I recently was charged $19.98 for two "premium" text messages in one month. Called Verizon wireless and they immediately removed the charges from my account and told me how to send a "STOP" message so I will not receive any more. I have had several other incidents and Verizon quickly removed the charges. Check you bill regularly and call IMMEDIATELY when you find any dicrepancy. Cell phone providers want to keep you as a customer...you are the source of their income. If you don't get any service with your first call keep trying until you connect with someone knowledgeable and useful.

I want my money back if not i will sue u because you rip me off. If any body read this do not read the txt i hate these people they rip me off and i am tried of it. IF YOU WILL NOT GIVE MY MONEY BACK I WILL SUE YOU SO SO SO BIG YOU HAVE TO ROT IN JALL. I WANT YOU TO PAY ME FOR 16 MONHTS YOU PUT ME I PAY THE REFILL CARDS.

"To customer care reps: realize its ripping customers off, if the provider you work for allows for courtesy credits, use them. 3rd party billing hurts the image of the carrier and fattens some sneaky markteter's wallet. The customer remembers the carrier, not the 5 digit short code."

I'm a rep and I don't mind giving credits for prem sms, I've had 70-year old customers calling about prem text msgs on their bill which i am more than certain they didn't request for. However, regardless of the numerous credits I given...the premium content company could care less..b/c it's the cell phone provider who's footing the bill when I let the customer off. I know some of these premium messages are phantom but I also know the majority are billed b/c people are subscribing to these things without reading the fine print (and that's no one's fault but the consumer) and if your children are the culprits for subscribing then take it up with them.

The carriers are most assuredly in on it. They get 30-40 percent of the cost of each premium charge, depending upon their agreements with the 3rd Party provider. Some grant the ability to block these purchases. Some are able to reverse them outright. AT&T falls into that category, though it was something of a vicious teething process to get there. From my contacts elsewhere in the industry, it seems that T-Mobile is also on this level. Sprint and Verizon seem to be sticking with 'Admit nothing, Deny Everything, Make Counteraccusations' as their credo in the issue though.

To the wireless industry wonks who think that all of these sales practices are fair, I encourage you to post your cell phone number in the clear. Someone in this forum can probably find a way that you can share in the "joy" that your consumers experience on account of these "services".

It's ridiculous that phone companies allow third parties to charge against your phone number as if it were a credit card. This practice opened the door to slamming back in the 90's, and it looks like the slammers have now moved on to a technology which is currently unregulated simply because it uses a different set of sensory organs.

I'm really amazed that there hasn't been a huge consumer backlash against third party charging to a phone number, who would even want to use such a means of payment? Charging to a phone number was coooked up by the phone companies to shave a little extra money off people who cannot get credit any other way. It's predation on the accounts of those who cannot afford it, but just happens to be a wide enough net that every so often your typical consumers get caught - and more and more frequently now that it's become an accepted method of payment over the past 15 years.

As far as text messaging goes, why is there a charge for that AT ALL? Transmitting amount of data sent in a text message takes a miniscule fraction of the resources required to make even the shortest phone call, yet the phone company actually charges for these messages? That is a scam in itself, never mind third party slamming! The phone companies are cleaning up this. Your typical cell phone probably uses more communication bandwidth in the background when it's not actively in use than a text message requires.

Consumers love credit, but we should be lobbying against the root of the problem hilighted in this article which is: virtually unregulated access to credit.

If you were charged on your cell phone bill for ringtones or other mobile content that you never authorized and/or you were sent unsolicited SMS text messages and you want to fight back against these companies, get in touch with some class action attorneys.

These fellows are investigating unauthorized cell phone charges and wireless SMS text spam and might be able to help you:

http://www.ClassActionConnect.com/?q=node/680

BIG RIP OFF is an understatement. I recently discovered the .15 cents I was being charged by Cingular (the new AT&T) to RECEIVE text messages - un believable...like I can control that. They are STEALING my money, isn't that against the law??

What is most disturbing is that this "premium text messaging" actually works like game downloads do...soooooooo the carriers have created this service to get around the parental blocks of game downloads so now your kids can actually get these downloads onto their phone and circumvent the regular download blocks!!! It is another way for the wireless carriers to make money!!!!!

Notice that people in the industry making money off of these scams always say that "customers love to take advantage of the services?" Maybe customers who aren't paying for the services, but I don't know of even one paying adult with kids in the house who thinks these are anything but a rip-off. I got hit for hundreds dollars of "small" but rapidly accumulating daily fees for subscriptions that teenagers made on our accounts. The cell phone company was cingularly unhelpful and told me that I had to call the numbers for the 3rd-party providers. Not one of the numbers reached a live person. I blocked all premium services on my account, blocked internet service on my account, and just allow the teenagers $10 of texting per month--and if I could prevent the runover on that I would. I'm waiting for my contract to run out, and switching to the only company that I'm aware of that let's one bring one's own phone and doesn't require a contract. The increasingly junky "free" phones that come with the contracts aren't worth it. The free phone selection in the USA is junk compared to the phones my friends bring me from overseas, where people select & buy their phones rather than relying on handouts from the cell phone companies. Cell phone contracts are really nothing but a license for the companies to abuse their customers. If a company treats me well, I'm going to stay with them without any contract. I've complained to the FCC and my representatives, and I recommend that anyone who feels similarly should do the same.

With text messaging rates what they are I have subscribed to the ipipi text messaging service. Their rates are unbelievably low, they offer a pay as you go service, and they also offer international texting for the same low rate!!! And you can get texts on your phone and the computer. I love it. See for yourself at http://www.ipipi.com if you like. It's great.

