International SMS - Frequently Asked Questions

About Texts.com

Q. Who is Texts.com?

We are a Vancouver-based provider of international SMS
and text messaging services, providing an alternative to expensive
carrier-specific text messaging plans. In addition to our international text
messaging services, we also provide SMS Marketing Services and help
companies plan and execute effective SMS marketing campaigns.

Q. How do I contact Texts.com?

Please visit our contact us page for our contact details.
From within your Texts.com account, you can also use the “Contact Us” form
found underneath the Utilities menu of your web interface.

Q. Where can I find the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for Texts.com?

You can read our full Privacy Policy here. You can
read our Terms and Conditions here. There will always be links to these
documents at the bottom of every page on the Texts.com website. You are
encouraged to read over these documents in their entirety.

International Text Messaging

Q. How do I send an International SMS text message using Texts.com?

The basics are that you first have to create an account,
purchase credits that will allow you to send messages, type your message and
enter a mobile number, and then push send.  Things get a little more complicated if you want to send a message from your own mobile phone, but not much more. Click here to read more about How it Works.

Q. How do I set up an account? Is it free?

You will need to purchase credits for ongoing use of the service. However, it is free to set up an account at Texts.com to show you how easy the system is to use. With your free account we only provide you with a couple of credits to allow you to try out the service.  To set up your Texts.com account, please go to our Sign-up Page and enter some basic information. This information includes your email
address that is required to send you a confirmation code.

Please note, the free evaluation credits that we provide you
are available to most, but not all global networks.

Q. OK, I created an account ... what happens next?

Great! Welcome to Texts.com! Once you created your account,
we sent you an email containing a special activation link and a 5-digit
confirmation code. This was sent to your email address that you provided when
you signed up for the service. You have two options: you can either click on
the link or enter the 5-digit code on the screen when prompted. Once entered,
this confirmation code will verify your email address and activate you as a new
Texts.com user.

Q. What if I did not receive my confirmation code?

There are two common reasons why this may not have come in:
the wrong email address was entered during sign-up, or the email got caught up
in your junk mail filter. First, check your junk or SPAM folders to see if you
see a message from us in there. If it is has been added to that folder, please
ensure that you enter our email domain of <texts.com> to your service’s
white list. If the email from us is not there, you may want to re-enter your
email address or using a different email address to receive the confirmation
code.

Q. Why do I need a confirmation code?

 We need to make sure that
the proper email addresses and cell phone numbers are registered in our system.
Otherwise, we can't guarantee your messages will be sent and received properly.
To do this, we need to confirm that the email addresses and cell phone numbers
you type in are correct.

Q. What about my cell phone? Why do I need to provide that and do I need a confirmation code for this as well?

Providing us with your cell phone is optional. If you want
to send or receive text messages from your mobile device, you will need to
provide us with this number. Just like your email, you will be sent a
confirmation code. This will help us authenticate the device and ensure that we
can send you messages as they relate to the system. Click here to read more
about registering your mobile phone.

Q. I never received a confirmation code on my cell phone. Why not?

There are a couple of possible reasons why you did not
receive a confirmation code

• You could have entered an incorrect number, resulting in the confirmation code being sent to someone else [for those that
  receive this in error, we are truly sorry].
• Your wireless provider may not be one of our supported countries and networks.
• Unfortunately, sometimes the message can get
  lost (our delivery rate is 99%). Try resending the confirmation code by logging
  in, clicking on Registered Devices, going to the "bell" icon and
  sending it again.

Q. I sent an SMS message using Texts.com, but the recipient never received it. What happened?

Over 99% of our SMS messages arrive, sometimes within seconds
and most within a minute of you pushing send. While we are committed to
providing you with fast and reliable international SMS service, unfortunately
sometimes problems do occur. While we continue to work closely with our

technology partners, the SMS protocol cannot guarantee delivery. And in some
other cases there may be more specific problems. Why is this?

• Our network partner in the country you are
  trying to reach may be experiencing temporary service problems
• We may be having temporary service problems
  ourselves
• Make sure your messages are in the correct international format (don't forget to use the country code!)

If a particular message is extremely important, we encourage
our users to use our notification service to inform them of delivery.

