@bytesizemm wrote: How do I stop SnackGames taking £2.50 a week from my account when I have not subscribed knowingly? Should I text Stop to 5 diget number sent. I have a pay as you go goody bag and money has been taken from my top up from a premium number. @bytesizemm Snack Games is a 'Payforit' scam. It sound as tjhough you jhave already stopped the charges. Make sure you get a full refund of any money they have taken from your account. Full information and advice is in the faq linked in my signature. ... View more

@kieran80 wrote: In the past 2/3 weeks I’ve had 2 texts saying pay for it charge but I don’t know what this is. Can anyone shed some light on what this may be. Thanks @kieran80   You should find the answers you are looking for in the faq linked in my signature. ... View more

@katieclements78   If you have no credit, you will not be able to send the STOP text. Also, Mobiplanet will be unable to take any money from you! This is an example of a 'Payforit' scam.   Contrary to what some people may tell you it is NOT POSSIBLE to sign up LEGITIMATELY for a 'Payforit' subscription by clicking a link. There are safeguards in place which SHOULD make it almost impossible to 'inadvertently' sign up! These are being circumvented by the current round of scams.   There shouild be a customer services phone number in the texts you have received from Mobiplanet which can be called using Goodybag minutes. Ring them to stop the subscription and to get the charges written off.   Answers to any other question you may have about 'Payforit' scams are in the faq linked in my signature. ... View more

@ksmyth2015 wrote: So it can't take it from my card? I know that sounds silly just worrying @ksmyth2015   As long as you don't have auto-topup enabled, they can't take money from your card. If you have no airtime credit, they can't take any money at all. The only problem is that if, at some point in the future, you do need to top up, money may then be taken.   It's probably worth phoning them to cancel the 'subscription' and the charges. So many people are now reporting these scam subscriptions that it is clear that the 'Payforit' system is being exploited for fraud. Contrary to what some people may tell you it is NOT POSSIBLE to sign up LEGITIMATELY for a 'Payforit' subscription by clicking a link. There are safeguards in place which SHOULD make it almost impossible to 'inadvertently' sign up! These are being circumvented by the current round of scams.   More information and advice about these scams is in the faq linked in my signature. ... View more

@rarza wrote: they charge me 4.50 per week, how to block them??? 03300535867, 30090009 @rarza   Thee is nothing you can do to block the charges. GiffGaff have no current ability to do this.   Instead you need to follow the instructions for stopping the bogus subscription. Call them on the Customer Service Number. Tell them you never knowingly subscribed to their 'service'. Tell them to stop the subscription and insist on a FULL refund of any money they have taken.   Full information and advice on Payforit scams is in the faq linked in my signature. ... View more

@elliskirsh wrote: getting charged from texts from a number i dont know, and have not subscripbed to any service @elliskirsh Although YOU may not have subscribed to a service, it would appear that your number IS subscribed to some sort of 'service'. If you do nothing, you will continue to receive charges, so you need to act to stop them.   The subscription text should contain instructions for stopping the service, and a customer service number you can ring. You need to get the subscription stopped and insist on a FULL refund of any money they have taken from your account.   The mechanism which enables these fraudulent subscriptions is called 'Payforit'. You will find further information and guidance in the faq linked in my signature.   I hope you manage to sort it out. These scams are a disgrace to the mobile communications industry. ... View more

@danfontaine2 wrote: Thanks for the info, which I read I have sent a stop msg back and I have airtime credit but the texts keep coming every Sunday. How can I stop them? The STOP message needs to be sent to the five digit number in the subscription text, and not to 30090009. It's best to text STOP ALL rather than just STOP as these services often share shortcodes.   Comprehensive and independent information on these scams, together with advice on how to deal with the situation you find yourself in, are in the Payforit faq linked in my signature.   'Payforit' scams are a disgrace to the mobile communications industry and need to be stopped! ... View more

