IF YOU HAVE A MOBILE PHONE BEWARE
Submitted: Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 17:25
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Member - WORM (VIC)
Afteroon all just thought I would bring something to everyones attention. Just received my Telstra mobile phone bill today. On the bill there was a Section Total Separate Purchase for $20.00 classified as premium SMS. These SMS show on your bill as Provider:NETSZE Purchase: 19400 5MTT. These bloody things cost $5.00 per SMS. The thing is this company sends sms messages to your phone for things such as ringtones and screen savers and crap like that then they charge you $5.oo each message against your Telstra bill. When I spoke to Telstra they said there is nothing that can be done about these charges, you must ring Telsra and have them put a premium SMS bar on your mobile to stop this happening again. Absolute bulldust on Telstras behalf how the hell they can let this happen in the first place astounds me. If I new this sort of rip off tactics could happen I would have put this so called bar on the phone when I updated my phone and went onto the Next G network.......... Everyone Beware....... Ring Telstra and have the bar enabled on your phones.
Cheers Brad.
Reply By: Member No 1- Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 17:44
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 17:44
if i read you right..... you are saying that you "recieved" a sms which debited your phone account?...
or did you reply to the SMS you recieved?
they (telstra) wont get my money if it happens to me...no-one but no-one can debit my phone account except me!!!...and swmbo of course
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Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 11:52
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 11:52
apparently you only have to open the SMS, or answer the phone call for this shiz to happen.
billions of accounts of it happening all over the interweb..
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Reply By: Eric from Cape York Connections - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 17:49
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 17:49
I think it is if you reply.
All the best
Eric
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Follow Up By: Member - WORM (VIC) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 18:03
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 18:03
At no time did I reply to these messages or ask to be sent them at 35 years old I could not give a damn about ringtones and wallpapers...... My phone goes ring ring and I answer..
Cheers Brad
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Follow Up By: Andrew from Vivid Adventures - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:18
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:18
you can complain to the provider and they will more than likely refund you... you need to get their number off your bill and just don't accept "no" for an answer.
Somehow you are responding to them though, and they should have an opt-out mechanism in the message... call this number, or whatever.
You can report it to ACMA if you are totally annoyed!
Cheers
Andrew.
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Follow Up By: oldtrack123 - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 23:41
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 23:41
Hi
I had the same thing happen to me . I clicked on for a" free" i pod for answering a few questions asked for mob no to let me know if I had won, phone rang immediatly I did not recognise no & SUSPECTED A CON, I DID NOT ANSWER , but receivedv several more from same no & thought I WAS Ok until I recieived bill
"1" you do not have to answer the call to be billed ,you are charged the second your phone rings
"2"rang Telsta mob help who told me to immediatly ring no on bil l& ask them to cancel the "service" & if any problem to get back to telstra staight away
"3" rang provider no & got the run round virtualy told I COULD NOT CANCEL IT UNTIL THEY HAD RECEIVED PAYMENT FROM tELSTRA.
'4" RangTesltra told them story , THEY took action held me on line while sent email to provider telling them that telstra where issuing me with a credit for the entire amount & they where barring the line!!
THANK you TELSTRA
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Reply By: DIO - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 17:57
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 17:57
Sadly this type of marketing has been around for some time. Generally the user responds to a competition advertised on TV, an offer for a ring tone, or some other trivial offering all of which the user pays for and having 'subscribed' will continue to receive unsolicited SMS until such time as the '
membership' is cancelled, usually by texting STOP to the provider - if you happen to know who they are and what their contact number is. Some of these 'offerings' can cost $5.00 - $10.00 - $15.00 or more per message. If you are not aware of what is going on it can cost you a fortune. The 'regulating authorities' did, some time ago, stipulate that such advertised offerings (usually on TV) must contain a warning to children and the cost(s) must also be advertised along with their name and contact number. So often the information is in very small font (type) and almost impossible to read - in a few seconds. There is also another 'scam' around where you will receive a 'missed call' and once you respond to it you are then pestered with unwanted SMS all at considerable cost to you. Don't respond to such calls unless you know for sure who it is calling you. If it happens to be friend, family, aassociate etc they will almost certainly call you back.
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Reply By: Nomadic Navara - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 18:06
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 18:06
This sort of thing happens when you SMS to a company, don't read the reply fully and don't respond cancelling further calls and some time down the track you get the nasty surprise. Forget the exact details but this was discussed on one of these forums. I think one of the victims had received a free ring tone and forgot/didn't see she should cancel future offers and the further offers came at a cost. Other similar things were put forward as traps.
PeterD
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Reply By: Nomadic Navara - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 18:06
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 18:06
This sort of thing happens when you SMS to a company, don't read the reply fully and don't respond cancelling further calls and some time down the track you get the nasty surprise. Forget the exact details but this was discussed on one of these forums. I think one of the victims had received a free ring tone and forgot/didn't see she should cancel future offers and the further offers came at a cost. Other similar things were put forward as traps.
PeterD
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Reply By: Wazza - (Vic) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:06
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:06
You are correct Brad. I had 30 Next G sim cards in telemetry units (modems) for collecting environmental data. I dialled into these from a base station, so at no time were they ever used to send an sms. They were in use for about 2 months before they started getting charged for receiving premium SMS at $5 a go. Telstra did put a premium SMS bar on each card, but no refund ($300 worth)
And you do not know it is happening until you get the bills.
Wazza.
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Follow Up By: Member - WORM (VIC) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:13
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:13
Wazza gee I only copped $20 worth you must have been really ropeable when uou received your bill!
