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SMS Delivery Rates – Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: May 29, 2025 | Version 1.0

Important Notice

This page contains important legal information regarding TextBolt’s SMS delivery rate claims. When we state “Up to 98% delivery rate*” anywhere on our website or marketing materials, that claim is subject to all terms, conditions, limitations, and disclaimers contained herein. Please read this entire document carefully.

No Refunds for Delivery Issues

TextBolt does not offer refunds, credits, or accept any claims for non-delivery of messages. Once a message is submitted to our system and accepted for processing, all applicable charges apply regardless of ultimate delivery status. By using our service, you acknowledge and accept this no-refund policy for delivery-related issues.

Executive Summary and Key Disclaimers

  1. “Up to 98% delivery rate” represents the maximum achievable rate under optimal conditions and is not a guarantee
  2. Actual delivery rates will vary significantly based on numerous factors outside TextBolt’s control
  3. No specific delivery rate is guaranteed for any individual message, campaign, or account
  4. TextBolt provides no warranty, express or implied, regarding message delivery rates
  5. Users are solely responsible for maintaining their own delivery rates through proper list hygiene and compliance
  6. TextBolt accepts no liability for messages that fail to deliver for any reason
  7. Historical delivery performance does not guarantee future results

Definitions

For the purposes of this document:

“Delivery Rate”: The percentage of messages accepted by recipient carriers out of total messages submitted to TextBolt

“Successfully Delivered”: Message accepted by the recipient’s carrier network (not confirmation of device receipt)

“Failed Delivery”: Message rejected by TextBolt’s system or recipient carrier

“Carrier Acceptance”: The point at which a mobile carrier acknowledges receipt of a message for processing

“Opt-in Consent”: Documented permission from a recipient to receive text messages

“Valid Phone Number”: A 10-digit US mobile number capable of receiving SMS messages

“Business Verification”: The 10DLC registration process required for business messaging

“Compliance”: Adherence to all applicable laws, regulations, and carrier requirements

Factors Affecting Delivery Rates

Message delivery rates are influenced by numerous variables, many beyond TextBolt’s control:

Carrier-Related Factors

  • Individual carrier filtering algorithms and policies
  • Carrier network congestion and technical issues
  • Carrier-specific spam detection systems
  • Changes to carrier acceptance policies without notice
  • Carrier relationships with aggregators and gateways
  • Geographic or regional carrier restrictions

Recipient-Related Factors

  • Phone number validity and active status
  • Device compatibility and settings
  • Number portability status (recently ported numbers)
  • Recipient’s carrier plan and SMS capabilities
  • Device storage capacity for messages
  • Recipient blocking or filtering settings

Content-Related Factors

  • Message content triggering spam filters
  • Presence of prohibited or regulated content
  • URL shorteners or suspicious links
  • Excessive use of capital letters or special characters
  • Money-related terms or offers
  • Prohibited keywords (see Stop Words section)

Sender-Related Factors

  • Business verification (10DLC) status
  • Sending frequency and patterns
  • Historical sending reputation
  • Compliance with opt-in requirements
  • Time of day and day of week sending
  • Geographic distribution of recipients

Technical Factors

  • Network latency and timeouts
  • System maintenance windows
  • API rate limits and throttling
  • Integration errors or misconfigurations

Stop Words and Prohibited Content

TextBolt’s system automatically scans for and may block messages containing certain prohibited terms to maintain carrier compliance. Messages containing these terms are likely to be blocked either by our system or carrier filters:

Financial/Scam Related

PayPal, Pay Pal, PyPal • Amazon, eBay • Wells Fargo, Wellsfargo, Citizens • Bitcoin, BTC, Crypto • Loan, Maximusmoney • Powerball, Redemption • Online Banking • Locked, Suspend, Blocked, Unblock

Inappropriate Content

Sex, Horny, Nude, Suck • Profanity and vulgar language • Cannabis, Weed

Suspicious Phrases

Donald Perez, Attorney Linda, Captain Eugene • Treated You, Forgive Me • Juicer Mixer, Of Worth • Order, Claim

This is not an exhaustive list. Carriers continuously update their filtering algorithms. For the most current list of stop words and content restrictions, please visit our support page at support.textbolt.com or consult our compliance guide.