@berkal wrote: I received a message yesterday just saying: "PayForIt Charge" and it took 4.50£ from my balance. I didn't receive any message before about any subscription offer so I can't find out to what I have subscribed unknowingly and I can't stop it from charging me again. Is there another way to stop it? Please help. @berkal   One of the many weaknesses of the 'Payforit' system is that the 'Payforit' receipt texts don't tell you who has taken your money.  You have tried the method suggested by @sloz without success. If you really can't find any texts telling you who has taken the money you may need to ask an agent.   If you're prepared to spend a little money to solve the problem, you could try sending a STOP ALL text to 83463 costing no more than 12p. This is the number most commonly associated with these scams. If you had a subscription, you will get a text back saying you have been unsubscribed. If you don't get this text back, you will still need to ask an agent to find out who has taken your money.   'Payforit' scams are a disgrace to the mobile communications industry and need to be stopped! ... View more

@harrrrrry   A review of subscription services was added to the PSA business plan for this year after their public consultation. I responded to their consultation, and I'd like to think that this was added as a result. Not sure what form the review will take, but previous reviews have included, at least,  an opportunity to respond to proposals before they are implemented. The review is mentioned in the business plan and in sevel other places on the PSA website.   https://psauthority.org.uk/news-and-events/news/2018/march/psa-launches-business-plan-and-budget-for-2018-2019 ... View more

@jaymailsays   Fair enough, I didn't want readers to believe that it is always a matter of asking nicely for a refund. It is true that so far I have got a refund in every case where the consumer is prepared to go to court if necessary. I suspect that less than 10% of scammed consumers actually get a refund. Most write the money off as it is too difficult to recover.   To be fair, GiffGaff have never said publicly that they were developing a facility to block scam 'Payforit' charges. The problem is that in answer to the question "what are you doing about this?" they said they were developing a premium text block.  This was misleading as a premium text block doesn't solve the problem. I don't think this was deliberate. I think they just hadn't got to grips with the problem. In this thread: https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Announcements/Heads-up-on-some-scams-protect-yourself/td-p/22241274 The question was asked directly in post 2, but never received a proper response.   The issue has been repeatedly raised in this thread: https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Contribute/QUERY-Blocking-premium-rate-calls-texts/m-p/22255432#M534708   I have also had PMs from GiffGaff staffers which make it clear that they were intending to "do something to block 'Payforit' charges".  The recently introduced block on incoming premium rate texts appears to be a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. However, it is possible that they have something in development that we haven't seen yet. I live in hope!   ... View more

@jaymailsays wrote: @muggles708 Aren't we missing the point. As you have said, the payforit merchants send a free service receipt message. The gg premium rate blocker is not intended to filter free messages out. @jaymailsays The problem was that GiffGaff staff were telling members that t would block 'Payforit' charges, and it clearly doesn't. Actually it's not at all clear what it does block. The danger appears to be that the incoming premium rate block may stop members seeing the texts, but not stop the charges!     The free billing subscription receipt system, follows the existing rules in every respect. These scam merchants rely on their victims not challenging the payment. If challenged they invariably pay refunds, knowing that others won't ask for or get a refund. Yes, as I said, the GiffGaff handling of 'Payforit' charges is indistinguishable from that of other networks (except that they claim to be unable to stop them). It is not true that it is always easy to get a refund. Several cases recently have only been settled after starting court action. It is a particular problem when some of the scam companies are based outside the EU, making legal action difficult.   What we have learnt is that the payforit billing system is controlled by O2. Any change to payforit can realistically only change if giffgaff challenge O2 (Telefonica) authorising balance deductions on the word of 3rd party merchants from giffgaff accounts.    GiffGaff control their own accounts, so it is disingenuous of them to blame O2. Other MVNOs seem to be able to block Payforit charges. Indeed GiffGaff are able to when the account balance is zero, otherwise members airtime balances would be going negative! O2 are able to block the charges for their own PAYG customers. What is required is for GiffGaff to allow some control over what airtime balance is used for. (e.g. if it's a 'payforit' charge there is no money in the account, if its an international call, there is) .   I suspect that we will see changes later this year, when the PSA consult on changes to the regime for 'Payforit' subscriptions. EE have already introduced changes which defeat the exploits used by scam companies to initiate bogus subscriptions, and I suspect that these changes may become mandatory for all networks. It's just a pity that GiffGaff i going to force us to wait!   ... View more