I'm a single mother. I don't rely on my ex for child support or the government for assistance. I have multiple accounts with (now) TD Banknorth and have had them for 5 years. In one swoop TD made over 1100.00 from me in 40.00 burgers. When trying to make my way out of the spiral and understand what was happening I was told that I was a 'valued' client so they were helping me out. Another rep told me that I was crazy, that my account had always been set up to approve regardless of my available balance.
It took me two months to pull all of my hard statements for these accounts but then I went to the bank and demanded to speak to the president. She could not deny that my statments very cleary showed 4 1/1 years of ZERO 'overdraft' charges. I demanded my noney back and she said she would only give me 30 days worth of fees. I couldn't believe that my TRUSTED PARTNER who considered me a 'VALUED' client would do this. 1100.00 could be in my oil tank right now or I could repair the roof that's sure to cave if it ever warms up... Instead I'll probably damage my credit and pay my mortgage late. Here's hoping that my other partner 'Uncle Sam' will be considerate this tax season. And another note; I work with banks for my profession. The main way to hit a bank back is to remove your depository accounts and leave your loan accounts. ALL banks are struggling for your deposits.

I don't see how this can be legal... if you don't sign or consent to a contract, it cannot be assumed that you agree and accept. Otherwise, people would leave voicemails saying "If you don't call me back, I'll assume you want this new phone for $395, and we'll just bill it to your account." Contracts don't work that way. Without active consent, there can be no contract.

To Mr. "I checked with my lawyers and its completely legal to do this."

You are an ARTARD, artard. All is fair in love, war, and marketing? Are you joking? There are laws against deceptive marketing for a reason, and somehow I doubt someone into "the business" has any reason to wage war. Its questionable that you could love anything except GREEN.

Artard.

I'd love it if the bank allowed me to overdraft a $5000 plasma tv purchase and charge me $40 for a "loan"; but they're content with charging 40.85 for that 85 cent cup of McDonalds coffee.

Yeah.....right

The subscription services are for the most part (not all) run by crooks. Somehow I was signed up for a subscription for ring-tones a few years ago. It was billed on my cell phone from a billing service for a another company. The billing service only had an 800 number for the ring-tone company. That number only ever rang and had no voicemail or anything other way to contact a person. Using public records I was finally able to track down the registered owners of the company, business address and number. They were not happy I found their actual information and after many phone calls (and a threat to publish their home addresses) - finally agreed to refund my money and stop my subscription. Congress seriously needs to reign these companies in.

First and foremost KIDS now days DO need to have a cell phone especially if they live with a single parent. It is the only way parents that are working long hours to support them can give the child access to talk to them at any time for any reason (be it they just want to hear the voice of the parent or they are scared or excited about something). The problem is finding the right company to service you in a way that is both fitting and economical for them. That being said, the way they make it so easy for a child to download games ring tones ect. Is disheartening. When I first became a single parent I got 2 phones one for me and one for my son he was 10 at the time. I had great service in the area I lived in and didn’t have any problems until I moved and cingular took over. At that point I started looking for a way to get out of the contract because I couldn’t get service in my own home. Finaly I found a way to get out of the contract due to the fact I had NEVER signed a contract with cingular and they had no right to keep me hostage to a contract with a company that didn’t have control of it. This is when I found that IF I upgraded to the NEW digital plan I would have to get all new contracts and it would cancel the old contract I had with AT&T. Great idea seeing as the new phones boasted better coverage and less dropped calls than ever before. When I got home and turned on the phone I couldn’t even get a signal. At that point I went to a new carrier AKA Verizon and asked if I could get my same phone number if I switched to them and they gladly took me and my numbers. I then went back to cingular and returned the phones and canceled the contracts this was within the 3 days they give you if you are unhappy for any reason bring it back for a full refund. Now comes the fun part not only did they refund me the cost of the new phones but I spoke with CRS and made sure that there wasn’t any early termination fees going to be applied to my account. They assured me that there wouldn’t be any. To this day 2 years later I am still getting threatening letters from them saying I owe them for early termination of the contracts. Isn’t it funny how when you have covered every step needed to take care of a potential problem they still find a way to screw the consumer. They are also trying to bill me for charges to the phone for the monthly service that I paid in full and got a refund check from them for. Buyer beware of cingular aka AT&T!

I was receiving a nightly, FREE, text msg weather forecast. I had set it up via my carrier, Verizon Wireless eons ago (5 yrs-ish?). Last month it became 5.99/month. I cancelled it...but I had to go digging through their website to find out how.

People who think that kids today don't need cell phones because they managed fine when they were young should try finding a pay phone today. In the comunity where I live, they are few and far between and to make matters worse, city hall in their infinate wisdom have arrange with the local telco to block all calls not to 911 between 9 in the evening to 6 in the morning (an attempt to diswade drug dealers from hanging around phones contacting clients, etc, at least I think that was the reasoning). So if your teen was, for example, at an school function or at the rec centre or the movies and you want then to call you when they are finished so you know to come pick them up, if they don't have access to a cell phone, they can't after 9. It also makes it hard for young ladies dumping bad dates or someone wanting a cab because they realize they are too drunk to drive. I ran afoul of this when I had a bad fall and hurt my knees (not badly enough for a trip to the ER). My cell battery need charging, I could barely hobble to the transit station where there was a payphone. I was lucky enough to get a dispacher willing to call my sister for me.

Text messaging is here to stay, get used to it. However, a lot of companies (I know Sprint at least offers this) offer premium text messaging blocking capabilities without blocking the normal text. However, I would have to say that they should reform the way prem messages are subscribed to (besides the text in entries AKA games shows and voting). A password and at bare, a minimum confirmation text should be sent to the customer BEFORE any premium fees should be assessed. That way people who use the services can use them and we avoid text slamming.

Does anyone know how to get out of a Sprint contract? They went up on their text messaging "per-message" rates...???

In response to:

Why should your Cell Provider refund anything to you? You are the one who got yourself into this mess you take on the responsibility to contact that premium company and have them credit this back to you. The cell phone companies are always giving out credits and adjustments make the consumer take it on the chin.

...Your cell phone provider should credit you for this because they allowed it in the first place. They should, in return for the credit, require you to put a block on your number to automatically opt out of all future premium messaging opportunities.