What Counts as “Delivered” vs “Undelivered”

Successfully Delivered to Carrier

TextBolt considers a message “delivered” when:

  • The message is accepted by the recipient’s carrier network
  • We receive a positive acknowledgment from the carrier
  • The message passes initial carrier validation

Important: Delivery to carrier does NOT guarantee:

  • The message reached the recipient’s device
  • The recipient read the message
  • The device was capable of receiving the message
  • The message wasn’t filtered by the device

Failed Delivery

A message is considered “failed” when:

  • The carrier explicitly rejects the message
  • The phone number is invalid or inactive
  • Content violations are detected
  • Technical errors prevent transmission
  • Carrier rate limits are exceeded

Unknown Status

Some messages may have unknown delivery status due to:

  • Carrier not providing delivery confirmation
  • Timeout waiting for carrier response
  • Intermediate routing issues

Scenarios Affecting Delivery Success

Likely to Achieve Higher Delivery Rates

Scenario 1: Dental Office Appointment Reminders

  • Established patient list with documented opt-in
  • Transactional messages (not marketing)
  • Regular sending pattern
  • Professional content without sales language
  • Sent during business hours

Why it works: Clear business relationship, expected messages, compliant content

Scenario 2: IT Department Server Alerts

  • Internal team member list
  • Critical business communications
  • Technical content without spam triggers
  • Low volume, high importance

Why it works: Closed recipient group, legitimate business purpose

Scenario 3: School Closure Notifications

  • Parent opt-in list
  • Emergency/informational content
  • Seasonal patterns recognized by carriers
  • Community service messaging

Why it works: Clear consent, public service nature, expected by recipients

Likely to Experience Lower Delivery Rates

Scenario 1: Marketing to Purchased Lists

  • No direct opt-in from recipients
  • Commercial promotional content
  • Unknown recipient expectations
  • Higher spam report likelihood

Why it fails: Lack of consent, unsolicited nature, carrier filtering

Scenario 2: High-Volume Promotional Campaigns

  • Thousands of messages in short timeframe
  • Sales-focused content
  • Contains prices, discounts, “deals”
  • Sent to cold audiences

Why it fails: Triggers volume limits, commercial content filters

Scenario 3: Financial Services Notifications

  • Contains money-related terms
  • May trigger scam filters
  • Even legitimate messages affected
  • Higher carrier scrutiny

Why it fails: Similarity to common scam patterns

Scenario 4: First-Time Sending to New Recipients

  • No established sending history
  • Recipients don’t recognize sender
  • Higher likelihood of spam reports
  • Carrier trust not established

Why it fails: Unknown sender reputation, recipient confusion

Your Responsibilities for Optimal Delivery

To maximize your delivery rates, you MUST:

List Hygiene

  • Remove invalid and disconnected numbers immediately
  • Honor all opt-out requests within 24 hours
  • Regularly clean your lists of inactive recipients
  • Verify phone numbers at point of collection
  • Never text landline numbers

Compliance Requirements

  • Obtain explicit opt-in consent before sending
  • Include clear opt-out instructions
  • Maintain records of consent
  • Follow TCPA time restrictions (8 AM – 9 PM recipient time)
  • Respect frequency limits

Content Best Practices

  • Avoid stop words and spam triggers
  • Keep messages concise and relevant
  • Include your business name
  • Use proper grammar and spelling
  • Avoid excessive capitalization or special characters

Technical Requirements

  • Use correct phone number format
  • Handle delivery failures appropriately
  • Monitor your delivery rates
  • Implement retry logic carefully
  • Respect rate limits

SMS Compliance Requirements

TCPA Compliance

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires:

  • Prior express written consent for marketing messages
  • Prior express consent for transactional messages
  • Time-of-day restrictions (8 AM – 9 PM)
  • Immediate honor of opt-out requests
  • Violations subject to $500-$1,500 per message fines

CTIA Guidelines

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association mandates:

  • Clear opt-in processes
  • Message frequency disclosure
  • SHAFT content prohibition (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco)
  • Proper message attribution
  • Violations may result in carrier blocking

