Grumbletext, UK consumer complaints - Grumbletext in the press

Grumbletext in the news

Adrian Harris, founder of Grumbletext, has appeared several times on UK TV and radio in 2005, including BBC Breakfast (25/1/2005), News 24(25/1/2005), Scottish TV (23/2/2005), BBC Radio 2 (27/1/2005), BBC Radio 4 (4/2/2005), LBC 97.3 FM (2/2/2005) and many other radio stations.

Extract from 'Stop the text. I want to get off' in The Observer 11th September 2005:

"'The two main problems people cite with these services is that they've either never requested the texts in the first place or that once they've got them they can't stop them,' says Adrian Harris, founder of Grumbletext. 'The industry response to the former is that if you are getting premium rate texts then you have requested them, as though it is technically impossible for you to get them otherwise.'

'The problem with Icstis is that it's a terribly reactive, not proactive, organisation and the other point is that no one has ever heard of it.'" full article

Extract from 'Watchdog must use its new teeth' in The Observer 11th September 2005:

"Sadly, complainants should not expect much action if the downloads giant is found to have broken the rules. Icstis can fine offending firms up to £100,000. But the consumer complaints website Grumbletext says that in cases involving reverse-billed messages - where you are charged for receiving texts carrying ringtones, football goal alerts and other similar services - the fines have averaged £10,000." full article

Extract from 'Ringtone ads face stiff controls' in BBC Interactive 22nd July 2005:

"Adrian Harris, founder of the Grumbletext website where people log problems with phone services, said he welcomed the new safeguards up to a point.

If all firms complied with the rules then consumers would definitely be better off, he said.

But, he said, the big problem was policing ringtone sellers. He called on Icstis to be more active in seeking out offending firms rather than just investigating on a case-by-case basis." full article

Extract from 'Power to the people in the fight against corporations' in The Independent 7th May 2005:

"They are the new breed of consumer champions. Passionate, computer-literate professionals who are hitting back at companies by providing forums for angry shoppers to share their nightmare experiences." full article

Extract from 'Save our children from this ringtone ripoff' in The Mail on Sunday 17th May 2005:

"Adrian Harris, Grumbletext's operator, said: "Ringtone companies have been making millions. Children are vulnerable as a lot of the advertising is aimed at them and they don't understand the terms and conditions as an adult would."" full article

Extract from 'Banker who quit to champion the moaners' in The Guardian 15th January 2005:

"..(Harris) set up Grumbletext.co.uk, a consumer complaints and action site which in recent months has begun to enjoy critical mass, with 50,000 regular users a month. It has played a leading role in fighting premium rate scams, but other campaigns to have emerged from its users include holiday club Cybertravel, window company Safestyle UK and warranty firm Powerplan. (...)

...consumer revenge works. Harris says that by warning others you can dent that company's sales. "A good example is Safestyle UK - our visitors have cost them thousands by influencing buying decisions," he says.

A check on Google shows that if you tap in the words "Safestyle UK" the window company's own site appears first - but then Grumbletext comes up three times in the search engine's next nine web listings (...)

More recently Harris has added services that he hopes consumers will be able to use to fight back against corporates. He promotes a service which allows consumers to record their phone calls with difficult companies - and which may earn him some cash to keep the site going..." full article

Extract from 'txt msg rippd u off? we cn hlp' in The Guardian 15th October 2004:

"...Nonetheless, frustrated by what Harris sees as a toothless and ineffective regulatory body, Grumbletext has taken matters in its own hands, displaying rogue texts forwarded by users, and warning others not to respond. But how do you get rid of these messages once they have started?

Harris says: "In theory, there is now a universal unsubscribe command: you text the word STOP back to the service which is charging you. However, when this doesn't work, Grumbletext has directed consumers to complain to ICSTIS, the premium rate regulator. But experience has now shown that this appears to be of little benefit to consumers."

Grumbletext now advises aggrieved recipients to contact their mobile phone providers directly. Harris even suggests that mobile companies may be responsible in law for unsolicited texts..." full article

Extract from 'Don't call this number' in The Guardian 17th June 2004:

"The big culprits are a handful of unscrupulous network operators, governed by Ofcom, which lease out lines to premium-rate firms and pocket a good chunk of the proceeds. The fines don't touch them, but now Adrian Harris, who runs a consumer complaints website, Grumbletext, is hoping that victims of these scams will club together and sue one or all of them to put a stop to their profiteering." full article

'GRUMBLE AT PHONEY LINES' in The Daily Mirror 8th June 2004:

"A CONSUMER action group is threatening mass legal action to halt firms behind rip-off premium rate phone lines.

One of the firms in Grumbletext's sights is Intelliplus, owned by stock market-listed Eckoh Technologies.

Phonelines provided by Intelliplus last year accounted for 69 per cent of all fines imposed by industry watchdog Icstis, says Grumbletext.

