Forum Discussion
Short Code use ….. there seems to be a missing step in user guidance for use of short codes .. 🤷♂️
@AlNoMullarkey I just checked and the cost of the short code sms itself is 15p. doesn't that mean that you will need £10.15p in credit to make the £10 donation?
If you check out the Children in Need website, it says:
- For example, by texting the word FIVE to 70716, you will donate £5. Text messages cost the Donation Value, plus your standard network message charge (based on your service provider rates).
@MSF is exactly right. When donating money or entering a competition via a short code, there are two charges involved - a small charge for the message you send in, then a larger charge for the message they send back (it's called reverse-billed SMS).
I've always found it slightly misleading that these things usually describe the cost as "£x plus your standard network message rate", because most people get unlimited free SMS as part of their package, but these often can't be used when texting short codes (and that applies across all networks, by the way, it's not a Smarty issue).
Thanks for the reply - hindsight a great thing - my add on now shows £9.85 balance , so, yes it cost 15p to tell me I didn’t have enough money for the £10 donation. I could test the theory further and add a £5 add on - giving me £14.85 add on balance and then try the £10 donation again … annoying as it will leave £4.70 balance afterwards - hardly breaking the bank, but irritating to be just left there until the next time I decide to donate to a cause … probably just should have done it direct on comic relief site - lesson learnt.
@AlNoMullarkey Didn't realise that they would charge you the 15p to tell you. that you didn't have enough credit! May be worth just checking that out - could be a useful learning point for us all.
Your account dashboard should show details of what you were charged for.
I suspect that a number of people use this method of donating because it's very simple and instant. For some, getting details of a credit or debit card and then putting that into the website may be a step too far for them
. Another 'heads up' - on a website donation, you often get the chance to tick the Gift Aid box if appropriate and that increases the value of your £10 donation to £12.50 (20% tax paid on gross sum). Not sure you can do that on a text donation.
Hi - yes all resolved now thanks. I should have just added £15 to cover the £10 donation plus 15p text cost. I added an extra fiver and then successfully donated £10 to comic relief. Balance showed as £9.85 after failed attempt - so they do charge you 15p to tell you there’s not enough balance available ! Once I’d successfully donated £10 - I was left with balance of £4.70 as expected after paying another 15p txt. I’ve added that to my account balance towards next month’s payment, so all good there. Would I use this method again - maybe , now I realise what to do … but probably far easier to just donate direct on website using apple pay etc !
@AlNoMullarkey Glad it got sorted for you. I agree that it's probably easier to donate via website.