Yet another way to rip off the hard-working American middle class. I am soooooooo tired of it! It's so tiring trying to avoid all the sneaky practices--credit card companies, banks, phone companies...

To Etta Jalloh of Washington DC - you need to take that phone away from your kid and make HIM get a part time job and help you pay that bill!

Kids do NOT need cell phones! Anyone who thinks they gotta have them because they're a "lifeline" - pul-leeze. We did not have them when we were younger, and we made it just fine. Do not let your kids con you into thinking they 'GOTTA' have one!

Text messageing, a potentially useful technology, is completely useless thanks to the fact that cell phone companies charge you a lot to send (and recieve messages!) and that scammers can hook you for extra hidden fees on your cell phone bill.

The whole thing is like "holder in due course" laws. In other words, it's like when you buy something and the store finances it, then turns your paper over to someone else. At that point, even if what you bought bursts into flame spontaneously, you still owe the "holder in due course" of the paper who has no responsibility for the product. The only answer is government regulation of this whole area. When someone like a cellphone company bills a consumer and tries to collect, they must be made legally responsible for the service for which they are billing and responsible totally for handling consumer complaints.

All text capable phones now have the feature where you can turn off the special features such as text send/receive. Just turn it off and you won't have to worry about such overcharges.

text messaging in the philippines has been available for years and it costs only $.02 us dollars per message. as well, there, one can change carriers [change sim cards] at will and it is pay as you go with no contracts. when i learned this several years ago, i then saw what a rip off the companies in the states are committing. i therefore immediately canceled my cell phone account and walked away from the rip off artists. today the only thing i miss would be the event of needing to call a tow truck if i have a break down on the road. that is not worth it to me to have a monthly expense to the carriers or even the rip off go-phones. i keep my cars in good condition and the need of a tow truck has only occurred once in the last 5+ years.
i will not let anyone control my life or finances for convenience.

The worst part about this is that text messaging is no-cost-to-the-provider value-add that merely takes advantage of an unused sideband adjacent to the main voice channel, uses almost no bandwidth, and has a bit rate comperable to mainframes used in the 1960s. They shouldn't be charging for this at all -- much less increasing the rates.

That being said -- I don't carry or use a cell phone at all any more. I've worked long and hard in my career to get to the point where somebody else can carry it for me.

In regards to..JB,USA.....PERFECTLY STATED....

I had a issue with Verizon over charges that kept on adding to my account. My wife and I only text each other, but we suddenly started getting $9.99 charges on my phone. I never access the web thru my phone, and I don't text message anyone else and my text messages are very boring "I'm home" or "I'm at work" or "What do you want for dinner". and the occasional "I love you." and that's it. So I called Verizon and they told me I signed up for some ring tone service and some kind of Tarro Card reading crap. I told them I wouldn't do stupid crap like that. They didn't want to remove the charges. I asked to block those and was given some crap. So I then asked to terminate my service... I ended up getting transferred to someone higher up who was then able to block the crap and the extra features that I did not want. So I'm back to my basic happy phone service of voice and plain text services. None of the moble web crap. None of the "premimum services" ... and my bill is back to being what it was 7 years ago...

This has happen to me. I got cell phones for my two teenagers for christmas and one of them only used text messaging on his phone. In other words he had send out a lot of text messages. When I received the bill the bill was for $1200.00 which I am stuck paying to Verzion. The teenager was only 15 years old at the time. I called myself trying to block any downloads that was going to his phone. I called the company and requested for them to be blocked them but when I received the bill it was a difference story. He was still able to do the downloads and now I have to pay the bill. The company won't give me a monthly plan to pay the bill. He got the codes of the TV and put them in his phone. I like the part where they said that if you are under age you have to get permission from your parents but they didn't do this instead they let the child do the download. I think the company should be at fault.

The question I have is how much of the text message fee go to the TV program (I. E. Deal or No Deal)??
Seems if the program receives money from the text message, it's a lottery and illegal.

Wow... and how funny (Thanks for the laughs "jb"). I believe you (and many others) have made your point. I would like to say that it's unfortunate that there are some execs out there who would try to justify this type of cheating and unethical practice. At the same time, there are execs that cheat at simple golf games for very little money (a quarter game of skins). And if they cheat at the simple golf games, then it makes one wonder what else they're cheating at. So far, I have been fortunate enough to NOT have been taken by these types of cheaters. So I'm counting my lucky cell phone bills. As a caution to others, trust no one. Guard your personal info well. Warn your children about these scams today and pass the word quickly. Our children certainly need the knowledge to avoid these unethical practices. However, I believe that the cellular companies could be working quicker to develop the cell phones specially made for children that come completely equipped with parental controls. Our child could use a cell phone that he can use to stay on the phone with one of us while he walks to and from school (he's required to walk). For now, the walkie talkies seem to be working ok though. I believe that cell phones can be a wonderful, efficient, and even a life saving tool. Let's not forget the cell phones that were used during 9/11 when text messaging was still able to get through when "voices" were not (Bless their soles). I think there is a lot to say for that in itself. Therefore, I would beg these "text messaging, scamming and cheating" companies to not ruin it for others. Let's focus on the good things that these new and innovative tools have to offer us. They're here for a reason, and a good reason. To the scammers... It's not always just for the buck you know. Have some compassion.

Another one of these companies to beware of is Dada Mobile, who offers "free" ringtones to those who click on a banner ad online. My now ex did that and I got slammed on my phone bill. Verizon gave me the number for this unscrupulous company, who then gave me a recording. I tried several other ways of getting through and I eventually did get a real human on the phone. After completely reaming him, the charges ultimately disappeared from future phone bills. I never had to cancel my text messaging abilities, due these S.O.B.s.

I strongly believe that the government should not regulate unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, this is a case where regulation would certainly be warranted.

British Telecom allows charges to call
the American Embassy rated at 10.00 per minute.

Of course, there's always a ten minuite wait time.