But Tracey Miller, head of operations at Intelliplus, said: "Intelliplus has been among the lead operators in putting a stop to the antics of rogue service providers.""

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sorted/sorted/page.cfm?objectid=
14312186&method=full&siteid=50143

Extract from 'UK regulator gets tougher on mobile messaging scams' in Mobile Communications 25th May 2004:

"Most scams are designed to keep the caller on the line for at least five or six minutes, generating about ï¿½10 per customer. Experts reckon a scam will attract a response rate of no more than a few percentage points of the hundreds of thousands targeted.

In the past, the figure would have been higher, but users - often listed on a database that has been traded among scammers several times and who have therefore been targeted more than once - are increasingly savvy.

"The response rate is likely to be in the low single digits, no higher than that for direct marketing," says Craig Barrack, founder of the Mobile Networking consultancy.

Even so, the response rate is still higher than in the fixed-internet world, points out Adrian Harris, the founder of Grumbletext, a UK consumer complaints website. "It's higher than e-mail spam," he says. "A lot of people believe it the first time they receive a message." full article

Extract from 'New mobile phone scam promises prizes but could cost a small fortune' in The Guardian 18th February 2004:

"The UK consumer complaints website, Grumbletext.co.uk is inundated with complaints from people duped by the scams. The majority of them sent their SAE to the Finchley Road address. One writes: "The cheeky bastards have given my SAE to another "promotions" company and today I received - no, don't hold your breath, no prize money - a brochure of discount vouchers from another company." full article

Extract from 'Think B4 U txt' in The Financial Times 6th February 2004:

"You might think that this kind of trick is too transparent to tempt many punters, but you would be wrong. The website www.grumbletext.co.uk is full of complaints from people who have responded and received nothing, not to mention a number of threats to throw bricks through ANG's windows - if they can be found. These mobile scams are even more lucrative than the scratchcards, which involve printing and distribution costs, and do provide prizes, even if they turn out to be less exciting than they appear. The cost of sending automated SMS texts or voicemail messages is negligible. And since no prizes are delivered, the revenue generated from phone calls is pure profit. I dont know what ANG charged me, but seven minutes at ï¿½1.50 would return more than ï¿½100,000 if just 10,000 of 47m mobile owners responded." full article

Extract from 'TWO BILLION UK SPAM TXTS?' on 160characters.org 22nd September 2003:

"Services such as Grumbletext enable users to send in the types spam and scam messages they receive and receive advice on what action to take next. "The missing link is consumer education" said Helen Keegan, Beep Marketing MD "- unless consumers are educated to recognise the messages and take the action to report them then no change will take place and the scammers will continue." full article

Extracts from 'Online gripe forum tackles mobile spam' on The Register 18th August 2003:

"Grumbletext provides a forum to publicise UK mobile phone scams. It's a Vmyths for the mobile generation, with more interactivity built in.

So next time you receive an annoying mobile spam messages that tells you that you have won something and that you should phone a premium rate phone number to claim your prize, you can search Grumbletext to check its provenance, before shelling out good money on call charges for virtually worthless discount vouchers.

The site relies on people sending information in, so the more people that are aware of it the better."

..."Messages on the site have already shamed a number of companies into action."

.."The site, which is attractive and well designed, aims to make it easier for people to complain - rather than suffering in silence." full article

Ref our SOS SMS anti-mobile spam campaign with Beep Marketing - New Media Age 3rd July 2003:

Links to online press articles on SMS SOS on Grumbletext:

Yahoo News: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/030630/36/e3iqb.html

Silicon.com: http://www.silicon.com/news/500018-500001/1/4913.html

Review in issue 59 of Webuser magazine 12th June 2003:

Extract from a June 2003 review of Grumbletext by Internet Magazine:

"By marrying the miracle of the Internet with the wonder of mobile phones, Web design company LiveWebs has come up with a new means of consumer recourse for the text age.

Disappointed with a purchase? Victim of shoddy service? Send a text message to 078108383 83 for the cost of a normal text message and see your complaint satisfyingly displayed on the Grumbletext site in full view of the rest of the world.

Given that making a complaint against a company is an increasingly futile and time-consuming process, we welcome any site which tries to make firms smarten up their service." (full text..)

Extract from a Moneywise Magazine feature in May 2003 on the art of complaining:

"..you could send a complaint to Grumbletext, which allows consumers to send in their complaints about UK companies, institutions, politicians ï¿½ and just about anything else ï¿½ as text messages from their mobile phones. These complaints are put onto the website www.grumbletext.co.uk, and the aim is to be confrontational so that it may elicit change ï¿½ and better service ï¿½ in the long run by running articles in the press."

..here's a 19th Feb 03 sidebar from the Evening Standard business section which tells you a little about me, the founder...

per the above article, click here to hear a song I wrote and recorded back then which has a fair bit of relevance to Grumbletext today..

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