Premium SMS on my bill: how to remove it

Short answer: a line reading "SMS+", "premium SMS", "multimedia content" or "charged to your bill" on your mobile invoice almost always corresponds to a subscription to a short-code service (3xxxx, 2xxxx) taken out through a single click or text message. To stop it: find the short code in the itemised section of your bill, identify the content provider on infoconso-multimedia.fr (a service run by AF2M), text STOP to that number, then send a written refund request to both the provider and your operator. Charges taken without consent are illegal.

Updated 5 November 2026.

This time it isn't a text message that raises the alarm: it's a bill. €4.99, €6 or €9 more than usual, with a vague label — "third-party services", "SMS+", "content & services". You don't remember a thing. And for good reason: most of these subscriptions don't start with a decision but with a click on a fake prize draw, an ad banner inside a free app, or a "gift" text message you replied to once.

The good news is that this system is regulated in France and there is a precise route out of it — provided you know where to look. Here is the procedure, step by step.

What does the "SMS+" line on my bill actually mean?

SMS+ (or "premium SMS") is a payment mechanism: you pay for a service — horoscopes, sports results, ringtones, games, dating apps, quizzes — directly on your mobile bill, by sending or receiving text messages to or from a short code. The operator is merely a billing intermediary; the service itself is sold by a third-party content provider.

There are two models, and confusion between them explains a great many disputes:

Model	What you pay	How it stops
Pay-per-use	One text sent = one unit price (e.g. €0.50, €1, €3)	Nothing to do: you only pay for what you send
Subscription	A recurring charge (often weekly or monthly) until you cancel	You have to text STOP to the short code

It's the second model that weighs on bills for months on end. A €4.99-a-week subscription adds up to nearly €260 a year, and it can go unnoticed on an overall bill, especially with direct debit. The numbers involved belong to the premium-rate ranges (mainly 3xxxx, sometimes 2xxxx); the 6xxxx range, by contrast, is reserved for operators' own services and customer care, and is therefore free. If you're not sure how to read these prefixes, our guide on how to decode a short code, an alphanumeric sender or an unknown +33 number sets out the full chart.

How do I find the short code responsible?

The summary bill is never enough: it lumps everything together. You need to dig into the itemised usage statement, a separate document you can download as a PDF from your online account.

1. Orange: customer account → Factures (Bills) → Détail de ma facture (Bill details) → "Achats et services" (Purchases and services) section.
2. SFR: customer account → Mes factures (My bills) → Détail des consommations (Itemised usage) → "Services et contenus" (Services and content).
3. Bouygues Telecom: customer account → Factures (Bills) → Détail (Details) → "Achats sur facture / SMS+" (Charges to your bill / SMS+).
4. Free Mobile: subscriber account → Mes factures (My bills) → the itemised statement includes premium texts both sent and received.

In that itemised statement, look for three pieces of information: the short code (five digits), the date of the first charge and the service's commercial name. Write them down: these are your supporting documents for what follows. If you'd rather work on paper — it's easier when piecing together six months of history — printing out the statements and highlighting as you go with a fine-tip fluorescent highlighter stops you losing the thread between browser tabs.

Watch out for one common trap: some subscriptions don't appear under "SMS+" but under "charges to your bill" or "Internet+ mobile", a neighbouring system where confirmation was given in one click from a web page, with no text message at all. The way out is the same.

How do I find out who the content provider is?

This is the step almost nobody knows about: there is an official directory of premium-rate SMS short codes. The site infoconso-multimedia.fr, run by AF2M (the French association for the development of multi-operator multimedia services and uses), lets you enter a short code and obtain the name of the service, the name of the provider, the advertised price and a contact for complaints.

Receiving a text message is always free in France. What you are billed for is the service the short code gives access to — never the mere fact that the message lands on your screen.

This search serves two purposes. First, knowing who to write to for a refund. Second, telling apart two legal situations:

• the number is properly registered: the provider is identifiable, bound by the SMS+ code of conduct (clear pricing information, double confirmation before any subscription, mandatory response to STOP), and you have someone to deal with;
• the number can't be found or the provider is unreachable: you are probably dealing with a fraudulent operation, and the nature of the case changes — it becomes a report to the authorities, not a commercial complaint.

How do I stop the charges right now?

Three actions, in this order, and none of them cancels out the others.

1. Text STOP to the short code concerned. It's free, it's the provider's legal obligation, and the reply must confirm that you've been unsubscribed. If you're subscribed to several services on the same number, STOP TOUT (STOP ALL) cuts them all off. We've set out the cases where this command fails in our article on replying STOP to a text message.
2. Ask your operator to block premium-rate services. This is a right: since Act no. 2020-901 of 24 July 2020 (known as the loi Naegelen, the Naegelen Act) and the legislation on cold calling, operators must offer free blocking of premium-rate calls and texts. With all four French operators, the option is activated through customer service or from your online account, and it can be reversed. It is the only measure that prevents a new subscription from being created.
3. Dispute the charges in writing, even if the money has already been taken: unsubscribing does not mean getting a refund.