Go ahead and have a great time in England, but
don't ever call Uncle Sam in an emergency.

They've set this up as an income stream in UK.

The Artful Dodger is now quite tech hip.

I wish someone would follow the money and publish
who this cockroach is in the British Press.

j

I have never sent a message to "American Idol" or any other place, nor have I downloaded ringtones anywhere else but from Verizon. I have had several of these premium text messages just sent to my phone and have called and complained to Verizon 3 months in a row. To their credit, they remove the charges, but the last time I had spent an hour on the phone with them trying to see how this all started. Verizon says that you have to initiate the text message service then they start sending you crap and billing you. The Verizon rep and I went through all of my text messages for the past 6 months and found nothing. Funny - seems like a racket to me. i can start a company the start sending out these "premium" messages to all the cell phone numnbers I can get my hands on, and if 1/2 of them go through unnoticed, that is pure money in my pocket.

Except for the lady whose son is in Iraq, why does anyone want to text message anyway? People fall for all these new "fun" things then complain when it costs them money. And why do kids need cell phones? The subscriptions aren't cheap by any means. Glad everyone has so much money to blow.

I had the same problem with enmob that another person posted about. I received 3 messages within 1 minute to my cell offering the movie listing service. First message offered the service, second one gave me a movie listing, third thanked me for accepting the service. How would it have been possible to decline in that short amount of time. I called sprint and was treated not so nicely by customer service and told there was nothing i could do even though i had not asked for the service. I filed a complaint with the fcc against enmob and sprint. Sprint responded by taking the 9.99 monthly charge for this service off my bill, but i doubt they would have with out the complaint having been filed. So for those who think it only happens if you request a service you are mistaken. It is slamming, plain and simple.

I find it ironic that as I read this that one of the ads on the page as I read it, is for a wireless carrier.

imo, Text messaging is WAY too expensive for the resources necessary to provide it. One dollar for one sentence written in shorthand code only a geek could understand? C'mon man. Someone's tuggin on yer short hairs. I can talk for two hours for what one simple text message costs. No thanks, not now, not until the prices goes way way down.

To industry exec: you know its a problem, but its a problem fattening your pocket.

To customer care reps: realize its ripping customers off, if the provider you work for allows for courtesy credits, use them. 3rd party billing hurts the image of the carrier and fattens some sneaky markteter's wallet. The customer remembers the carrier, not the 5 digit short code.

To customers: read the fine print, nothing is free!
what.. i said nothin is free! And for your sake, please read your bill. As least for now, the "way it should be" is not reality. So again, read your bill.

I work in a call center for one of the major carriers and have experience in this. When it first started, i would ah,, discuss, with customers about their need to take responsability for their actions, but i soon realized that many customers were in fact getting hosed, big time.
Now, with third parties like mblox, mquebe, and others, whenever a customer calls in saying they didn't order it, i always give them the benefit of the doubt. I credit the charges, and any pending since the last bill closed. We also fully note the account to avoid those who do abuse the system. I have no problem crediting for content that 3rd parties can't even prove to us if the customer actually recieved the content.
There are many accounts with messaging blocked, but still billed.

Reality is the industry realizes only a portion of customers who are overbilled will call in, so little action has been taken.
Its a huge problem, however, i have recently sat in meetings where they speak of plans to improve the process. Let's hope so, otherwise, anyone up for regulation?

ps, if you somehow represent a 3rd party, how does it make you feel that this rep credits no questions asked? It probably doesn't bother you much. Im only one rep anyway.
One rep, yet, i probably credit about $150.00 total in the average day. Not much, i just wish more customer who encounter this problem did call in. If only they did...

Premium messages should have distinguishable numbers. Some countries include the cost in the number, e.g., 9099xxx would be a premium service that cost 99 cents while 9500xxx would be one that costs $5. I should be easily able to ban these from my account.

When my kids (under the age of 13) downloaded stuff to their phone, they thought the messages asking them to pay for them it was like when they play games on the playstation where they buy things. That is, not real money.

I called the carrier (T-Mobile) and asked them to turn off the feature and they said they couldn't because it was a feature of the phone. Yeah, right. Definitely a reason for me to switch carriers when the contract is up.

Ignorant consumers are a dime a dozen in the wireless industry; as they are in all industries. Personal responsibility and corporate accountability both play a role in the $$ making scheme; it's just sad that victims tend to be the loudest voice, with the voice of reason falling to a whisper beneath the fray. The one adjustment that must be made is a more direct and simple way to cancel the services "rendered" once the party involved is notified of charges.

Sounds like a good case for a class action lawsuit, as the cell companies are liable to you because the premium text companies are an "intended 3rd party beneficiary" to the contract between you and your cell provider. Hopefully a good civil attorney will step up and start the suit that will stop all this deception. I guarantee they could stop this stuff if they were forced to.

It's amazing to me how unsympathetic some of the readers are. While I've never been duped by one of these unscrupulous premium text providers but I can definitely see how it happens. Many of these ads indicate that "standard text message rates apply" when, in fact, they are anything but standard.

"Maybe your time will come when you've had a stressful day. You're a little distracted and you miss some tiny type. Maybe you will simply be tired after a long day of reading the fine print. But rest assured, if these kinds of practices are allowed to continue unchecked, your day will come. "

Certainly there are times when these sort of companies prey on people, I don't think anyone counseling "responsibility" thinks these are great practices. But also look at some of the complaints. If you hand a cell phone to a child and the child does something childish, why do you bear no responsibility? Its never the parent's responsibility when their child signs up for "free" ringtones. It's all part of the greater problem. To listen to some people talk here, there is no responsibility on the part of the consumer to protect themselves

In response to: "what about when you receive text messages - are you charged for that as well?"

Exactly, those are the charges Sprint keeps billing me for, on behalf of the premium service provider, and some alleged ring tone downloads, which I've never downloaded.

The Sprint rep advises me the same, contact the premium service provider at this number. I dont think I should have to deal with anybody other than Sprint.

