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

[AlNoMullarkey]

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 🙄🤔😉

[JohnSla_1481975]

I totally agree and also feel aggrieved on behalf of Comic relief. Why oh why do you make it soo complicated Smarty. What's worse is that I got charged 30p for the failure to send to the tenner is now £9.70!!! Not impressed Smarty.

[MSF]

@JohnSla_1481975 This is NOTHING to do with Smarty. If you check the adverts for any of these donations, it always says £warned about the need to pay for the text itself. That price is not set by your own network either.

In addition, if more people gave directly, the charities could claim Gift Aid for lots of them  who are taxpayers and so add 25% to the amount received (You give £10 out of tax-paid income - they reclaim the £2.50 paid in tax in the first place)

[DavidKee_273605]

I can’t get it to work either, one of the most frustrating things about smarty is you can’t phone or contact anyone for help. 

[MSF]

@DavidKee_273605 

1. Check your account dashboard to see that credit is showing.

2. Check the short code cost tool - do you have sufficient credit?

3. If it still doesn't work, contact Smarty Support team via web chat.

This network keeps costs down by not having telephone support, which would be quite costly.

[Michael_1932266]

So, when the message about short codes now being available came through (YAY), I found that it wasn’t (BOO).  I posted in the community about it and Smarty recommended that I reset my phone’s network settings (!), as this may work. I’ve since upgraded my phone and reset the network settings and I still can’t use short codes. 

[MSF]

@Michael_1932266 Does that apply to ALL short codes, or only one? You have an add on to pay for each of them (very few are free)

[Michael_1932266]

All (well, 3 different ones since upgrading my phone and resetting the network). My £10 add on is almost 18 months old. I haven’t been charged for the failure(s) to send. 

[MSF]

@Michael_1932266  That's most odd then. Did you manage to check that each of those numbers is correct with the original source e.g website, bank etc?

[Michael_1932266]

Firstly, Smarty place the onus for activating short code texting on the customer.  When those actions fail, it’s the customer’s fault for not checking. ???  The texts to short codes do not come with an explanation of why (A quick guide to shortcodes|SMARTY Help Centre). In the first instance, the onus for activating short codes was placed on the customer, when that fails, the the fault still lies with the customer (who, [patronising tone of voice] may be sending the short code text to the wrong number. Yes, the number(s) are correct, yes, the failures to send are annoying, but the most disrespectful thing is SMARTY proudly declaring that SMARTY customers can now (finally, use short codes and reality being same old, same old

[MSF]

@Michael_1932266 Yes, alright, steady on then!!! No need to vent at me - I'm the mug who is just trying to assist!

[RachelM_7667]

Hi  Michael_1932266

Oh no! I'm sorry these steps haven't worked for you so far. If you have tried the steps listed on our short codes guide here:A quick guide to shortcodes | SMARTY Help Centre. Then our customer care team are happy to help you at: https://smarty.co.uk/contact. 

- Rachel 

[SmartyTrousers]

@AlNoMullarkey 

@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).

[AlNoMullarkey]

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]

@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.

[AlNoMullarkey]

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 ! 😆

[MSF]

@AlNoMullarkey  Glad it got sorted for you. I agree that it's probably easier to donate via website.

[MSF · Accepted solution]

@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).

[AlNoMullarkey]

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 ! 

[JohnSla_1481975]

Problem is that I now have an "out of plan" credit of £9.70 which I don't know how to use. Am seriously looking for alternative to Smarty