Annoying text messages

Hi,

I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.

I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
do.

I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
year contract expired long time ago.

Thanks,

qq

On 26 Sep 2006 12:40:49 -0700, quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
>
>I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
>month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
>I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
>53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
>not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
>do.
>
>I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
>future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
>have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
>they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
>year contract expired long time ago.
>
>Thanks,
>
>qq

I would be annoyed too if I got billed what I thought was $4 to $5 for
stuff I didn't get/use/want etc. However drop back 10 yards and think
about things before you cancel over that little amount of money.

Does the plan you have now satisfy your needs - both amount of time
and quality of service? If so remember than you will not be able to
duplicate that amount of anytime minutes with any plan currently
available from any carrier that I know about.

Is cancelling with Cingular over a $4 to $5 onetime mistake, worth
picking up say $5 to $10 a month ongoing cost for your cellular
service?

But what if it is not a one time mistake and this continues?

Just food for thought.


"John" <zzz@zzz.com> wrote in message
news:ig2jh2dqn36lkn17ehav2eote84omqhkn9@4ax.com...
> On 26 Sep 2006 12:40:49 -0700, quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
>>
>>I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
>>month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
>>I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
>>53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
>>not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
>>do.
>>
>>I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
>>future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
>>have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
>>they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
>>year contract expired long time ago.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>qq
>
> I would be annoyed too if I got billed what I thought was $4 to $5 for
> stuff I didn't get/use/want etc. However drop back 10 yards and think
> about things before you cancel over that little amount of money.
>
> Does the plan you have now satisfy your needs - both amount of time
> and quality of service? If so remember than you will not be able to
> duplicate that amount of anytime minutes with any plan currently
> available from any carrier that I know about.
>
> Is cancelling with Cingular over a $4 to $5 onetime mistake, worth
> picking up say $5 to $10 a month ongoing cost for your cellular
> service?

My experience is that they treat customer like shit until the point
where customer say "OK, this is enough. I will concel my service
nomatter what" ... And then, they start to offer everything...

John wrote:
> On 26 Sep 2006 12:40:49 -0700, quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> >Hi,
> >
> >I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
> >
> >I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
> >month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
> >I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
> >53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
> >not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
> >do.
> >
> >I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
> >future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
> >have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
> >they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
> >year contract expired long time ago.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >qq
>
> I would be annoyed too if I got billed what I thought was $4 to $5 for
> stuff I didn't get/use/want etc. However drop back 10 yards and think
> about things before you cancel over that little amount of money.
>
> Does the plan you have now satisfy your needs - both amount of time
> and quality of service? If so remember than you will not be able to
> duplicate that amount of anytime minutes with any plan currently
> available from any carrier that I know about.
>
> Is cancelling with Cingular over a $4 to $5 onetime mistake, worth
> picking up say $5 to $10 a month ongoing cost for your cellular
> service?

Per marka2k:
>But what if it is not a one time mistake and this continues?

tMobile prepaid. 1,000 minutes for $100... and they roll over year-after-year.

Basically, if you don't use much airtime, once you've paid the $100 initiation
fee you've got a mobile phone for 10 cents a minute year-after-year.
--
PeteCresswell

quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
>
> I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
> month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
> I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
> 53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
> not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
> do.
>
> I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
> future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
> have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
> they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
> year contract expired long time ago.
>
> Thanks,
>
> qq
>


I had Cingular disable text messaging altogether because a) I don't want
that crap on my phone, let alone my bill, and b) see a.

--
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'

"John" <zzz@zzz.com> wrote in message
news:ig2jh2dqn36lkn17ehav2eote84omqhkn9@4ax.com...
> On 26 Sep 2006 12:40:49 -0700, quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
>>
>>I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
>>month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
>>I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
>>53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
>>not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
>>do.
>>
>>I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
>>future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
>>have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
>>they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
>>year contract expired long time ago.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>qq
>
> I would be annoyed too if I got billed what I thought was $4 to $5 for
> stuff I didn't get/use/want etc. However drop back 10 yards and think
> about things before you cancel over that little amount of money.
>
> Does the plan you have now satisfy your needs - both amount of time
> and quality of service? If so remember than you will not be able to
> duplicate that amount of anytime minutes with any plan currently
> available from any carrier that I know about.
>
> Is cancelling with Cingular over a $4 to $5 onetime mistake, worth
> picking up say $5 to $10 a month ongoing cost for your cellular
> service?