Why should I have to deal with anybody other than Sprint for billing disputes, that Sprint bills me for ?

It sounds like a classic example of deceptive advertising. Because I am a 20-something, I'm able to read the fine print and see hidden charges in the making. I also think it is sad and unprofessional that an "executive" in the industry would openly call his consumers...er...uh...victims of these types practices crybabies. I'm guessing he (Jonathan Theodore "Stic" Thoreson, NY, NY) is no more than a call center employee who was on his lunch break and wanted to vent. I feel that companies did not anticipate the rapid growth and popularity of text messaging and are now looking for ways to capitalize. Without screwing up some kid's credit or creating animosity in the household, I wish these companies luck...just remember, texting won't be around forever.

MR. Thoreson is fairly typical of American businessmen and their practices. To say they have the morals of dogs, is an insult to dogs everywhere. I have a son in Iraq. He is on his second tour of duty in a very hot zone and is completely out of contact. He had Sprint as a service provider when he was shipped over to Iraq. He told them he was being deployed and they "graciously" froze his account until he got back. Well, after around 12 months, they evidently started it back up, rather automatically and have billed him. His mother and I were contacted after the account was "past due" and we informed them that he was actively deployed. It stopped for exactly one month and started up again. It seems, Sprint's rules are that you have to contact them once a month or they will reactivate your account. Rather insane since you are out of contact. I do have a suggestion in this regard. Let's deploy everyone at Sprint and throw in Mr. Thoreson for good measure in, say, Sadr City. If not them, then how about we take their children. These are the scummiest bunch of low life's I have ever heard of.

My son got slammed from several premium SMS companies. One of the nasty things they do is send long text messages that some older phones (like his) can't handle. The "opt out" portion of the message gets cut off. He had no way of knowing that simply by not replying to an unsolicited text message that he was consenting to pay $9.99 a month for ringers that weren't even compatible with his phone. Those details were cut off. Doesn't sound like "adequate legal disclosure" to me. So don't think that if you have an older phone that you're immune to this mess. We finally got a refund after a threat to report the problem to the state Attorney General.

To Robert Nema. from NJ who wrote:
"what about when you receive text messages - are you charged for that as well?

Yes, you are charged a minute of your time each time you receive a text message and open it (but not if you open it again and read it). If you look at your bill closely, you will see that the cell phone company charges you a minute for incoming and outgoing text messages. So, not only are you paying for being able to text message (like $30 for unlimited), you are also using 1 minute of your air time everytime you send a message or read an incoming message. (mine came from my anytime minutes) Same with voice mail messages. You have to pay a minute to listen to them. I tell my friends not to leave Voice Mail unless it is an emergency.

Also, when I first got my phone, I was getting slammed frequently and was having to pay for their messages. Now everything is completely blocked. I can't send or receive text.
"

Cingular now charges .15 a text message. My 100% belief is they are gouging their customers anyway they can. I'm sure every day there are meetings held at Cingular for them to find more advanced ways to charge the customer/consumer more money. For example, if I make a call and no one answers I am still charged for that call. I refuse to sign a 1 or 2 yr contract so I am paying $45+ a month and charged .15 for ea. incoming and outgoing txt, .13 a min for calls, but if I call during the wknds or after 9p and before 8a then my minutes are pulled from a bank of 800 minutes. Crazy, but that's how our "Money Driven Nation" works.

I enjoyed this article. I had a similar thing happen to me this last month. In June 2006 I added a cell phone to my account for my daughter since she was turning 16 and I wanted her to contact me at any time, or vice versa. When I set up the phone I had them set it up so that the only thing you could do is call out and receive calls, no text message in or out. Everything was great until Cingular became the new AT&T. at the end of this year on Dec 12 2006 the new AT&T decided to go through all there accounts and who ever did not have text turned on decided for them that they needed it. Now having a 16 year old and her receiving her first text mail she texted back 237 times (kids will be kids). So when I got my bill this month it was $20 some dollars more than normal. So I called the new AT&T and they told me what happened. I found out that could happen at any time in the future without warning unless you tell them that you want an administrative block put on the account.

How to Get out of your Verizon Contract Free due to this!

http://consumerist.com/consumer/readers/script-for-escaping-verizon-contracts-without-fee-based-on-text-message-rate-raises-234164.php

I found this link from boingboing; I don't know that it works but it's worth a try...

Mr. Thoreson,

With all due respect given to the fact that you are a stranger to me. For such arrogant, irritating behavior (and thumbing your seemingly self-centered nose at the cries of the massses) your reward will be found in hell. Your type need not live with the rest of us on this earth.

The almighty dollar - at all cost.

Why should your Cell Provider refund anything to you? You are the one who got yourself into this mess you take on the responsibility to contact that premium company and have them credit this back to you. The cell phone companies are always giving out credits and adjustments make the consumer take it on the chin.

This is modern day snake oil salesman techniques.

"If people were smart enough to know how to handle their own money, not spend on frivolities that they think they need, and actually read the fine print then the masses wouldn't be so moronic as to complain about this insignificant BS." - Banging Head on Desk; Surrounded by Stupid, USA

I'll call ya "Stupid" for short. Well, Stupid, someone writes similar sentiments every time a new installment of Red Tape Chronicles appears. Maybe you're right. In any individual instance, you'd like people to be careful. Me too.

But Stupid, the reason you (or others) can write these sentiments again and again is that these practices appear again and again. Maybe in an individual instance you can expect consumers to attend flawlessly to detail. But when forced to do so in transaction after transaction, just about everyone's going to get tripped up eventually.

Maybe your time will come when you've had a stressful day. You're a little distracted and you miss some tiny type. Maybe you will simply be tired after a long day of reading the fine print. But rest assured, if these kinds of practices are allowed to continue unchecked, your day will come.

Maybe certain vulnerable groups get preyed on the most. But I'm telling you, Stupid, it doesn't have to have anything to do with intelligence or vulnerability. If there are enough potholes in the road, you're going to hit one eventually, no matter how carefully you watch for them.

