My recent wireless bill listed a $10 charge in the category of “other charges”, so I called customer service of a major wireless provider to find out about this unidentified charge. It turns out that it was a monthly fee for a subscription service that I knew nothing about. In fact, I had been paying this unidentified charge for several months before it caught my attention. The customer service person explained that it is very common for companies that provide auxiliary services to wireless telephone customers to send unsolicited text messages to as many phone numbers as they can find. The text message introduces the service to the potential customer, but the message is deliberately designed to obfuscate. Many people exit the message incorrectly, not realizing that, in doing so, they have agreed to the subscription for the service and the monthly fee billed directly through the wireless provider.
I told the customer service person that this sounded like a fraudulent practice, but he assured me that it was completely legal. I told him that I wanted my money back for a service that I did not knowingly subscribe to, and he agreed to credit my account for the subscription monthly charge times the number of months that it had been applied. At the same time I am thinking to myself that, if this is legal, then why are they refunding my money so easily? While this practice may by common operation procedure for many companies trying to increase their bottom line, I call it fraud. So, heads up, everyone, when you examine your next telephone bill.
Wireless text messages are like emails. You need to be careful when you open them.