But one of the basic things forget is that this customer may not just be the
only one getting this 53 text messages on his invoice. Multiply that by xx
number of others in the same situation and you are running into millions of
dollars of profit.

If Cingular can produce a "Valid" record of these text messages then by all
means the charges would be payable.
If not they should just take them off to save the $40 a month or more this
user has provided to the carrier.

It would be stupid to lose any customer over $4 or $5 when others will also
leave and you know via reputable standards in the industry Cingular is not
doing to well.

Elector

"Jer" <gdunn@airmail.ten> wrote in message
news:12hji905v8hba03@corp.supernews.com...
> quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
>>
>> I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
>> month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
>> I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
>> 53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
>> not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
>> do.
>>
>> I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
>> future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
>> have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
>> they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
>> year contract expired long time ago.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> qq
>>
>
>
> I had Cingular disable text messaging altogether because a) I don't want
> that crap on my phone, let alone my bill, and b) see a.
>
> --
> jer
> email reply - I am not a 'ten'


I also had it disabled to prevent those annoying text messages. But in the
past I have disputed billing concerning text message's and they have removed
them each time.

I think the original poster should call back and speak with someone else. Of
course, you are on a cheap plan, maybe that is why they don't care if they
lose you?!?!?

Wake up and grab a banana, Mark. Cingular happens to be the best network in
the US. There are several ways to acomplish this, blocking being the
easiest.
__________________________________________________ ________________________
> But what if it is not a one time mistake and this continues?
>
> Just food for thought.

> "Jer" wrote:
> I had Cingular disable text messaging altogether because a) I don't want
> that crap on my phone, let alone my bill, and b) see a.

I'm also getting this crap text messaging. It is some sort of cell phone
spam that uses wappush or something similar. I got a bunch from Yahoo and
yes it shows up on my bill. Some of it is Cingular.Service.wappush nonsense
and I made the mistake of hitting "Retrieve" and all hell has broken loose.
Sort of like spam you pay for.

Cingular says the cannot disable my text messaging and I am on the same
$29.95 plan as the OP.

Yep. Pay-for-spamming is on it's way to the cell phone market. Just wait
until they start doing jpg spam with high data rates you pay big dollars
for.

B~

You are right.

The stupid representative is totally dis-qualified. I asked her to
block all messages. But yesterday, message came again. I called today,
another lady said blocking message is actually a two step process, the
stupid did just one. I expect to see at least 10 messages on my next
bill. It is totally Shit!



, She dtry to bl
Tiffany wrote:
> "Jer" <gdunn@airmail.ten> wrote in message
> news:12hji905v8hba03@corp.supernews.com...
> > quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
> >>
> >> I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
> >> month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
> >> I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
> >> 53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
> >> not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
> >> do.
> >>
> >> I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
> >> future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
> >> have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
> >> they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
> >> year contract expired long time ago.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >>
> >> qq
> >>
> >
> >
> > I had Cingular disable text messaging altogether because a) I don't want
> > that crap on my phone, let alone my bill, and b) see a.
> >
> > --
> > jer
> > email reply - I am not a 'ten'
>
>
> I also had it disabled to prevent those annoying text messages. But in the
> past I have disputed billing concerning text message's and they have removed
> them each time.
>
> I think the original poster should call back and speak with someone else. Of
> course, you are on a cheap plan, maybe that is why they don't care if they
> lose you?!?!?

I think you are wrong!

Even you had not push the "retrieve" button, they would show up on your
bill any way. I guess the rule is once the message hit their server,
you have to pay, no matter you read it or not. In my case, I did not
read(retrieve) them at all.