Can I get a refund for the months already billed?

Yes, and the legal ground is solid. A paid subscription requires free, informed and provable consent. If you never agreed to the price and the recurrence, the money was taken with no contractual basis. Two legal texts support your case:

• article L. 221-18 et seq. of the Code de la consommation (French Consumer Code) on distance contracts and the fourteen-day right of withdrawal;
• article L. 121-1 of the same code, which prohibits misleading commercial practices — which is exactly what a prize-draw page does when it hides the words "subscription €4.99/week" in pale grey at the bottom of the screen.

The complaint should be written in three paragraphs, no more:

1. the facts: short code, service name, dates and amounts taken from the bills (attach the PDFs);
2. the dispute: no knowing subscription, no proof of consent, request that such proof be produced;
3. the request: full refund of the sums charged and written confirmation of cancellation, within fifteen days.

Send it to the content provider (address obtained via infoconso-multimedia.fr) and, in copy, to your operator's customer service using the complaint form in your online account. If that fails, you can refer the matter to the médiateur des communications électroniques (electronic communications ombudsman), free of charge and online, once you've had an unsatisfactory reply or no reply from customer service within the time frame set out in its procedure.

For a drawn-out case, keep a physical paper trail: a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt remains the strongest piece of evidence, and a small portable document scanner — or simply an expanding file — is enough to keep the record tidy if mediation drags on.

What if it's outright fraud?

Some charges have no contractual basis whatsoever: no click, no text message, a number missing from the directory. In that case, two further reflexes.

• Report it to 33700. The scheme, co-funded by the operators and backed by the public authorities, handles unwanted and fraudulent text messages: forward the message to 33700, then supply the sender's number when prompted. It's free. Our article on what happens to a report sent to 33700 explains the process and its limits. You can also use the site's dedicated page on reporting unwanted text messages to 33700.
• File a report on SignalConso (the DGCCRF consumer protection platform) and, if the amounts are significant, file a police complaint: an imposed subscription can amount to fraud (article 313-1 of the Code pénal, the French Criminal Code). The steps are detailed in our guide after an SMS scam: reporting it, filing a complaint and getting your money back.

Also think about where the click came from. Many of these subscriptions are triggered by intrusive adverts in free apps or by "speed test", "phone cleaner" or "free data" pages. On Android as on iOS, an advertising content blocker in your browser cuts the risk substantially, and a monthly check of the "charges to your bill" section of your online account is worth every other safeguard put together.

How do I stop it happening again?

Four measures, from the most effective to the most incidental.

1. Blocking premium-rate services on the line. If nobody in the household votes in TV shows or uses premium services, there's no reason to leave the door open. It's especially worth doing on a line used by a relative who is less comfortable with these mechanisms.
2. The itemised bill by email every month, scanned in thirty seconds on the "services and content" line. A charge spotted in the first month costs €5; spotted in the twelfth, it costs €60.
3. A spending cap, offered by some operators on charges to your bill: a maximum monthly amount beyond which everything is refused.
4. Caution with forms that ask for your mobile number. That's the entry point for the whole chain — our article on why handing out your number everywhere multiplies fraudulent texts explains how to keep things compartmentalised.

For a shared line, or a parent's, a written reminder helps more than a spoken explanation: jotting down the three steps in an A6 spiral notebook kept beside the phone — never confirm an "OK" requested by text, send STOP, call customer service — saves you having to explain it all over again every month.

Frequently asked questions

Can a text message I receive be charged individually? Yes, in the SMS+ system known as "MT billed": the received message carries the cost of the service, at a rate that must be announced before you subscribe. That's why a subscription can bill you without you ever sending anything.

How far back can I claim? In practice, go for the entire period you were charged for and rely on the absence of proof of consent. Bills generally remain available for twelve months in most online accounts: download them before you write.

Can my operator refuse to refund me? It can point you back to the content provider, since it is only a billing intermediary. Hence the value of writing to both in parallel, then referring the matter to the electronic communications ombudsman if nothing moves.

Does blocking premium-rate services stop me receiving my verification codes? No. Banking codes, delivery texts and messages from your operator come from free, non-premium senders. If a code doesn't arrive, the cause lies elsewhere: see our troubleshooting guide on verification codes that arrive late or not at all.

Where can I check a short code before replying to it? On infoconso-multimedia.fr for premium-rate numbers, and on our reference page devoted to SMS short codes in France to understand what each range corresponds to.

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Sources: Code de la consommation (French Consumer Code, articles L. 121-1 and L. 221-18, Légifrance); Act no. 2020-901 of 24 July 2020; AF2M / infoconso-multimedia.fr; Arcep, information on value-added numbers; 33700.fr; SignalConso (DGCCRF); médiateur des communications électroniques (electronic communications ombudsman). Always check prices and procedures on your operator's official pages, as they may change.