Major wireless carriers all slapped with text-messaging class-action lawsuit
By Nilay Patel 
posted May 20th 2008 8:02AM
posted May 20th 2008 8:02AM
posted May 20th 2008 8:02AM
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
"virtually every wireless carrier you can think of is basically cheating you by charging you for received texts and not allowing you to turn the service off"
When I worked at AT&T (about 1 year ago) I turned of the text messaging service all the time for the elderly (mainly because they got a free message from AT&T and thought the devil was in the phone) and for parents of teens (mainly because their kid was grounded from texting). I mean it wasn't as easy as clicking one button and poof its turned off, but it also wasn't a big secret either.
Usually we spent our time trying to convince them that they NEED text messaging, but it was usually falling on dead ears.
yea this suit makes no sense. even in canada i know u can turn off text messaging. so i dont get this lawsuit
Why wouldn't it make sense? I haven't heard of turning off sms, and carriers don't advertise or even have it written in the manuals. Pretty sure many people don't fiddle with their phones like child molesting priests, so excuse the rest of us phone illiterate suckers who don't know all the hidden menus and settings.
Its not built into the phone. (well it might be, but thats not the point) the service can be removed from the carrier end. for example sms for AT&T is an included feature, but by going into the basic features, one can exclude the included features. All that it takes is a call to customer care.
So every time you can't figure something out you look to the court system to resolve your problems. How about try asking you carrier a question rather than wasting the time of the courts and making attorneys rich?
It can be blocked. I work with AT&T and we block text often. Why don't carriers advertise it? Because it makes them money. Same reason they will mention Media/Data or other Add-Ons as if they are just part of the package. "You will have 450 minutes, unlimited internet, unlimited Messaging - all for just $75!" instead of "You'll have 450 minutes for $40. Now, I can add unlimited media for $15, and if you want - unlimited messaging for $20!"
this is insane. us cellular doesnt not charge you for incoming, texts, pics, and on single line plans yu get free incoming calls.
Sprint is/was like that too. but you paid more for less minutes than you did with any other carrier. which is why my friend used to call me and tell me to call him back- he only had like 300 minutes for around $50/mo, but had free incoming calls.
us cellular can do something like that because, in the grand wireless scheme of things, they don't really have sway. are they an option? yes. but then so is MetroPCS. and I'm sure we all know, or have heard, about their service- good pricing for the included features. if you don't mind not being able to take a step to your left for fear of losing signal, that is...
why would carriers advertise the ability? I mean they are in the market to make money. But I currently work for one of the meantioned carriers and it is as easy as asking "can I have sms turned off" and poof! it's turned off... this suit will go nowhere!
ironically, T-Mobile, the carrier NOT included in the suit, won't let you turn off text messaging. ever.
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/05/15/t-mobile-working-on-text-blocking-capability-maybe-more/
'ever' ends this summer.
thanks for everyone replying to that dude. when something doesnt work on ur phone or u cant do something u want isnt it logical to call your carrier and ask? now i think at telus in canada we can do it from out accnts website where u can manage ur own personal accnt, at mytelusmobility.com. but if not i know u can call in and they can turn it off. i know customers can turn of picture messaging themselves.
so no this lawsuit doesnt make sense its just another stupid cash grab unlesssssss like someone else mentioned tmobile doesnt let u do it all.
It's not about being able to turn off SMS. It's about the fact that you can't choose not to receive unsolicited messages without automatically being charged for them. It shouldn't be an all-or-nothing deal. Maybe you want to use SMS, but you don't want to receive 50 joke of the day forwards from random people who just happen to have your cell phone number. If someone calls you, you can choose not to answer and avoid being charged for the call. You don't have to turn off your phone service to avoid this. You shouldn't have to turn off SMS, either. Since the carriers charge for incoming messages, you should be able to choose not to receive messages that you don't want, without having to turn off the entire service.
But you CAN block incoming as well. When you turn it off - you turn it off. Period.
I agree - you should be able to choose. That is why often when I work with my customers - I will not "bundle" things together. I also ask if they want a text plan. I will point out that texts are per charge otherwise.
@Jeff
You missed his point. If I want to ignore a call from 1-800-TELEMRKT then I just don't answer and my minutes don't get used. If my mom calls, I can choose to answer (or not). The same can not be said about text messages. If I get a text message from 1-800-TELEMRKT, it charges me for that message even if I don't read it. Sure, I could turn it off, but what if I really do want to receive text messages from my mom?
This "you can turn it off, just call and poof" argument is ignore the fact that some of us want to use text messaging with people we know while avoiding getting hit with text messages from spammers. Wireless carriers should either not charge us for messages if we do not read the actual body of the message, or make all incoming text messages free like in Europe and just charge us for outgoing text messages.
I have T-Mobile and a Windows Mobile device and i can go right into the settings and switch the routing number for which the sms's send/receive and bam, no text messages.
This isnt a huge secret, but when I want something from a company that i pay $100.00 + tax a month, I call and ask, and when they say no, I call back, until I get a customer service rep that is willing to do what I ask (and its usually not an outrageous demand). Works everytime.