When your day comes, Stupid, will you think it's insignificant? Will you suddenly regard yourself as a moron? I won't. I'll know it's just the same old Stupid, only maybe with a little more compassion after having been tripped up.

what about when you receive text messages - are you charged for that as well?

Back in the mid-'90's I tried AT&T long distance for a couple months before getting completely disgusted and switching back to Sprint. I spent the next four months getting repeatedly "slammed" by AT&T, having to repeatedly reconnect my Sprint service, and getting charged a $10 "change-of-service" fee every time. I raised such hell with my local phone service that they finally agreed to waive all the fees and put a slamming block on my line, but believe me, it was like squeezing blood from a turnip to get them to admit they could prevent the slamming, since they were making so much money switching people back to their chosen long distance service.

It seems to me a lot of people are now in the same position with the "premium texting" services - they are "automatically" signed up for a service they never wanted or ordered, and the cellular company claims to be helpless in the face of the onslaught (due to the huge amount of kickbacks they are receiving from the "text slammers" for access to their active account lists). I find it totally credulous that they can't prevent these companies from pirating their customers' phone numbers. They simply don't want to.

That said, anyone who automatically obeys the dictates of a loud, flashy t.v. commercial on the assumption that somewhere out there, a free lunch exists, deserves a little pain avoidance training for their stupidity...

I signed up on Yahoo instant messenger when my son who is in Iraq found out he could instant messege us from there. I then in turned signed up for when I am not able to be on my home computer that he would still be able to IM me, as I'm mobile appears by my name. The charge for the premium is $9.99 and I am willing to pay for this as long as he is over seas. It is well worth it to me, to be able to converse with him in this manner when he is not able to get to a phone due to long lines. It is a life line for me to him, that I would not give up. I might feel different when he comes home, if I am not able to cancel this service, but for now, am ready and willing to pay it.

I definitely agree on the comments in the article about "Playmania" I saw that show on, and they'd go on for minutes and minutes "begging" for people to call and play. I registered online (no way i'd pay for the chance) up to ten times (their limit for registering) and not once received the ability to play on the show. They definitely make it appear that you're the only one registering and you're guaranteed a quick $100 or so if you just do it quickly. I can easily imagine that there are several thousand people registering, and they don't put any of them even on air, let alone to play for the money.

It really is quite simple - the FCC needs to enforce the same rule that exists for premium "add ons" with landlines.

That is, you can call and block all third-party billing on your phone account. End of discussion. The cell carriers should be forced to do this because they are a party to the billing - without a billing conduit where these alleged charges are actually collectable, these scam artists would have no means of collecting their alleged "debts"!

Then cancel the phone and go with another carrier.

I have been facing worse issues with Sprint. I've never requested such premium services for ringtones, or texted any other such premium service, and continue to be billed high charges. I disputed the charge with Sprint CSRs, but it took almost three months before I had the recurring premium charges stopped, but now I am still liable for all charges accrued so far. I have refused to pay the premium charges and disputed the bill every single month, in writing, since the past three months, via certified mail, yet there is no acknowledgement of the disputed charges by Sprint, and now I am being threatened with service disruption. All I am requesting is an investigation by Sprint into these unauthorized charges and show me the transaction details on the network record, if they exist, that claim that these premium services were requested by my mobile device, and I'll pay up and resolve the dispute. But Sprint hasn't as yet acknowledged the disputed bill, nor assured me of an investigation, even though I have maintained a complete paper trail of dispute notifications I have made so far. I have continued to pay my undisputed regular portion of the bill for all this time without fail and only withheld the unauthorized premium charges. This month, I have also asked the California Public Utilities Commission for assistance in resolving this and notifying of such billing practices by Sprint. But I don't know where to go from here.

Glad to know this is considered one of the prime & newsworthy problems raging across America. If people were smart enough to know how to handle their own money, not spend on frivolities that they think they need, and actually read the fine print then the masses wouldn't be so moronic as to complain about this insignificant BS.

We have so many more pertinent issues (disease, hunger, poverty, violence, terrorism, et al) but if we don't get these cell phone charges under wraps then I'm quitting the country. Damn government and their refusal to listen to important issues such as these!!!

To you folks complaining about your teens and preteens accepting charges... This is exactly why every kid in America does not need a cell phone.

I read with great interest these columns because I moved to Sweden 7 years ago and we just do not seem to have these problems over here.

WHAT WORKS HERE is that the party CALLING a cell phone number IS CHARGED for the call and NOT the person receiving the call. It keeps MARKETING on cell phones to a minimum. (It would freak me out if I had to pay for text or voice advertising that came to my phone.)

I live in a society that is a citizens privacy DREAM. NO credit agencies, one quick phone call to stop ALL telephone solicitations and so much MORE! America can have it too if there is the will!

The saddest part of this whole mess is if you are a NEW customer, just obtaining cell service, and even BEFORE activation of your new phone you get slammed with these premium charges from the PREVIOUS USER of the your 'new' cell number, as they had signed up for a subscription charge and never cancelled it before they disconnected service with the carrier.

Having worked in the cell-phone industry I have seen this practice so many times, and it makes me sick to know that these "premium text" companies base their charges on the NUMBER not the customer's name.

They do NOT track when cell phone numbers change hands
nor do they recognize that the cell number was disconnected for any length of time, they just "keep charging", and make it next to impossible to disconnect the service with bogus "800 customer service lines" that lead nowhere, or websites that do NOT stop service upon repeated requests. Mblox, Dirty Hippo, Mcube just to name a few.

To Jonathan Theordore of NY, I don't see complaining about a premium text that charges you $10, EVEN WHEN I DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THE TEST, warrants you calling us crybabies. I have unlimited text messaging and still get charged for the garbage that comes from "premium" text messages. If you was not in the business industry and were receiving these bogus marketing ploys, you wouldn't feel the same. To hell with you and other spam companies.