B. Peg wrote:
> > "Jer" wrote:
> > I had Cingular disable text messaging altogether because a) I don't want
> > that crap on my phone, let alone my bill, and b) see a.
>
> I'm also getting this crap text messaging. It is some sort of cell phone
> spam that uses wappush or something similar. I got a bunch from Yahoo and
> yes it shows up on my bill. Some of it is Cingular.Service.wappush nonsense
> and I made the mistake of hitting "Retrieve" and all hell has broken loose.
> Sort of like spam you pay for.
>
> Cingular says the cannot disable my text messaging and I am on the same
> $29.95 plan as the OP.
>
> Yep. Pay-for-spamming is on it's way to the cell phone market. Just wait
> until they start doing jpg spam with high data rates you pay big dollars
> for.
>
> B~

>I think you are wrong!
>
> Even you had not push the "retrieve" button, they would show up on your
> bill any way. I guess the rule is once the message hit their server,
> you have to pay, no matter you read it or not. In my case, I did not
> read(retrieve) them at all.

That's not what I meant.

When I hit retrieve/read (i.e. to the "Cingular Services" wappush one, which
I thought was from Cingular but wasn't, so their C.S. rep says), I somehow
got them to "keep responding" with their spam crap. Sort of like telling
those e-mail web spammers to quit sending me their crap. Like it ever
helps! You'll only get more.

Point is, don't respond....ever! Yeah, you still get billed for getting it
to begin with, but replying to them only will make your bill larger.
<damhik!>

Cell phone $pam is in it's infancy. I can only see it getting to be wor$e
than the current web spam. Love how spammers get you to pay for it now.
>(

B~

I guess the carrier likes that too. At this moment, they benefit most
from the text spam!!!

Ge


B. Peg wrote:
> >I think you are wrong!
> >
> > Even you had not push the "retrieve" button, they would show up on your
> > bill any way. I guess the rule is once the message hit their server,
> > you have to pay, no matter you read it or not. In my case, I did not
> > read(retrieve) them at all.
>
> That's not what I meant.
>
> When I hit retrieve/read (i.e. to the "Cingular Services" wappush one, which
> I thought was from Cingular but wasn't, so their C.S. rep says), I somehow
> got them to "keep responding" with their spam crap. Sort of like telling
> those e-mail web spammers to quit sending me their crap. Like it ever
> helps! You'll only get more.
>
> Point is, don't respond....ever! Yeah, you still get billed for getting it
> to begin with, but replying to them only will make your bill larger.
> <damhik!>
>
> Cell phone $pam is in it's infancy. I can only see it getting to be wor$e
> than the current web spam. Love how spammers get you to pay for it now.
> >(
>
> B~

>The stupid representative is totally dis-qualified. I asked her to
>block all messages. But yesterday, message came again. I called today,
>another lady said blocking message is actually a two step process, the
>stupid did just one. I expect to see at least 10 messages on my next
>bill. It is totally Shit!

Then, with your bill, pay the amount minus the BS..

Note, the time n date you told them you wanted it off..

...worked for me. Still get a few, but never on my bill...


JJTj

So, how the hell do the spammers get the numbers?

Joe


<quickcur@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1159299649.697323.116420@m73g2000cwd.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
>
> I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
> month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
> I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
> 53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
> not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
> do.
>
> I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
> future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
> have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
> they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
> year contract expired long time ago.
>
> Thanks,
>
> qq
>

In article <12hqc611ogjrt9c@corp.supernews.com>, "Joe" <abc@xyz.org>
wrote:

> So, how the hell do the spammers get the numbers?
>
> Joe
>

Two main ways.

1. Buying them from whoever will sell it to them.

2. By just sequentially sending to a known block of Cingular users.

====

I just had Cingular turn off messinging on my lines. Luckily
they have now restored *MIN# and *BAL# free messages.




