HelpSMS (text messages)Why a visitor was not signed up for texts, and unusual activity

Why a visitor was not signed up for texts, and unusual activity

A visitor who taps Get text updates is signed up only when every check passes. When one does not, nothing is sent and nothing is taken from your pack, and the visitor keeps their tracking link.

Owner & manager Where: Billing → Text messages 5 min read

Quick answer. These checks stop one person, or one script, from using up your pack. They never stop a visitor from joining or from seeing their place.

Text messages are not open in any country yet. No business can switch texts on and no visitor is offered Get text updates until we open a country. Nothing on this page applies to your business yet; it describes the checks that will apply from the day a country opens. WhatsApp has its own checks, linked at the bottom.

What it is

Text messages cost real money, so people who want to cause harm sometimes try to trigger texts to numbers they do not own, or in huge numbers. turnda has a few simple guards against that. This page lists them in plain words, so you can tell a visitor why they were not signed up, and so you know what a pause on automatic buying means.

The checks on a visitor

What happens	Why	What you can do
The visitor does not have a real place in the line	Texts are only for people who are waiting.	Nothing.
The number is a landline, or is not a mobile number	A text to a landline cannot be read. turnda checks first, and a landline gets nothing.	Ask the visitor for a mobile number.
The number is from a country that is not open for you	Your zone and the open countries decide who is offered texts. Today no country is open, so every number is refused.	See Countries for text messages.
Too many attempts from one phone, one internet connection or one number range in a short time	It stops a script from using up your pack. The visitor sees: Too many tries. Please try again in a few minutes.	Nothing. It clears itself.
Your line reached its sign-ups for the day	Each line and each business has a daily limit, so a script cannot drain a pack.	Nothing; it starts again the next day. If your line really is this busy, write to support. When the whole business reaches its limit, the owner also gets the bell “Text updates are paused for today”.
The visitor stopped texts earlier	STOP is honoured. Only the visitor can turn texts back on: by replying START, or, after a stop from the link in a text, from the stop page or a new Get text updates (see When a text counts, and how stopping works).	Nothing. This is by design.
You have reached your monthly limit, or your pack is empty	New visitors are no longer offered texts. People already waiting still get “almost your turn”.	Raise my limit, or wait for the next billing month.

How to check it in turnda

On the visitor’s page: the refusal is always one calm sentence, such as We can’t text this number. Your place in the line is safe. The page never says which check failed, so it cannot be used to test other people’s numbers.
On your Text messages card: a box titled Unusual activity — automatic buying paused tells you if use jumped far above normal.
In This month, by country: you can see whether a country suddenly used many texts.

A real example

Ana’s bakery normally uses about 10 texts an hour. One afternoon someone types random mobile numbers into the page, again and again. The sign-up limits stop most of them. But the line still uses 120 texts in an hour, about twelve times more than usual. To protect Ana’s card, turnda does not buy a new pack. Her card shows: Your line used 120 texts in the last hour — about 12 times more than usual. To protect your card we have not bought a new pack. Check your line: if this is real, press Resume. She checks, sees it is not a busy day, and finds the cause. When she is happy, she presses Resume automatic buying. Her current texts kept working the whole time.

What happens in the system

1Use jumps
Far above your normal rate
2Automatic buying pauses
No new pack is bought
3You are told
On your Text messages card
4You check your line
Your current texts keep working
5You press Resume
Buying is back on, up to your limit

A burst of texts far above normal, from first sign to resuming.

While buying is paused you lose nothing you already have: the texts you hold keep working. The worst case is that the pack you hold runs out before you resume.

What you need to do

If you see Unusual activity, look at your line for the day. Was there a rush? An event? A new TV or QR code that more people used?
If it is real, press Resume automatic buying. Only the owner can. The card then says Automatic buying is back on.
If it is not real, do not resume. Write to support. Say the day and the time. We will look at it with you.
If a visitor asks why they were not signed up, tell them their place in the line is safe. They can follow it on the tracking page.

What turnda does not cover

Stopping every misuse. The guards make misuse hard and expensive, but no guard is perfect.
Texts to a number a visitor typed on purpose. If a visitor types someone else’s number and confirms it, that person gets the text.
Your card details. Your bank decides about declined or disputed payments.
Telling a visitor why. By design the page does not say which check stopped them.

Common questions

Question	Answer
Does a refusal use a text from my pack?	No. Nothing is sent and nothing is taken.
Is the visitor still in the line?	Yes. Their place, their calls and the lobby TV never depend on texts.
Can staff override a check?	No. Staff cannot type or change a visitor’s number for texts.
What is Resume for?	It turns automatic buying back on after the pause for unusual activity. It does nothing else.
Does this page cover WhatsApp?	No. The checks for WhatsApp updates are in Why a visitor was not signed up for WhatsApp updates.