@woodyuk wrote: @muggles708 the plot thickens even more then because giffgaff maintain that Payforit charges to MVNOs aren't direct billing.   As mentioned above in this thread thre's an ongoing discussion in the KB editors group re this issue because now giffgaff have introduced incoming premium rate barring the relevant KB articles needed updating so exact information was needed as to what's covered (we're still waiting).   This is a section of a post in the discussion from a giffgaff staff member when Payforit charges were asked about:-   "Payforit is not a particular service. It is a set of standards and rules that merchants need to follow if they want to use charge to mobile as a payment mechanic. So saying a Payforit Charge is similar to saying a Visa Charge. In O2 with Charge to mobile this is direct billing so the charge goes straight on to the mobile phone bill with a description of the merchant etc.  giffgaff, as MVNO, doesn’t have this capability so when a consumer signs up to or purchases from one of these services the billing defaults to Premium SMS." @woodyuk If you've found someone on the GiffGaff staff who understands 'Payforit' you've done well! The contacts I have had have seemed pretty clueless. I don't claim to have any knowlege of what goes on 'behind the scenes' but a 'Payforit' charge appears to behave the same way for a GiffGaff member as it would, for example, for a PAYG O2 customer. None of the involved messages are chargeable. The messages from the 'service providers' are prefixed 'Freemsg:' to make this clear. The other text is the 'Payforit' receipt which indcates that a payment has been successfully taken and also carries no charge. I'd be interested to learn more about the technical implementation of this, as it may be pertinent to what GiffGaff can and can't do to protect members. I may be wrong, but I think that virgin (also an MVNO) offers a charge to bill bar. I frankly find it rather incredible that an 'incoming premium rate bar' has been introduced without GiffGaff knowing what it can and can't do. It really shouldn't be left to members to experiment to discover it doesn't do what they impied it would! Even after more than two weeks we don't have a clear answer. ... View more

@woodyuk @woodyuk wrote: @various_mm these aren't direct billing payments as such that are affecting giffgaff users.   You are wrong about that. These are direct billing payments. They are not premium texts! You are correct that Giffaff is not a member of the consortium which is responsible for the ridiculously insecure 'Payforit' system. They are consulted about it, but have no direct input. They choose to provide this facility, but could opt out of it if they wished. The charging mechanism on GiffGaff is identical to that for PAYG customers of O2, EE, Vodafone and Three.   When it comes to giffgaff and all other MVNOs though,there is no facility for direct billing because we're not customers of one of the 4 MNOs so the only way that we can be charged by Payforit is by premium rate text which as far as I know,neither giffgaff or any other virtual network have any way to block. You are correct that premium texts are difficult to stop. That's why 'services' are no longer allowed to use them for subscriptions.  The charging mechanism on GiffGaff is 'Payforit' (charge to bill) NOT PSMS. There is no techncal reason why GiffGaff couldn't provide  bar on 'charge to bill'. One of the problems is that, like you, they don't seem fully understand the system they are dealing with. ... View more

@timotej   I am currently fighting a battle against 'Payforit' scams, such as the one you seem to have been caught by.   @mrsgrowleris correct that Premium Rate Services are legal, if they abide by the rules laid down by the networks and by the Phone-paid Services authority.   The information thread to which you have been directed by @mrsgrowler is outdated and suggests that you can be legally subscribed by a single click. In reality this is neither legal nor compliant with the rules. To comply with the current rules, as a minimum you have to click on a green button saying "subscribe for £3 per week" or something similar. The cost has to be clearly displayed in the same size print as the rest of the button. Then you have to click on a further red button saying "confirm this charge to my phone account". If you didn't see these buttons and click on them, the service is not operating within the rules and is certainly operating illegally.   The question of whether the contracts formed by these services are legal, even if the rules have been followed, is moot. Under British and EU law, a contract can only be formed when both parties consent, and there is proof of that consent. Furthermore, if that consent is obtained by deception, or by fraud, the contract is invalid.   In every case that I have dealt with, involving UK or EU companies, they have always refunded, rather than try to defend themselves in court. The problem is that they already have your money, so YOU have to initiate legal action to recover it. In my view, the system should operate more like the direct debit system, where if you contest a payment you are refunded, and it is left to the company to pursue you for any debt.   As regards the suggestion that some people actually want to use these services. Those people seem to be very quiet on this forum, on the forums of other networks and on Trustpilot. Let's take a look at the evidence. Two of the largest companies operating through 'Payforit' are Lasevia ltd and SB7 Mobile ltd. Take a look at their reviews on Trustpilot and make up your own mind. Not a single review with anything positive to say about the 'services'!   https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/sb7mobile.com https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/lasevia.com   The vulnerability of 'Payforit' makes it a target for fraudsters. A look at some of the services will show that many of them are ridiculously poor value for money.   Take Lasevia's Books4You service. You can read 50 'Classic books' (for Classic read out of copyright) for £4.50 per week (equivalent to nearly £20 per calendar month) They don't even tell you what the books are! Compare this with Amazon's Kindle Unlimited offering at £7.99 per month,   'Services' like this are not set up to provide a 'service' to consumers. They are set up to exploit the vulnerabilities of the Payforit system. I'm sure there are a few legitmate services which consumers find useful. Maybe you can find one which represents fair value for money, but I can't.       ... View more