>
> <quickcur@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1159299649.697323.116420@m73g2000cwd.googlegr oups.com...
> > Hi,
> >
> > I am in California with a Cingular $29.95 250 minutes plan.
> >
> > I never used text message but usually get 3-5 spam text message each
> > month and had to pay $0.1 for each of them. I did not do anything since
> > I thought a half dollar did not worth the hassle. But last month, I got
> > 53 text messages on my bill. I remember I got about 10, but definitely
> > not 53. I called Cingular, they said all 53 are valid, nothing they can
> > do.
> >
> > I asked them to block my text message channel so no more message in the
> > future. But I still think I did not get 53 last message. Do you guys
> > have any similar experience? I decided to call Cingular again and if
> > they do not take it away, I am going to ask to cancel my service. My 1
> > year contract expired long time ago.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > qq
> >

quickcur@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> I guess the carrier likes that too. At this moment, they benefit most
> from the text spam!!!
>
> Ge
>
> B. Peg wrote:
> > >I think you are wrong!
> > >
> > > Even you had not push the "retrieve" button, they would show up on your
> > > bill any way. I guess the rule is once the message hit their server,
> > > you have to pay, no matter you read it or not. In my case, I did not
> > > read(retrieve) them at all.
> >
> > That's not what I meant.
> >
> > When I hit retrieve/read (i.e. to the "Cingular Services" wappush one, which
> > I thought was from Cingular but wasn't, so their C.S. rep says), I somehow
> > got them to "keep responding" with their spam crap. Sort of like telling
> > those e-mail web spammers to quit sending me their crap. Like it ever
> > helps! You'll only get more.
> >
> > Point is, don't respond....ever! Yeah, you still get billed for getting it
> > to begin with, but replying to them only will make your bill larger.
> > <damhik!>
> >
> > Cell phone $pam is in it's infancy. I can only see it getting to be wor$e
> > than the current web spam. Love how spammers get you to pay for it now.
> > >(

Maybe its time for a 'caller pays' regulation.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
My inner child can beat up your inner child.
-- Alex Greenbank

Jackzwick wrote:
> In article <12hqc611ogjrt9c@corp.supernews.com>, "Joe" <abc@xyz.org>
> wrote:
>
>> So, how the hell do the spammers get the numbers?
>>
>> Joe
>>
>
> Two main ways.
>
> 1. Buying them from whoever will sell it to them.
>
> 2. By just sequentially sending to a known block of Cingular users.
>

True, despite current regulations that are supposed to be paid attention
to - including Cingular. Then again, why wouldn't Cingular? Answer:
they have a financial stake to let it continue. If that isn't bad
enough, when you get one of these, ring up a CSR and ask them to tell
you what the message source is? Answer: They know (it's in their
logs), but they won't tell you - they have a financial stake to let it
continue.


--
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'

>Maybe its time for a 'caller pays' regulation.

HEY, there's an idea. make whomever SENDS the shit
have to PAY for it 1st..then try to charge the masses.

Carriers get their $, they don't care, but the
3rd party spammer HAS TO PAY 1ST..then earn his silver.

The carrier now is the collection leg breaker for the
spammers, U no pay/bitch, we slow yer machine right down.

ALL this text msg/ringtone charges, pay per stroke crap
brain washed into 2day's kids will be carried into their
middle age(s). Jr. can't read the bill, with his thumbs..



JJTj

Finally, it is all resolved. I called Cingular and told them I wanted
cancel my service if they did not take the message charge out. The lady
took the charge out and thank me for being their customer.

So next time, be brave.


oh..the hard 1's first... wrote:
> >Maybe its time for a 'caller pays' regulation.
>
> HEY, there's an idea. make whomever SENDS the shit
> have to PAY for it 1st..then try to charge the masses.
>
> Carriers get their $, they don't care, but the
> 3rd party spammer HAS TO PAY 1ST..then earn his silver.
>
> The carrier now is the collection leg breaker for the
> spammers, U no pay/bitch, we slow yer machine right down.
>
> ALL this text msg/ringtone charges, pay per stroke crap
> brain washed into 2day's kids will be carried into their
> middle age(s). Jr. can't read the bill, with his thumbs..
>
>
>
> JJTj

"marka2k" <marka_2k@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:0ZSdnZWGltiADYTYnZ2dnUVZ_tKdnZ2d@giganews.com ...
> But what if it is not a one time mistake and this continues?
>
> Just food for thought.