What I find appalling is when the cellular company sends repeated text messages that I need to upgrade my SIMM card because they are upgrading their equipment (despite the fact that I have already upgraded the card).... and then charges me for their messages!!

I definitely got a kick out of a self-described high level executive (stic) expressing his opinion about this issue. It is people like this, who only care about profits and little for customer satisfaction or ethics, that are ruining the way business is done in our society. The "no-accountability" stance that many companies and business people take, while hiding behind a quasi-legal curtain, is appalling. I would be ashamed to work for such a company.

While I'm sure many people inadvertedly "subscribe" to these premium services without realizing it, how can you be considered to have subscribed if you've NEVER entered your number for a contest or TV show?

Several weeks ago while my husband and I were watching football, my text message ringer began going off like crazy. (Which is odd, in and of itself, since my husband is the person to t/m me 99.9% of the time.) When I checked my messages, I found three within a space of 1 minute.

Somehow, without either my knowledge, consent, or any actions on my or my husband's part, I was enrolled in "Movie" by Enmob.com. Not knowing what this was, I went online and found MANY sites mentioning this company, none of which were even remotely favorable.

If this has happened to anyone else, here's the information I found: Enmob.com also does business as Nevis Mobile and is located in the Caribbean. They are automatically opting-in phone numbers without making sure that the number they have belongs to whomever originally gave it to them. In other words, they are slamming people into a service that they didn't request without giving them an option to get out of it. You essentially are required to pay a minimum of $9.99 for at least one month, regardless of whether you asked to be subscribed or not.

What they do is send you these text messages that read: "Enter PIN code: 0174 at enmob.com to begin Movie. $9.99/mo. To stop, text back STOP or call 8886489524" When you text "STOP" back to them, they then have you as "discontinuing your service". (Yeah, I know...what service?) But if you read their website, they'll charge you until the end of the month for a service you never asked for and OPTED OUT OF. What a mess.

Here's what I did: I immediately text messaged "STOP" back to them. I then called my cell phone service provider, (in my case, Sprint), and told them what had happened, asked them to check my billing, and had the technical guys block all premium texting since it isn't a feature neither my husband nor I use. I then filed complaints with the FCC and ConsumerAffairs.com. Lastly, I checked my next bill. The $9.99 charge had magically appeared after all, so I called Sprint again and they removed it without requiring even the smallest discussion or begging on my part. (Big fat kudos to Sprint!)

When executives in the industry, characterize some customers as "a bunch of cry babies" the dysfunction of the marketing-customer relationship is perfectly illustrated. Instead of whining about "whining customers," how about revisting Marketing 101 and actually LISTEN to the voice of the customer. Please - stop making excuses. Nobody likes a cry-baby executive.

What lawyers say is legal for these companies to do to me what they are really saying is "This is what they can get away with." It seems these fee games are really the profit lines now, and low-ball rates are the teasers. What if a company charged a higher rate, and played no games on fees. I would more than happily pay the higher rate than constantly having to waste time worrying about what trap is being set for me to extract fees. Is there such an entity in business today that is an "Up Front" company. One thing I have noticed, these entities that plays these games on consumers do like keep their anonymity. Do they have a Customer Service Department available to discuss your bill with you face-to-face? One Rule of Thumb for me, if it is not as easy to cancel doing business with a company as it is signing up to do business with that company. Just walk away!

Stic better live it up while the gravy train is running. This is a scam with limited shelf-life. The phone companies are using our phone bills as credit cards, allowing 3rd-parties to tack charges on to our phone bills, providing "services" such as outrageously-priced "subscriptions" on our bills under the guise of something free or one-time.

Engaging in ethical business practices and ensuring that consumers know exactly what they are purchasing has fallen to greed. The cell companies know that a large percentage of customers will not notice these charges on their bills or will just pay them to avoid the hassle of trying to get refunds. Rather than making some money by running ethical, legitimate services they try to squeeze the last dime out through greedy, deceptive practices and all they will do is ensure that they will be legislated against.

Also, they hide behind the veil of "it's not our charge, call the other company". And they make it very difficult to turn off access to these charges for kids.

Well, some of us will not put up with it. I made a stink about getting these charges refunded. Charges my 15-year old duaghter incurred by downloading what she thought was a free ringtone. I raised a stink until these services were blocked on my phones so we cannot accidentally incur charges.

My cell phone bill is not a credit card. I don't want the phone company to allow anyone to place charges on my bill. This is an obvious scam to target children and unwary individuals.

I also reported these practices to the FCC, the state attorney general, my congressman and the Public Utilities commission.

It may be technically legal for now, but greed has ensured that enough people are outraged enough that things will change.

I had to get rid of text messaging all together. I found that everytime I sent a text or received a text message, I was using 1 minute of my call time. So if I have a plan for 500 day minutes and I sent and received 400 messages during the day in any given month, I actually only have 100 minutes left of talk time. The cellphone company didn't tell me that. So basically, you are paying double for text messaging. That is sleezy practice on cellphone companies.

WHat is up with what I am now calling "Media Slamming"? It seems like we are back to the old days of long distance slamming. I keep getting subscriptions added that I never requested. I don't use text and I have ask Cingular to block all text but still these subscriptions are appearing on my bill. I asked if I could have my phone blocked for this but they tell me NO. Does anyone know a carrier that can block this? I hate to say this but it might be time for Congress to step up and pass a law against this type of "Slamming".

Stic said:

"There is nothing wrong with any of these practices. I am an executive in the industry and our attourneys have fully validated that adequate legal disclosure is made. In fact, many customers love to take advantage of the services we provide. The few who would object to our marketing techniques amount to nothing more than a bunch of cry babies. All is fair in love, war, and marketing."

There's nothing wrong with me calling you a fatuous dweeb, either. And I'm an executive in the consumer industry. My purchases make or break companies like yours.

It's this kind of defensive posture that makes me think these jamokes have something to hide. They know it's wrong; just as it's illegal to charge someone for something they haven't ordered. But as long as their lawyers say its OK, then it's OK.