Q. Does Texts.com allow me to send SMS text messages in other languages... such as Chinese, Korean, Arabic, or Swedish?

Yes, Texts.com supports the Unicode standard. However, please be aware of the following:

• The recipient’s phone to must be able to read
  Unicode (not all phones do).
• When you send a text message in Unicode, your
  message can be a maximum of 70 characters. If you go over 70 characters, your
  message will be split into two (or more) SMS messages.

Texts.com International SMS Pricing

Q. How much does the Texts.com International SMS Text Messaging service cost?

For a complete price breakdown, read about our SMS pricing here. The costs for the service work out to be about $0.10 per
message for any country in the world.

Q. Will you accept payment from my country?

As we use PayPal as our payment mechanism, we can only process payment
from countries on their network.
PayPal presently supports a network of 190 countries and regions. 
While the list may be updated, the following countries are not
supported at present.

• Bangladesh
• Belarus
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• Cameroon
• Côte
  d'Ivoire
• Equatorial Guinea
• Georgia
• Ghana
• Haiti
• Lebanon
• Macedonia
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Paraguay
• Puerto Rico
• Serbia and
  Montenegro
• Uzbekistan
• Zimbabwe

Q. How much does it cost to run an SMS Marketing Campaign?

Prices differ depending on the campaign. Read more about our SMS Marketing over here. You can also Contact Us and we will help you put together a plan.

Q. What is an SMS Transaction?

A single SMS message may require multiple transactions to send through our system. If the message is above the maximum message size as determined by the carrier, your message may
be split into separate parts. In such an instance, each part will be one
transaction. Furthermore, additional transactions may be accrued depending on
whether you use any of our messaging forwarding rules, reply confirmations, or
our mobile-to-mobile workflow. The following table should provide you with a
guide to use of credits within the system:

Q. Is there a limit to the size of message that counts as one credit?

Yes. For most phones and networks, 160 characters is the
standard size of one SMS text message (including spaces and punctuation marks).
Some networks may further restrict this to be less than 160 characters. For
messages longer than the character maximum, Texts.com may split the message
into multiple messages to provide deliverability. You will be charged for each message
part as though it were a single message. 
Note: Texts.com prepends your SMS with your first initial and last name.
These characters count towards your 160 character limit.

Unicode messages, including those messages written in
Chinese or Korean, are limited to 70 characters.

Q. How can I pay for my transaction?

Texts.com accepts payment via PayPal only. PayPal enables any individual with an email address to securely, easily and quickly
send and receive payments online. We have chosen to use PayPal to take
advantage of their advanced proprietary fraud prevention systems. This ensures
that we can provide you with a safe, trusted, global, real-time payment
solution. For a full list of PayPal’s terms and conditions, click here. For PayPal’s supported country list, please click here

Q. How long does it take for my purchase to be processed?

One of the reasons for us choosing PayPal as our payment
engine is that your account will be updated immediately. Sign up, purchase
credits, send a text message. It should be that simple.

Q. Do my purchased credits expire?

Yes... they might. We require account activity for your
account to be maintained. For credit purchases of under 499 credits all SMS
credits expire 90 days from your last purchase. For credit purchases of 500 or
more credits, all SMS credits expire 120 days from your last purchase. If you
purchase credits before the expiration date, all remaining credits will
roll-over and remain in your account.

Q. What is the refund policy?

We do not offer any refunds on any of our Pay-As-You-Go
messaging plans. For users on a monthly subscription plan, we do offer a
"30-day refund policy" in the event that you are not satisfied. No
questions asked. If you are not satisfied, we will refund the purchase price of
all unused SMS credits (equal to a rate of $0.10/message. However, under this
policy we cannot refund you for messages already sent. All refunds are issued
through PayPal immediately upon your request. For accounts that are suspected
of using our service to send SPAM, no refunds will be issued.

Q. Do I have to pay tax on my message purchases?

For the majority of our users, you will not have to pay any
taxes. For Canadian customers, you will be required to pay GST on your message
purchases (5%). For residents of the province of British Columbia, you are
required to pay a provincial sales tax (7%).

Q. Do all countries really cost the same?

Yes. To simplify things for our users, all text messages –
regardless of sending or receiving, and regardless of their destination cost
the same low price. Do note: due to network volatility and changing price
dynamics (including global currency issues), we reserve to modify this policy
in the future.