Cheers Brad
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Follow Up By: Andrew from Vivid Adventures - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:21
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:21
Hey Wazza... complain to the provider and to ACMA...
If you get no response you can lodge a complaint on this page:
ACMA Anti-SPAM page
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Reply By: Member - Mike DID - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:39
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:39
If you get charged for any calls you did not make, then complain to Telstra and tell them your next step will be to report the issue to the TIO (Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman) - they should be a bit more attentive.
.
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Follow Up By: Muzzgit [WA] - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 20:04
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 20:04
Your right mike. That's the only way to get anything done.
One of the fella's at work was billed $55.00 for premium SMS for a ring tone and all the following text's he received, none of which he agreed to. After contacting the TIO he eventually received a refund from the ring tone provider to his carrier - Optus. It took about ten weeks to get his money back.
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Reply By: MEMBER - Darian (SA) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:56
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 19:56
Surely all states in Oz have a consumer law that renders
invalid any demand for payment for unsolicited goods - far as I know in SA, we don't even have to respond to the sender / provider - just don't pay it.
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Follow Up By: Member No 1- Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 07:36
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 07:36
ditto
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Reply By: daisygirl - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 20:50
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 20:50
Where I work we have been getting phone calls from irate people saying that they have received their bill and have a charge for a text message that we sent.
Its hard to explain that we dont send text messages as we are a travel agent.
Seems like if you ring Optus to chase up the person who sent the text then Optus is giving them our work number so you cant even chase down the crafty litle mon*** to get them to stop sending the texts!!
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Follow Up By: Stephen M (NSW) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 21:18
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 21:18
One of the reasons I have gone back to telstra. Mind you if I see any of the above mentioned problems on my phone bill they will know about it. regards Steve M
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Reply By: dublediff - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 21:34
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 21:34
Had a similar incident with ISIM ( read optus) prepaid card. My son had registered for a joke line and was being sent $5.00 jokes via sms every day till I stopped it - thought si anyway. Even changed the credit card for the direct debit after cancelling the sim card. Somehow after 6 months I was hit again on an inactive credit card for an inactive sim card....beat the hell out of me. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so illegal. Sorted it out with threats to bank and ISIM. Moral to storey is ....use carrier pigeons. Or
check your credit card bills religiously.
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Reply By: Paul McDougall - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 21:46
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 21:46
Hmmmm interesting that no one mentioned that telstra makes a pretty handsome profit from this type of activity too.
I agree with a coupe of comments.....if you don't know the caller then delete and don't respond to any messages or sms calls.
I also agree that the TIO can be extremely helpful provided you keep all evidence available to you when complaining and seeking a refund.
Don't threaten your carrier with the prospect you will go to the ombudsman hoping to get a favourable response, just politely tell them you are going to take the matter up with the TIO. Its happened to me a coupe of times and on each occasion I have received a favourable outcome.
Good luck in your endeavours WORM. Don't give up mate.
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Follow Up By: Member - WORM (VIC) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:11
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:11
See Paul thats probably where I stuffed up!..... When these messages appeared in my mail box I should have left them unopened or just deleted them I wonder if that would have made a difference?
Hmm food for thought.
Cheers
Worm
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Reply By: Andrew from Vivid Adventures - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:25
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:25
Once more... ACMA is the place to complain, not TIO.
ACMA are very active and quite good at getting results in my experience.
The premium service provider's contact details have to be listed on the bill as I understand it - you should call them first irate as hell and demand a refund and that you never receive a charge from them again. Don't accept no for an answer. Ask to speak to supervisor...
ACMA website page.
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Reply By: Member - Roger B (VIC) - Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:35
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 at 22:35
I've got everybody I ever possibly want to, or care to hear from in my address book, and if I miss a call from one of them, the phone displays their name. Any other unknown, missed calls get the 'tijuana' very smartly by way of the delete button. As previously mentioned, if the call was important, they'll ring back. Because we travel a bit, we pay all our bills by direct debit, so the bank statements get a very thorough looking at. So far, so good. Cheers All.
Roger B.
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Follow Up By: Motherhen - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 00:56
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 00:56
Roger, the charge is when they send sms to you, not when you reply.
My daughter got caught three or four years or so ago. She was helping a
young teenager set up a computer, and used her mobile number on a web site. Next thing she suddenly ran out of credit. She was receiving weekly sms offering her the latest ring tone and didn't realise this was costing her big time. Of course you don't get printed statements for pre-paid mobiles.
The scam still continues!
Motherhen
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Follow Up By: Gronk - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 00:59
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 00:59
Same happened to me with Telstra........several sms's sent by a company which weren't replied to by me ( didn't know at the time to send a stop reply sms ) and after many calls to Telstra ( some abusive and also refusing to pay for these messages ) they finally waived the $50 bill..
Telstra all but admitted to onselling my phone number to third party companies........apparently their allowed to ????
So, if you get a sms that sounds fishy.....scroll down and see if you can reply with a stop message.....it may save you some dollars !!
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Reply By: Coolup - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 01:07
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 01:07
Hi Worm
You should be able to reply the word stop back to the sms sender
and hopefully they won't send any more.It worked for me.Telstra should be able to block the number also.
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Reply By: Richard W (NSW) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 07:40
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 07:40
I had 1900 number calls barred on my mobile after I read about the issue some time back. Not sure whether this covers SMS's though.
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Reply By: Member - John Q (QLD) - Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 08:41
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 at 08:41
If you have problems with these SMS charges I am told the best action to take is to phone Telstra on 125111 or visit a Telstra
shop.
John
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