DADAmobile ripoff fraudulent billing Nationwide
Beware of phantom cellphone charges and DADAmobile!!
Last month I noticed some suspicious charges on my cellular phone bill and called my provider (Cingular wireless) to find out what they were all about. They weren't much, maybe totalling $5 or $10, but I didn't know what they were for since I don't subscribe to a lot of extras on my cellphone.
I was told these "Premium Text Messages" were things like horoscopes, enhanced text news reports or special ringtones. I have never subscribed to any such thing, I repeat I never, EVER, EVER subscribed to anything like this nor do I have any intentions of doing so. The Cingular representative took off the charges and offered to "block" my phone number from this happening in the future, which I agreed to.
Surprise, surprise... this month more "Premium Text" charges, this time totalling nearly $50. I called Cingular again and had to argue a bit but finally got the representative to credit me the charges I never incurred. I also got him to tell me the name and phone number of the company that was trying to bill me. He told me it was something like "M-blocks," and when I called the number he'd given me for that company they referred me to DADAmobile.
Guess what? You can't possibly get a live person when you call DADAmobile, so I had no way of asking how they got my number and what they were charging me for. There was, however, an automated option to "unsubscribe" my mobile number, which I did.I went online and sent email to DADAmobile (still hoping to find out how and why they were billing my cellphone for services I've never requested nor received) and guess what? In response to every email sent, I received a standard form reply, which follows. At least my cellphone provider was willing to reverse the charges when I argued, because who knows what this is??
Hello, thankyou for your email.
If you were requesting clarification on a technical problem we will endeavour to investigate your request and reply as quickly as possible. If you have questions regarding the terms and conditions of the service
we will get back to you as soon as possible, however in the meantime you may be able to find the answer to your queries here ttp://us.dadamobile.com/inc/us/terms.html
Thankyou for your collaboration.
kind regards,
DADAmobile
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Sarah
Norwalk, Connecticut
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Sarah
Norwalk,Connecticut,
U.S.A.
DADAmobile questionable business practices
#3Author of original report
Tue, September 19, 2006
As anyone can see from reading not only mine but the other myriad complaints filed against DADAmobile, they have been acquiring people's cellphone numbers through deceptive internet ads. These ads would be online banners and such, promising free ringtone downloads or promising you can send free text messages. Once you enter your cellphone number, DADAmobile claims you have "subscribed" to their "service," although you will never have the opportunity to find out anything until you finally see the charges on your cell phone bill. You have to be vigilant about checking your cell phone bill each month!
Once you've caught the illegitimate charges, you CAN ask your cell phone provider to place a "block" on your line against future charges. This is the only defense I've seen so far that actually works.
Customer
New York,New York,
U.S.A.
DADAmobile answers
#3Consumer Suggestion
Tue, September 19, 2006
Dear Sarah,
We at DADAmobile understand how frustrating it can be when charges are billed or service appears to have been started for something you didn't request. First, you should know that we do use reasonable mechanisms to prevent that from happening. Second, you can help prevent that from happening and know how to deal with it, if and when it does. Please understand, DADAmobile benefits from satisfied customers, not blogs and websites that list customer complaints.
Consider this. To subscribe someone must enter your mobile number on our web page. We automatically respond by sending an SMS with a special code number to the mobile device matching the phone number entered. Someone has to have the number while connected to the Internet, must enter the number on our website and physically have the device with them to get the code. To begin a subscription, you MUST confirm you wanted to subscribe by using that phone to reply by sending us the special code you received or you have to go back to the website and enter the code there. If any step is not followed, no subscription, no billing it's that simple.
DADAmobile never charges anyone for simply inserting a number. Even if we use a marketing company or sales affiliate to promote our service, we ALWAYS send an SMS text message to your phone number with a code. You always have to authenticate receipt of the message and confirm you wish to subscribe by using that code. As a matter of fact, if that doesn't sound reasonable enough, even after you sign up, we send messages to remind you that you signed up and explaining how you can cancel. We can and do try to be sure its your phone, that you have it in your possession and that you really want to subscribe.
We understand there are scams out there that can use your number or even steal your device. So what can you do? Well, for starters, you control who gets your number and your phone. If you ever suspect someone else may be using your number or has your phone without permission, contact your carrier right away. If you let someone use your number or your phone or you don't read your messages carefully you may fall victim to some of these scams. Help us prevent these problems and notify your carrier immediately if you see a charge on your bill that you don't recognize but please don't' wrongfully blame us when we can and do take steps to be sure we only have satisfied customers. Thanks.
The Customer Service Team at DADAmobile