The new premium rte block to which @allan1954 refers has caused quite a lot of confusion. It remains unclear exactly what it DOES do, but, after testing,  it is clear that it DOESN'T protect against the 'Payforit' scams which are a plague at the moment.   The issues are discussed in this thread https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Contribute/QUERY-Blocking-premium-rate-calls-texts/td-p/22255423 and we are still waiting for some clarity on the matter.   In the meantime @andy1969 has suggested a way forward which ought to work. Essentially it provides a two factor authorisation for these services, which will defeat the various methods currently used to fraudulently sign up consumers to these services. EE have successfully introduced this measure.   https://labs.giffgaff.com/idea/16712363/require-2-factor-authentication-to-sign-up-for-payforit-texts?c=1#c69611   It would be great to see GiffGaff take action to protect their members. A charge to bill bar, such as those offered by O2, EE and Vodafone would be good.   ... View more

@peterclarke1958 wrote:  How do I stop unsolicited text which I get charged for receiving when there is no unsubscribe option   @peterclarke1958   Are these the same text you were asking about three days ago (from 67667), or a different 'service'? What number are the texts coming from? What do the texts you re getting say? Are they 'Payforit' receipts?   Often, but not always, you can stop unsolicited premium texts by sending STOP to the number originating them. As others have suggested, you need to use the PSA number checker to find out who is sending the texts and ask for a refund.   Full info and advice on the payforitsucks website.     ... View more

@donlew95 wrote: Does anyone know what freenet digital is? Just got two recipts come through from two different subscriptions that i have no clue about they both are £4.50 no money has been taken out but want too tackle it before any does?   @donlew95   These will be scam 'Payforit' subsriptions. GiffGaff offer no help whtsoever with these, even though they facilitate these scams by giving the scammers your phone number and then profit from processing the payments!   So you will need to take action yourself. You should have received texts telling you about these subscriptions. People often disregard these texts as they can, at first sight, look like spam. The text will give you contace details (including a non-premium phone number) for the company operating the 'service' to which you have become subscribed. Call them and tell them that you never knowingly subscribed to their 'service', that you want the subscription stopped, and that your require a full refund of any money they have already taken.   Free, comprehensive and independent information and advice about 'Payforit' scams is available on the website in my signature. ... View more

@danielbrazer   02071369911 is a number used by a 'Payforit' scam called Jamster. You will need to call them on this number. tell them that you never knowingly subscribed to their 'service', that you want the subscription stopped and that you require a full refund of any money they have already taken. These scams are a disgrace to the mobile communications industry and GiffGaff should be doing more to stop them.   For comprehensive and independent advice on dealing with these scams, look at the website in my signature.     ... View more

@nspoon wrote: I have not heard of and I have not association with these companies. applicateka and GaintPhone text message charging 4.50 and 3.00. I have now removed my are card details Giffgaff. Why am I getting these messages @nspoon   These will be scam 'Payforit' charges. Across all of the networks and on Twitter there have been nearly a dozen separate complaints about Applicateka  in the past 48 hours! For a full explanation of scam 'Payforit' charges  and advice on how to deal with them look at the website in my signature. Hope you manage to sort this out. If not, please come back to me and I'll try to deal with any specific problems you have. ... View more