On my cellular PDA, I receive fax notices or the fax via browser. I think
the last regulation against spam by fax said they must stop upon
notification or be fined.

I sometimes receive voice messages all in Spanish with caller ID showing.I
had a friend actually drive to their office in Florida to see who the
company was. It's a telemarketing group.

Based on the VoIP-fax link, I've considered filing a complaint for federal
violation of 'voice/text fax' violations.

Thurman, wrote the following at or about 10/6/2006 10:48 AM:
> "marka2k" <marka_2k@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:0ZSdnZWGltiADYTYnZ2dnUVZ_tKdnZ2d@giganews.com ...
>> But what if it is not a one time mistake and this continues?
>>
>> Just food for thought.
>
> On my cellular PDA, I receive fax notices or the fax via browser. I think
> the last regulation against spam by fax said they must stop upon
> notification or be fined.

With regard to the SPAM faxes, the federal law was quite simple:

NO faxes were allowed WITHOUT the express permission of the recipient
UNLESS there was a prior business relationship between the sender and
recipient. The relationship COULD NOT be established by sending an
unsolicited fax.

Of course, that has not stopped them


> I sometimes receive voice messages all in Spanish with caller ID showing.I
> had a friend actually drive to their office in Florida to see who the
> company was. It's a telemarketing group.
>
> Based on the VoIP-fax link, I've considered filing a complaint for federal
> violation of 'voice/text fax' violations.

I'm struggling to recall the title of the federal law but one of the
neat things about it is that it provides for you to bring the civil
action yourself in state court in the appropriate court division,
oftentimes in small claims court.

Civil Penalty is something like $500 per violation, minimum and that
money is awarded to you. Collecting is another matter but...

I'm monitoring a case in our local court here in NW Illinois. Guy was
getting faxes from some company (luckily or unluckily) one with deep
pockets. He was asking for a ton of money and they are fighting it out
in court. Costing him next to nothing as his daughter happens to be his
attorney. The company, however, is paying through the nose to defend it
and, if they lose, there is no doubt that he will collect a nice chunk
of change.

Pick your battle wisely. Best to sue somebody you can see, i.e.
somebody in your own state as it simplifies (but doesn't guarantee)
collection of the judgment you might obtain.

Unquestionably Confused wrote:
> I'm monitoring a case in our local court here in NW Illinois. Guy was
> getting faxes from some company (luckily or unluckily) one with deep
> pockets. He was asking for a ton of money and they are fighting it out
> in court. Costing him next to nothing as his daughter happens to be his
> attorney. The company, however, is paying through the nose to defend it
> and, if they lose, there is no doubt that he will collect a nice chunk
> of change.

Please keep us updated on that one!

BTW, I wouldn't exactly call your location "NW Illinois". Maybe NW of
Berwyn.

--
More abuse of eminent domain!
http://www.villagelandgrab.com/

clifto, wrote the following at or about 10/8/2006 5:43 PM:
> Unquestionably Confused wrote:
>> I'm monitoring a case in our local court here in NW Illinois. Guy was
>> getting faxes from some company (luckily or unluckily) one with deep
>> pockets. He was asking for a ton of money and they are fighting it out
>> in court. Costing him next to nothing as his daughter happens to be his
>> attorney. The company, however, is paying through the nose to defend it
>> and, if they lose, there is no doubt that he will collect a nice chunk
>> of change.
>
> Please keep us updated on that one!
>
> BTW, I wouldn't exactly call your location "NW Illinois". Maybe NW of
> Berwyn.

Doh! You ever have one of those days? Should have been NW Suburban
area of Chicago<g>