Ringtone companies that suck you in.
This is my rant of the month to be honest.
I have had channel 10 on with their Video Smash Bits, and the amount of flogging of Premium SMS services, for ringtones, screensavers etc just sickens me. Alot of people think yay ringtones, all I think of is the calls I get from angry customers who sign up for these services off their own bat, and then scream at the mobile phone company who provides access.
We don’t force people to SMS “X34″ to one of those 19 numbers, for the latest Pink song. Nor do we force those desperado’s who watch TV at night and SMS “Flirt” to 19 77 WXYZ. So why should we have to refund you the cost of the SMS service when you signed up for it in the first place?
Yes, there are companies that do basically subscribe you to their services on a random basis, however those really are far and few between. What the problem is here in Australia is that there is no regulation of these 3rd party companies. No laws governing their use. It’s extremely difficult to unsubscribe from the companies, and the customer service reps when you DO actually speak to them are really rude and nasty.
When I talk to people about their mobile services, I tell them not to subscribe to anything they aren’t prepared to pay for. Read the terms and conditions and read their websites. Learn how to unsubscribe from a service you sign up for, and understand that mobile phone companies will do what they can to help you unsubscribe, but they are not a charity, they didn’t twist your arm to send that SMS, all we do is provide network access. If you signed up for it, and we can see it, ultimately it’s your problem.