Losing credit when sent a text

[Anonymous]

Hello. My mum has been on O2 pay and go since the network started and for the last 3-4 months she has been recieving text messages when she tops up from the number 85200 and has lost half her credit. I have checked out this number online and it is called LottoByTex a website that sends you the lotto results. She has been recieving these texts and losing £4.50 everytime they send it to her without her even signing up to it. She don't understand why she is losing her credit and I have just found one of the texts on her phone just after she lost credit last. She has replied to these texts with STOP but has since keept geting them and losing credit. I have 2 questions... How do i go about with stoping these text messages being send? Why do O2 allow thier customers to recieve these text messages like this that take so much credit without confirming that the customer wants them? My mum don't even play the lotto...

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

You need to take it up with these guys http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/ I'm not sure, but maybe you can request that your mums phone has a ban put on premium services. Call 202 to check this out.

[Anonymous]

I've found the companies website via the link you posted. Seems i had to text stop to another number that we never knew about...

Thanks for the help.

[MI5]

No prob, hope it gets sorted for you.

[perksie]

I'm surprised by this and think at some time you must have used their service, it's a legitimate company that runs a free lottery and you only pay for the results text.

The details are clear enough on their home page:

http://www.lottobytext.co.uk/

[jonsie]

It is easy to get caught out though. It's often a link on a totally unrelated website sometimes just disguised as a competition and just by entering you have agreed to the small print.