- Report: #481112
Complaint Review: SMSVW - Wilimington Delaware
Reported By:
cmatarese -
cranston, Rhode Island, USA
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
SMSVW
1000 N West Street - Suite 1200 Wilimington, 19801 Delaware, United States of America
Phone:
800741-590
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Business Rating:
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SMSVW Misleading texts regarding service - I never agreed to pay $9.99/month to dial 1-800 numbers. cranston, Rhode Island
I received texts regarding info svc and being billed $9.99. I ignored them. I read one today and it stated that they were going to renew my service. I called, as I never agreed to any service in the first place. They insisted that I responded with a 'Y' in April 2009. I stated that I would never agree to pay $10.00/month for a service and not know what it was for, how I was billed, etc.
I requested to speak with a manager. The customer service billing dept could only contact a manager by text and informed me that they would return my call on a M-F, during business hours. I explained that this was unacceptable, as I could not possible stay by my phone and be available at an unknown time. I stated I would hold and wait for them to get a manager to pick up the line, if they could not transfer me.
I refused to hang up and insisted they get a manager on the phone - I would wait.
I called them on another line and went through the same process and refused to hang up and stated that I would wait, as I needed to work and needed to get resolution for this issue. I requested to know if they were a corporation or a private company. The employee had no idea what I was talking about. I asked for their address and wanted to know who headed their business - did they have a president? She stated that she did not have that information. I stated that I would need to contact the BBB and maybe the attorney general's office to see if they were legit. They eventually hung up on me when I wanted to continue waiting for a manager.
I called back and this time the customer service billing dept was able to provide me with a refund via mail (pending). Isn't that miraculous! While I appreciate the refund, how did I get locked into this in the first place and why is speaking to a manager so secret agent??? And how can a legit company not have a website/location for company information on management? this is totally inappropriate!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
ReactorCore
Victoria,British Columbia,
Canada
Want to know how you got "got"?
#2
Tue, August 18, 2009
You know those stupid ads they have on TV for these sorts of services? The ones that blow hype and sunshine up your butt about how you can get unlimited ringtones, wallpapers and text alerts? Usually put on in the later afternoon to catch the brainless eMpTV generation sheep?
Yeah, those ones.
Next time ignore the hype flashing across the screen about how cool and hip you'll be, just like the kiddies who are walking around irradiating their brains and growing healthy, bouncing, baby tumors on mommy and daddy's Platinum AmEx cards, gobbling up ungodly amounts of cell minutes with their phones duct taped to their ossified skulls and watch the bottom of the screen closely... Don't blink now....
See that "stuff"? That's called "fine print". It's your enemy and the merchant's best friend. You'll see that with these services, what it boils down to, is that if you accept any manner of commerce with the outfit in question, be it just wanting one ringtone or that really pretty wallpaper, you've entered into a contractual agreement with them to pay a monthly fee (usually around $9.95/mo.) for access to content that's deliverable to your mobile device.
If you answered in the positive to any unsolicited text to your cell phone (cell phone spam, yay!), you've likely just "subscribed" to such a service and will continue to rack up charges until such time as you text "STOP" to the originating number.
For most of us, such a service is nothing more than a serious pain in our collective recta mucosa, for others, not so much, since usually getting a single rigtone or wallpaper can cost about $2 a pop from our cell service providers alone, and some people change such features more often than an Alzheimer patient has their Depends changed, so it actually makes better financial sense. However....
Bottom line of it, is that if you made any "Y" reply to a text from whom you didn't recognize the number, or you decided to just "try out a ringtone" that you couldn't resist, etc., even if you thought it was a one time thing, you've automatically signed into the service for the monthly fee as advertised in that fine print. They don't even need your bank info, they just charge directly to your cell company who then passes the charge on to you.
Plus, as far as your cell provider is concerned, the transaction and any mishaps, shenanigans or slap fights that arise out of the mess are a problem between you and that content provider. I can guarantee you that your provider wants absolutely nothing to do with the fiasco.
Isn't the technological age a wonderful thing?
Those idiotic ads on TV are flashy and distracting for a reason.