I don't bother with text messages-- they're limiting and stupid. If I want to talk to someone, I call them. If I want to write someone, I'll send them an e-mail or a letter. Most text messages consist of stuff like "d00d whr u at?" I certainly want to pay extortinate charges for stupidity like this.

Mr. Thoreson -- Your practice maybe legal, but it is unethical and you know it. Otherwise you wouldn’t have bothered to consult your lawyers. You said "All is fair in love, war[, and marketing.]", that statement is one of the stupidest and misleading quotes ever assembled and have been embraced in order for people like yourself to justify unethical behavior, so that you will be able to look at yourself in the mirror every morning. -- That being said, customers should know better then to text messages because some Barbie doll wanna’ be told them on TV and expect it to be free. Another example of stupid people complaining that they are, well… stupid.

I think customers turned to text to avoid per minute peak charges, but now cell companies reap a huge profit on a service that costs little.

On the other end, they continue to add feature, but not cut price. Pure Marketing 101

I say get even. If you have a cell phone that allows 'off network' calls like Sprint to Home or the new T-mobil Fave5 just get a cheap voip account that allows cell usage. The best one I found, as it does both out calling (bridge calls) and incoming (Call forward) is Voicestick.com

Just make the 'home' number they give you for free to be your Sprint 'home' number or one of your 5 free Fave numbers.

Set the bridge and call forward at Voicestick to the cell number, and give that number to frinds to call you (free incoming) and then you call out on this.

Now you can have ALL the minutes you want with one of the cell companies cheapest, lowest cost plans, and then on the VOIP side get either the pay per minute (2 cents) or a $20 unlimited.

I talked for 3100 minutes last month and had a Sprint bill of $38 (with taxes) and a Voicestick bill of $20.

Why text, just call !

I work for as a CSR for a cellphone company and receive complaints on a daily basis about these subscriptions and have to explain to either the parent or person how the charges may have appeared. As you have already stated in th article, these are some of the most common complaints that we receive, and companies have been banned from having access to the customers.

The company I work for does have the ability to block and add purchase controls to accounts so parents can control their kids spending. This is an option I always offer to customers so that they understand the company is trying to do something for them.

The process for canceling is easier when calling to customer care, but still takes a few days for the originating company to stop the service. Adjusting and refunding accounts for charges are handled on a case by case basis.

While I don't care for these companies on a personal level, there are people who actually use these services and are ok with paying the fees.

I'm wondering why text messages don't work like actual phone calls, in that the subscriber gets unlimited messages for a monthly fee. My cell phone carrier only offers one "bulk" fee, for more than double the phone bill, and limits it to 2,000 text messages/month. The problem is that my kids' friends have cell phone carriers who give them unlimited text messages a month for only $10. So of course if the friends send as many as they want, we pay. Naturally we've told our kids to tell their friends to cool it, or we'll turn off the text messaging capabilities.
But it looks like a racket, smells like a racket, and feels like a racket, charging by the message and not offering unlimited messages for a reasonable fee.
We also had the phantom $9.99 charge, most likely for a ringtone ordered by one of our children, and after complaining, the carrier did remove it as well as refund some of the monthly charges. But when I pointed out that there was no notice of this new charge, they claimed that the phone itself (in fine print) notifies the person holding the phone at the time (which could be a a minor of any age!) of the new charge, and then the bill itself is also notification. I pointed out that a minor child cannot accept charges, plus one line on a bill of 50+ pages is not "notice." I think the carrier should be obligated to put a new charge on the front page of the bill, in a box, or different colored ink, or bold type. If one has autopay, then these charges are even sneakier. There has to be a way to call attention to a new charge to the person who is responsible for the bill.
I've already written my state legislator, and will write again to Congress as well.

You pay for the cable which brings these shows into your home. You buy the consumer goods which are advertised on the shows, which means you are paying for the ads. You then pay both the phone company and the broadcaster for the vote you make on the show, which is the point of it all, which basically means that you all have a bit part on the show which was previously a paid position or at least free.
Apparently, one born every minute is a massive understatement.

Mr. Sullivan
I was a recent victim of fraudulent premium text messaging charges. My 14 daughter made the mistake of subscribing to a joke line and I was severely ripped off by my Canadian phone company. I made numerous calls to have these messages and charges stopped but I was abused by my provider and the messages just kept on coming. I was told they would stop several times, guaranteed that I would not have to pay, that the messages would be blocked and given assurances regarding my concerns but ultimatley ignored. I was the victim of fraud by a large Canadian company that streals from it's customers. Soon $600 of these charges and disgusting customer service was enough for me. I bought out my contract and no longer use a cell phone - the money now stays in my pocket.

Will consumers ever realize that theres no such thing as a free lunch? Sure, the costs are outrageous and increasing everyday, but until people stop blindly falling for these scams it will continue.

I am a simple teenager that gets addicted to texting too.But i know nothing is free. So when it says just type in "gangsta123" to 555555, i dont, Its simple to know you will get chargerd, and anyone that falls for this, should be.

There is nothing wrong with any of these practices. I am an executive in the industry and our attourneys have fully validated that adequate legal disclosure is made. In fact, many customers love to take advantage of the services we provide. The few who would object to our marketing techniques amount to nothing more than a bunch of cry babies. All is fair in love, war, and marketing.

This has happened several (four) months in a row now for my son. Verizon has been called and claims that they cannot do anything about this as it is third party billing to them. They cannot block the premium text messaging without also blocking all standard text messaging. The only thing that Verizon has done was to provide a 1-800 number with which to call the billing party. This is only met with a recorded message that we will be called back within 48 hours, which never happens. My son (20 years old) states that text message offers randomly come to his phone prompting him to either accept or decline. He always declines, but yet we get the $9.99 charge at the end of the month. The various Verizon C/S reps have told me that this is an endemic problem, not a random one that your article suggests.