@antz69 wrote: I had £4.63 re the credit has gone to 5p. How is this and ive just had a text off 30090009 saying chargeForIt @antz69   This is a 'Payforit' receipt and not a Premium Text (PSMS). It is important to understand the difference as different rules apply to the two systems.   In order to stop the charges you do need to identify who is charging you. You should have received texts from a five digit number telling you that you are subscribed to something. Ar you sure you haven't deleted or blocked these? They are often disregarded or deleted as spam.   If you are unable to find out who is charging you, try the steps suggested in item 2 of the faq linked in my signature.   Failing this you could try asking Tap2Bill (who are responsible for the 30090009) number whether they can find out who is charging you. They can be contacted on 0149 475 0500.   As a last resort you could try asking an agent whether they can tell you the source of the charges.   Take a look at the Payforit Faq for GiffGaffers linked in my signature. I think you will find the answers and help you need.   If not, come back to me either here or by leaving a comment on the Payforitsucks website.   These scams are a disgrace to the mobile communications industry. ... View more

@gazwelsh95 wrote: I seem to be being charged randomly £10 every so often then resulting a text of a PayForItCharge after can you please tell me why as I don't want £10 being taking out my bank for giff gaff for no reason when I have loads of goodybag usage left  @gazwelsh95 The £10 being charged will be the result of autotopup. Probably best to turn autotopup off until this is resolved.   You are receiving 'Payforit' charges, which are different to premium texts. These charges are made directly to your airtime balance, in respect of a subscription to some 'service'. These subscriptions are usually a scam, and are charged to your account by 'third parties' to whom GiffGaff have provided your number. GiffGaff are not alone in doing this, all the major networks do the same. Once the third party has your number, they can apply charges to your account. GiffGaff make no check on whether these charges are valid, and claim to be unable to stop them.   You need to look at your received texts to find any that tell you about a subscription. They are usually prefixed by 'FreeMsg:' and are often disregarded or deleted as spam. These texts will give you details of how to stop the subscription.   I suggest you take  look at the faq linked in my signature, which will hopefully answer all of your questions.   These scams are a disgrace to the Mobile Communications Industry and need to be stopped! ... View more

@thrasher2015 wrote: Hi I have received a text from these people saying “FreeMsg: Thank you for subscribing to www.topwallpapers.club for £4.50 every week from Wahoo Limited until you text STOP to 83463. HELP? 03300535830”   i don’t know who they are, haven’t given them my number or signed up to anything.   how do I know if they have billed something to my account? @thrasher2015   This 'FreeMsg' is informing you of a 'Payforit' charge. It isn't a premium text(PSMS), but is telling you about a subscription charge which will be made directly to your account (assuming that you have airtime credit). Unfortunately GiffGaff do not differentiate between 'Payforit' and PSMS in their usage statement..  There are a number of differences both in the method of charging and in the rules regarding these charges.   GiffGaff provide your number to certain third parties when you browse the web using mobile data. The system which does this is called 'Payforit'. Once the third party has your number they can charge your account. GiffGaff make no effort to confirm that these charges have been authorised by the consumer.   All networks (apart from EE who have taken preventative steps) are currently plagued by these scams.  Call Wahoo on 03300535830. Insist that they stop the subscription and give you a full refund of any money they have taken from your account. Be clear that you never consented to any subscription and that any contract between you is therefore invalid. 'Consent' obtained by fraud or deception is not legally enforceable.   Comprehensive and independent advice on dealing with 'Payforit' scams is in the faq linked in my signature. ... View more

@mrsgrowler wrote: Sadly I don’t know if this company is actually covered by the regulator of phone-paid services - although based on the name you’d think they were - but you could try there to see if there is anything you can do to report them for acting illegally.     @mrsgrowler @bluesan73 I can confirm that this is a PRS service and therefore regulated by the Phone-paid Services Authority. If there is evidence of a fraudulent charge, the matter should be reported to them. However while they will advise on how to proceed, they will not involve themselves in individual cases.     ... View more