Short Code use ….. there seems to be a missing step in user guidance for use of short codes .. 🤷‍♂️

[Alistai_1738843]

Hi, I’ve received the info regarding short code use now being available - read it , gone to the out of plan section and successfully bought a £10 add on …so far so good. Now I want to send that £10 to Comic relief .. I txt 70703 and 10 … and it really should be that simple … alas no - message failure as I need to buy an out of plan add on - yep .. a missing step ….. so did I miss something .. I guess so … or did Smarty miss the final step to make this over complicated work around … work ! (I still have the £10 purchased add on sat there .. so I obviously got it wrong ) thanks for any help ..and Smarty if you’re watching … are your instructions lacking too 🙄🤔😉

[MSF]

@Alistai_1738843  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).

[Alistai_1738843]

Thanks for the reply - replied to the other reply on the thread - think you’re correct , don’t think the end justifies the means - I will donate direct on the website in future ! 

[SmartyTrousers]

@Alistai_1738843 

@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).

[Alistai_1738843]

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. 

[MSF]

@Alistai_1738843  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.