Even if you have received a refund, you should still complain. It it contrary to the PSA Code of Conduct to sign people up for these services without their consent and these companies need to be shut down quickly. Your complaint may help others.
You can complain if you feel that the PSA guidance on consent to charge has not been followed.
Before complaining you need to know the following.
- The premium rate service the number relates to. This can be retrieved either from your text message confirmation or your phone bill.
- The name of the company providing the premium rate service.
- Your personal details, such as your name, address and contact details.
- The name of your phone or mobile network.
You do not need to attach a copy of your phone bill to make a complaint to PSA.
To make a complaint:
Go to the number checker on the PSA website: https://psauthority.org.uk/about-us/number-checker.
Put in the shortcode you are complaining about and click ‘Check it!’. You may need to complete a Captcha challenge in order to proceed to the next stage.
The next screen shows details of the company(s) responsible for the shortcode. Towards the bottom of the page there is ‘If you are unsatisfied with the outcome from the service provider, please get in touch with us here.’. Click on ‘here’ and you will be taken to the complaint form.
The more information you can include in your complaint, the easier it will be for PSA to take action.
If you find the online process too cumbersome you can complain by ‘phone on 0300 30 300 20 (Monday – Friday, 9.30am – 5pm, excluding bank holidays). This is charged as a normal landline call.
You can also contact them via Facebook messenger to ask questions, although you cannot submit a complaint this way.
If you still have problems making a complaint, contact me through this site for help.
If PSA try to discourage you from complaining, for example by insisting that you ask the company for details of how you signed up, be insistent. It is their job to investigate, not yours! Don’t forget you can message PSA on Facebook or Twitter and these conversations can be seen by the public!
You can also leave a review of PSA at https://www.facebook.com/pg/psauthority/reviews/