Consent Requirements

Valid consent must include:

  • Clear disclosure of message program
  • Frequency of messages
  • Message and data rates disclosure
  • Opt-out instructions
  • Not a condition of purchase statement

Time Restrictions

  • No messages before 8 AM recipient local time
  • No messages after 9 PM recipient local time
  • Some states have stricter requirements
  • TextBolt enforces 11 AM – 8 PM ET by default
  • Users responsible for time zone compliance

TextBolt’s Delivery Optimization Efforts

TextBolt employs various methods to optimize delivery:

Technical Infrastructure

  • Direct carrier connections where available
  • Redundant routing pathways
  • Real-time delivery monitoring
  • Automatic retry mechanisms
  • Load balancing across routes

Compliance Features

  • 10DLC business verification
  • Toll-free number provisioning
  • Stop word detection
  • Opt-out management
  • Time restriction enforcement

What TextBolt Does NOT Control

  • Carrier filtering decisions
  • Device-level blocking
  • Network congestion
  • Recipient preferences
  • Content interpretation by carriers

Measurement and Reporting Limitations

How We Calculate Delivery Rates

  • Based on carrier acceptance only
  • Calculated as: (Accepted by Carrier / Total Submitted) × 100
  • Excludes obviously invalid numbers
  • Measured at time of carrier handoff

What’s NOT Included

  • Device-level delivery confirmation
  • Read receipts
  • User engagement metrics
  • Messages blocked by devices
  • Messages filtered to spam folders

Reporting Variations

Your observed delivery rates may differ from reports due to:

  • Timing of measurement
  • Sample size variations
  • Carrier reporting delays
  • Technical timeouts
  • Different calculation methods

Legal Disclaimers and Limitations

NO WARRANTY

TEXTBOLT PROVIDES ITS SERVICES “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY REGARDING MESSAGE DELIVERY RATES OR SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY OF ANY INDIVIDUAL MESSAGE.

Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL TEXTBOLT BE LIABLE FOR:

  • Failed message delivery
  • Lost revenue due to non-delivery
  • Consequential or indirect damages
  • Delivery rates below expectations
  • Changes in carrier policies

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold TextBolt harmless from any claims arising from:

  • Your message content
  • Failure to obtain proper consent
  • Violations of applicable laws
  • Claims of non-delivery
  • Recipient complaints

Force Majeure

TextBolt is not liable for delivery failures due to:

  • Carrier network outages
  • Natural disasters
  • Government actions
  • War or terrorism
  • Labor disputes
  • Other events beyond our control

Changes to This Document

TextBolt reserves the right to update this document at any time without notice. Continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of any changes.

Industry Context

Why 100% Delivery is Impossible

  • Multiple independent systems involved
  • Constantly evolving spam filters
  • Carrier policy changes
  • Technical failures inevitable
  • Recipient-side variables

Comparison to Email Delivery

  • Email typically achieves 80-90% delivery
  • Email has spam folders; SMS does not
  • SMS either delivers or fails completely
  • Both channels face similar challenges

Industry Standards

  • 95%+ delivery considered excellent
  • 90-95% delivery considered good
  • 85-90% delivery considered average
  • Below 85% indicates problems

Contact Information

For questions about delivery rates or this document:

  • Email: support@textbolt.com
  • Subject Line: “Delivery Rates Inquiry”

Please note: Support cannot:

  • Guarantee specific delivery rates
  • Override carrier decisions
  • Provide legal advice
  • Modify these terms for individual accounts

Acknowledgment and Agreement

By using TextBolt’s services, you acknowledge that:

  1. You have read and understood this entire document
  2. Delivery rates are estimates only and not guaranteed
  3. TextBolt makes no warranties regarding delivery
  4. You are solely responsible for compliance and list quality
  5. No refunds will be provided for delivery issues
  6. This document may be updated at any time
  7. You accept all risks associated with SMS delivery

Version History

  • Version 1.0 – May 29, 2025 – Initial publication

This document forms part of TextBolt’s Terms of Service. In case of conflict between this document and the main Terms of Service, the more restrictive provision shall apply.