Let’s clear up SMS shortcodes – here’s what you need to know.

SMS Shortcodes are now live on SMARTY — something customers have been asking for, and we’re really pleased to have delivered. As with anything new, we know there can be a bit of a learning curve, so we want to clear up some early questions and confusion that have come through since launch. 

SMS Shortcodes are special numbers (usually five digits) used to access services outside your usual plan — things like voting on TV shows, entering competitions, or donating to charity. Some are free, and some are chargeable — it’s shortcode dependent. To use chargeable ones, you’ll need an out-of-plan add-on with enough balance to cover the full cost. 

That full cost can include two parts: 

1. The cost of the service itself (e.g. £2.50 for a competition or £10 to donate to a charity), and 
2. A standard network rate charge (usually around 15p), which — like all networks — isn’t included in your plan. 

So, if an SMS shortcode service costs £10 plus the 15p standard charge, you’d need at least £10.15 in out-of-plan balance for it to go through. 

A quick note on pricing: 

SMARTY doesn’t set these charges — they’re set by the companies that run the services. We simply pass the cost on, so our customers can access them if they choose to. 

Now that we’ve opened things up to support all SMS shortcodes, some customers may start receiving messages from services they’ve previously signed up to. If there’s not enough balance to receive the message, we’ll send you a quick heads-up letting you know it couldn’t be delivered. 

If you want to stop messages from a service, the easiest way is to reply with STOP or STOP ALL to the SMS shortcode. (Just a heads-up — you may be charged to send that SMS.) If that doesn’t work, no problem — just pop the shortcode into our shortcode checker to find the provider and their contact details so you can reach out directly.  

To make things easier, we’ve also created a Help & Support article with more info, worked examples, and guidance to help you stay in control. 

SMS Shortcodes on SMARTY work just like they do on other UK networks — no SMARTY-specific rules, just something new we’ve added because you asked for it. 

Any questions? Drop them below — or check out the guide for everything in one place.  

Team SMARTY