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Cell Phone Hidden Fees
Discussion of Complaints
- Overview. I had been a Cingular Wireless customer for several years and the experience of getting tagged for higher than expected roaming or text messaging fees prompted me to move to T-Mobile prepaid with my next phone. If you are a light cell phone user, I highly recommend the T-Mobile prepaid package. I paid $100 upfront which ensures unused minutes carry over for an entire year. The major problem with cell phone hidden fees is the carrier gets you locked into a long-term contract with a large early termination fee (usually over $100). Thus, one has a hard time ending the damage after the hidden fees are discovered.
Checking around the internet, here are some of the common complaints of hidden fees by cell phone customers:
- Text messaging. "[I]f you decide not to get a text messaging package, no matter what the carrier, you will still be charged 10 cents for each text message. That includes messages sent and received -- even if you choose not to read the messages sent to you. This is particularly bad for T-Mobile customers. T-Mobile frequently sends 'company alert' text messages to all its customers. And unlike most other services, T-Mobile will refuse to cancel text messaging on your account." Story. "The whole situation with text messaging is bullshit, plain and simple. They're increasing the rates from something that is way overpriced to begin with. Cingular sells phone Internet usage for 1 cent a kilobyte. But they charge 10 times more (wait now 15 times more) to send (or receive) a tiny piece of data that is probably less than half a kilobyte." Link.
- Cingular Upgrade Fee. "[A]nother group of angry Cingular customers are former AT&T Wireless customers who did switch to Cingular's GSM service following the merger--and found that they not only had to buy a new phone, but had to pay an $18 transfer fee that Cingular charged them simply for switching to Cingular's GSM network. Those customers also had to pay $18 for the SIM chip that contains the phone number and other user information that is required by GSM handsets." Story 1 and Story 2.
- Plan ends with no notice from carrier. "I had a contract with ATT wireless for a year, $49.99/mo, including 2000 free night/wkend minutes One day they sent a bill for $746.52 (!) saying that the contract had expired a month ago, and all calls were billed at 60 c/min afterward. They have not notified me in advance that they were going to do that." Alina of Secaucus NJ.
- Replacement phones. "When you buy a phone with a contract, you nearly always get a huge discount because you're signing up for the service. $150 phones are free. $200 are $50. The BlackBerry Pearl, for example, is $200 with the contract--but if you replace it, the new one is $400, because you don't get a discount." Story (scroll down to #3 on the list). If you get a discounted phone with the signing of a long-term cell phone contract, it would be prudent to ask what the cost will be to replace the discounted phone should you damage or lose it prior to the expiration of the contract period.
Joseph Raymond Email
St. Louis, MO
User Comments
The below comments were authored by users of this web site who are responsible for its content. MedLawPlus.com, Inc. has not verified the accuracy of the comments - complaints appearing on this page. Click here to add your comment to this thread.
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From: Consumer Rights Acitivist
State: USA
Posted: 08/25/2007
Subject: Unauthorized Cell Phone Charges?
Comment: If you were charged on your cell phone bill for ringtones or other mobile content that you never authorized and/or you were sent unsolicited SMS text messages and you want to fight back against these companies, get in to ... Read More
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