03300535841".

I've not subscribed to anything for £4.50 and I've checked my bank transactions and I can't see anywhere £4.50 coming out every week. Can I ignore these texts or should I text "STOP"? I'm worried if I text the number I will be charged a lot.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

natty88

ryanwilliams98 real you'll need between 8p and 15p credit to reply stop to number in text

if you've received a premium rate text saying you've subscribed to a service please check these two guides out

premium texts guide

https://community.giffgaff.com/d/18597940-premium-text-charges-do-s-and-don-t-s

Also check here

https://www.payforitsucks.co.uk

endorphin

ryanwilliams98 the charges are applied to your giffgaff credit balance and not to your bank.

You really should reply STOP to the given number, this text should cost about 12p.

Also if you didn't knowingly sign up for these texts you should phone to 0330 number and demand a refund.

netfax

Hi there ryanwilliams98. If you have received unsolicited SMS text messages, which has deducted credit from your giffgaff balance, please take a look at giffgaff's What to do if you received unsolicited text messages article. This article covers many different situations in great detail and I'm sure that you'll find the information within the article invaluable.

Stopping Premium Rate texts:

You will be able to stop this by texting the word STOP to 83463, as advised in the text message you've received from Wapstar.

You might need between 10p and 16p credit to send the STOP message.

If you are not happy about the texts you've received from Wapstar, you can contact PSA over the phone or via a webform to request further action against the company in question.

Had enough of receiving premium calls? You know those numbers starting with 09? Or texts from premium rate adult or chat service numbers? Well, you can block those calls and texts in your giffgaff calls profile settings.

Thanks.

jfc1951

ryanwilliams98

As advised, the charges are applied to your giffgaff credit balance. If you have no credit balance then they cannot take the charges, but the charges are accruing and will be deducted from your credit if it ever gets to or exceeds. £4.50. Since the minimum top-up of credit is £10, then if you were to apply that, £9 would be deducted.

If you do nothing about this and move from giffgaff the charges and charging will follow the number. And if you enter into a contract for phone services with another network, the backlog of charges would appear on your bill.

So, you should phone the customer service number and get unsubscribed stressing that you have never knowingly subscribed nor used the service and get confirmation that all charges have been cancelled.

EDIT sorry if stating the obvious, but as implied in the messages you have received, these are receipts, i.e. you are not being charged for receiving the texts.

So, blocking the texts does not stop the charging.

flaxvert

ryanwilliams98 I've not subscribed to anything for £4.50 and I've checked my bank transactions and I can't see anywhere £4.50 coming out every week.

The money will be taken from your credit balance, not your bank account.

If you have less than £4.50 and receive a premium rate text then the remaining amount will be taken out next time you add credit.

Reply STOP to the message to cancel the service, you will then receive a free text stating you have unsubscribed. You will usually need credit to reply.

sloz

ryanwilliams98
Hi, if you don't have any airtime credit
(dial *100# to check )
to cover the charges, credit can't be taken
giffgaff is a payandgo network so no charges can be taken from your debit card /bank account

But that's not to say you shouldn't take any action

If you were paying the charges, you would receive a receipt type text from 30090007 or 30090009
have you received any of those?

Look on your usage statement page
Http://giffgaff.com/profile/usage-statement
and the airtime usage

Do you see any charges in the premium rate total?
And how much?

The text to 83463 will cost 10p
so if you do have at least 10p credit,
Text the word STOP to 83463 now
You'll receive a reply confirming you've unsubscribed

Its then important that you the 03 customer service number
Press to speak to someone in person

Explain that you've been receiving texts each month advising that you're subscribed to a premium service

Argue that you never knowingly subscribed to anything and insist that all owing charges be wrote off
(which if it's over 3 months, will be £50 to £60)

muggles708

ryanwilliams98
You're a little late to the party! If you search the forum for "Wapstar", you will find many complaints about this "service". There was a large volume of complaints at around the time you say you were subscribed, and it is clear that Remote Games Ltd, who operate "Wapstar" found way of circumventing the two-factor authorisation introduced for these "subscriptions" in May.
As others have pointed out, it seems you have escaped fraudulent charges by having no vulnerable cash balance in your account. Be aware that if you now attempt to top up, giffgaff WILL pay the fraudulent charges from your top-up. So it's a good idea to do something about this situation. Call Remote Games on 0330 053 5841 during working hours Mon-Fri. This number is a standard rate number included in giffgaff goodybag. Tell them that you never consented to their charges and that you want them written off.
If they claim that you did consent to the charges, ask them for proof - full details of how and when you subscribed.
Also you should report this scam to the regulator -the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA). Even though no money was taken from you, a fraudulent attempt was made and would have succeeded if there had been money in your account. https://psauthority.org.uk/for-consumers/report-an-issue .
If the PSA get enough complaints, this company will be investigated.
This company was previously fined £70,000 with £15,000 costs for a similar fraud. It is unfortunate that giffgaff choose to continue to cooperate with companies like this. https://psauthority.org.uk/for-business/adjudications/2015/2/remote-games-ltd-18639-adjudication-by-consent-adaf414e-59a1-e411-a529-00155d051116
You need to be aware that, when you access the internet using mobile data, giffgaff leak your number to these dodgy companies and then allow them to make charges to your account. A full explanation of this is in this BBC Watchdog research. https://www.surecloud.com/services/blog/bbc-watchdog-research-paper-payforit
@_kara_ is supposedly looking in to this (but it's gone awfully quiet), as a large number of members appear to have been defrauded.

janetihill

if you have no airtime credit they can't charge you