Premium rate services are provided by private companies for a higher price than ordinary texts or phone calls. Such services typically include charity donations, voting activities, TV competitions and subscriptions services.

Premium telephone services

• These are easily recognised by a range of prefixes: 1530, 1540, 1550, 1559, 1560, 1570 and 1580.

Premium SMS services (PSMS):

• These are recognised by a 5-digit Short Code beginning with the number 5 e.g. 5XXXX.

There are a couple of options for doing this. Take a look at the steps below to see which option suits you best.

Stop a single premium rate SMS

To unsubscribe from a premium rate SMS service, text the word STOP to the 5XXXX number you want to stop receiving.

You should be unsubscribed within 24 to 48 hours, and will no longer be charged for that service.

Apply a premium SMS bar

This will prevent you sending or receiving texts from premium SMS numbers between the range of 53XXX-57XXX.

You can have this bar enabled by connecting with our customer care team by clicking the Chat button on this screen.

What is the Premium SMS bar?

The premium SMS bar will prevent a Vodafone customer from sending or receiving texts from premium SMS numbers between the range of 53XXX-57XXX.

How do I activate the bar?

You can have the bar activated by dropping into a retail store or contacting customer care on 1907 for bill pay customers or 1747 for pay as you go customers.

When will the bar be applied?

The bar can take up to 14 days from the date you make the request.

If you text a premium rate short code or receive a message from a similar short code within the 14 days you may still be charged.

Can I remove the bar?

Yes, you can remove the bar by asking an agent in any of our stores. You can also connect with our customer care team by clicking the Chat button on this screen.

What services does this affect?

Examples include:

53XXX: Real time passenger information services for Dublin bus, NewsTalk comment lines, RTE Voting lines, Virgin Media 1 (TV3) competition lines, ParkingTag.ie and newspaper competitions and horoscopes.

57XXX: RTE radio competitions, RTE TV competitions (including the Late Late show competitions), newspaper competitions, subscriptions services, chat services and some TV advertised charity services.

What is not included in the bar?

Any shortcodes in the range 50XXX (free to text) or 51XXX (standard rate SMS) are not included.  Most Irish charities use a short code beginning with 50XXX so the SMS is free but the donation is set by the charity. This will always be called out in the charity information. For example, Text GIVE to 50300 to donate €4 to Charity Name.

What if I am already subscribed to a premium rate service and I request the bar?

Once the bar becomes activated you will no longer receive the subscription messages and your access to the service will be terminated.