Do you check texts? (SMS)

I suspect you're not an iPhone user OP. 99% of the text messages I send are through the Messages app, which is both SMS and iMessage. I rarely use WhatsApp unless it's for group messaging and not everyone in the group has an iPhone. Turning message notifications off therefore seems truly bizarre to me as it is my main messaging app.

I'm mid 30s, and would and do check SMS before WhatsApp, and as I've said already think SMS is a more urgent way of communicating than WA (which it sounds like you'd have been happy with). I agree a phone call would've been best though.

Sorry to hear about your cancer scare, but thankful it was a 'scare' & not a diagnosis xx

Well you're lucky to have a GP that still remembers how a phone works & has the time to use if!

99/100 it's a text, 1/100 it's a receptionist with a message. A partial messsge.

i had a stroke last year & text messages all the way. Consultants admin. GP etc.

Not everyone has WhatsApp. Almost all people have texts. Go and dentists always text if they need to cancel) rearrange appointments as does my hairdressers. My parents text at least once a day in an emergency and teens text when coming home, staying out late, ask if they can invite a friend over. I wouldn't be able to function without texts. Just turn on notifications, it's not hard

This is so bizzare to me to turn any form of communication off. Just turn your phone on silent if it bugs you.

You can turn all the sounds and vibrations off (I do) but still see the notification icon, so you know there are messages when you do actually look at your phone.

I think this is a problem with access to as many means of communication. A few years ago I would often miss WhatsApp messages as I didn’t use it a great deal but would always check text messages.

If it was urgent as this was I would ask the messagee to confirm receipt and if that didn’t happen I would ring.

I’m in my mid 70s, rarely make a phone call and do most of my comms through WhatsApp and SMS. Madness to turn off notifications.

Can't you block the nuisance numbers?

NHS does everything by text.

I haven't disabled texts but have a couple of people who text sometimes I do miss then in with slurry of all the rubbish that ia text BUT I do think most appointment communication is done via text. NHS primarily texts.

At work we text about appointments but as the previous poster has mentioned, we would ask for confirmation they have received it if rearranging and try to contact them another way.

However they might have text as opposed to email because they thought it was more likely you would get a text. There are plenty of people who still don't have their emails on their phone in this day and age.

Basically I don't think anyone is unreasonable. They sent a message to the number you have provided updating you. While it would have been best practice to contact you another way, they can't be expected to know you've turned your texts off.

I'm in my fifties.

I think the service provider should have asked for confirmation that you had received the message, but I also think you were BU to turn off notifications and have no other system for checking texts.

I can’t imagine not getting notifications for texts, they needn’t be intrusive, turn off sounds and vibrations and block any you don’t want to receive.

Why not? Most people are more likely to see a text message more quickly than and email or phone call. As others have noted many people will not be able to answer the phone during the working day but could check a message alert.

Turning off alerts for a very commonly used messaging service and then moaning you did not get messages is mad behaviour. If alerts annoy you it is possible to mute alert tones and just uss the vibrate function or even nothing at all and reply on seeing the visial alert (which is what I do).

Yes, a reminder of something you have already been informed of. A text is fine for that. It isn't fine to communicate an important and urgent change.

YABU. Loads of organisations and businesses use SMS to communicate with their customers - my energy company, larcel companies, phone provider, Credit card provider, dentist, GP, hairdresser, plumber and physio all do this. One of the reason is you can buy fairly cheap and easy to use bulk SMS communication services for businesses.

It is also a easy and instant way to contact most customers - evertone has SMS on their phone, even dumb phones have SMS facilties, you don't need to have enabled data to get the messages.

One thing I would say, if the message is about changing or cancelling an appointment it is good pracrice to ask the recepient to reply YES to indicate they have received and read the message.

Fortunately, my GP has an actual telephone so whenever they've needed to contact me they've called me. I get emails and phone calls from my private service, and anything NHS is in the app.

When I had a cancer scare I received a phone call. I'd have been quite upset to have received a text with an oncology appointment without any conversation around it.

To me, a text is appropriate for confirming something you already know.

I think YABU and SMS text is normal/expected from Businesses (none I use communicate by WhatsApp, apart from my dog walker).

Although they could have followed it up with a phone call.

I'm in your target range and definitely would not expect a phone call.

I do have WhatsApp, personal and business which I detest with a passion as I find it extremely unreliable and the fact it's owned by Meta/Facebook, just makes it another good reason to avoid it at all costs.
Some of my clients use it but not many, by far and away sms text is the most common way of communicating as it's reliable and used by the vast majority of people.

My preferred method is probably Signal and quite a few of my clients have moved over to it too.

Ultimately it's your own fault if you haven't checked your messages. I'm sure whoever it is that's got up your nose has had a narrow escape, you sound very unpleasant.

I would expect a phone call and if I couldn’t answer, a follow up email. I agree that I wouldn’t expect texts but equally I don’t think it’s great to turn notifications off for those, you may miss a fair amount of important information.

I agree with a pp that while I don’t personally use texts much or at all, my dentist, pharmacist, window cleaner, bin collection service, hairdresser etc all communicate via SMS. As do both the therapists I’ve seen over the past five years, one of whom is in her 30s, one in her 40s.

You sound annoying with not checking texts/having your notifications turned off. I don’t use Whatsapp for my business because I find it unreliable, I don’t always have data signal, and it often doesn’t tell me if I have a new message. I do use texts first as I like to have written confirmation of everything.

However, I would have followed up with a call if no response.

But if you have a mobile it is reasonable for people to assume you use text, one of its most basic functions.

I have my phone on silent so don’t hear it pinging but checking periodically and would definitely see a message sent at 8am before 6pm.

Well no, the issue for me is that I can’t answer my personal phone while at work. I’d far rather have an SMS that I can read in 10 seconds than have to wait for a break to phone someone back.

People shouldn’t rely on messaging for time critical information. That should always be confirmed as received and understood. The most efficient way of doing that is by an actual phone call.

WTF some people are so prissy about talking on the phone, especially for work, baffles me. Solely messaging is not the new way of doing things, it is regressing to how we communicated in the centuries before the phone was invented

I'm in my 30s and I've never heard of anyone ignoring/not even checking their texts?! Everyone I know around the same age is much more likely to ignore a phone call or email.

That said, canceling at such short notice without good reason is rude regardless of how she did it.

The nhs send text reminders for appointments