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Stephanie shocked by £250 text bill
STEPHANIE Longstaffe is mortified by her own stupidity, but in her defence she was only trying to help a friend.
She received a text from a pal urging her to vote for his band by texting 'MANCHESTER' to the number 64343. The winner would play at a festival.
The 36-year-old, of Wath Road, Nether Edge, was off work sick and decided she would spread a little happiness by using her entire free text allowance to support her mate. So she sent 250 texts in blocks of 10 which made it a little easier.
Imagine her horror when the bill arrived and it turned out they cost 1 each.
She said: "I feel so stupid, I just thought it was an ordinary text number and it turned out to be premium rate. I'm on a very low income. I just wanted to help a friend and now I'm crippled by debt."
ACTION
A SPOKESMAN for mobile phone operator 3 said they would give Stephanie 30 as a gesture of goodwill.
He added: "For premium rate SMS services, the mobile operator acts as the billing agent. These charges are set by the external service provider."
You can check whether a number is premium rate by sending it in a message to 76787.
A text will come back with information on much it costs to reply and the name of the company that sent it.
Texts to 76787 cost no more than 12p, and the reply is free. Why not store the number in your phone today?
What do you think? Add your comment below.
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
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Wind direction: North east
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