I'm sure nobody cares, but as of right now, just to experiment, I'm going to call T-Mobile and ask to turn of sms. And keep calling and complaining until they do. I'll post again with the result...
This lawsuit is ridiculous. America is sue-happy, and it's disgusting. Just as was said - if you can't figure it out, sue someone. bleh!
I've heard of a great idea that I'm surprised nobody mentioned here-- just charge for SENT msgs. You can't stop someone from messaging you, but you have control over what you send. While I know it's not exactly feasible, it's a great idea nonetheless. That way, random incoming messages aren't charged to unsuspecting folks. However, everybody knows that people will find ways to message like madness and get around the charges even for sent messages.
Or, here's a better idea... when someone would send me a message (before I added texting to my plan and was getting charged), I simply replied or called them and told them to stop because I didn't want to get charged. Most people, believe it or not, are understanding and compliant.
I understand that we're basically in a recession - where the dollar has little value but prices keep rising - and every little bit counts, but I find it hard to believe that a few cents in text messages is THAT much of a problem. And if it is, I know that Verizon DOES allow to block all text and pictures-- it's just a phone call away. Hell, they can even block those premium sms services (like ringtone subscriptions).
Advertised or not, take responsibility for your money and ask!
@mb
I see your point. but look at it like this... a random person calls you, you ignore it (woot, no wasted minutes) but they leave a voicemail. You get curious and check that message, but little do you know, you just lost you minutes checking your voicemail (most carriers do not consider your vm a m2m call, and if you try to call from a land line, as soon as you enter your PIN you are being charged minutes.)
If you are receive junk messages, you can usually reply with the word 'STOP' to stop receiving messages from a service. If its not a service, call them, tell them you dont want to them cause you are getting charged.
@tra la la
Amen, the suit was probably started by some lawyer that sent a txt to some number so he could get some nude pics on his phone, then got tired of getting one everyday, and didnt know he signed up for something on a monthly/daily basis
@Mike Fletcher
Two things:
1) It's actually NOT common practice for carriers to charge for calls to your VM. I was with T-Mobile for 2 years and calls to VM were ALWAYS free. I've recently switched to Sprint for the SERO plan, and I'm pretty sure (though I admit, I'm not certain--I'm checking my account later) that I'm not charged to check VM here, either.
2) Even if we concede that checking VM might cost you minutes, you still get to CHOOSE whether you are going to check that message or not. You get to make the decision to incur those charges. Hey, you could wait until after 9pm (or earlier depending) when your minutes are free, and then check the message. The point is, you have a choice as to whether you are going to use those minutes; it is in your control. If someone sends you a text message, you are charged for it. Period. You get no choice in the matter. Sure, you could ask people to stop sending them and opt out of messaging services and what have you, but you still had to pay for unwanted messages in the first place. Sure, we probably aren't talking about a whole lot of money here, but we are already nickel and dimed to death at every corner. On principal, this is scummy practice.
with VZW, you're only charged airtime when you call voicemail from the cell phone. that's because it's a call to a landline server that stores the voicemail. as a customer, I've sent feedback saying that it's kind crappy.
also, if you call from a different phone to access your voicemail, you're not charged minutes since you didn't actually answer the phone. it's a nice workaround.
odd, u.s. cellular doesn't charge you for incoming, doesn't have service in MS, and lets you shut off texting....
and where does us cellular rank in things? honestly, I'm sure most people couldn't even tell you their coverage area...
Just received notice from Bell Mobility that they are starting this practice on August 8, 2008.
I am not a big user of text message, sent 7 last month, but I have friends who like to send messages from their crackberries.
Needless to say I am not happy, it is like being charged for junk mail.
Thanks to the comments above, I was able to ask the proper question and get confirmation that I could in fact have text messaging blocked, in & out, not one or the other.
So thank you for the tips.
What foolishness. Why should I get charged for receiving text messages at all. These are charges that the phone companies make at both ends, and they are not cheap! 20 cents per message on verizon. So they charge you to send text and to receive text. If that isn't ripping people off. I don't know what is. First, they hound you into a one or two year contract, then they change the terms of the contract at each opportunity when they can increase profits to obscene levels. This is why corporate CEOs make millions and millions and let a few thousand trickle down to the people who do the work. But then again, since when are consumers smart enough to stand up for their own rights instead of corporate rights in the United States...a sucker born every minute. I hope this lawsuit eliminates incoming message charges...period.
is this lawsuit for real? Like someone already stated, the one wireless company excluded from it, T-Mobile, is the only one that WILL NOT let your turn off the text messaging feature. I used to be on Cingular (now AT&T), and they let me turn off the feature without anny hassle. Why are they being sued for this? and Verizon, too? I've complained to T-Mobile about this (not with them anymore), and they've usually said "too bad, why don'tcha buy a messaging plan?", and twice comped me 10-20 msgs. Then I filed a complaint with the FCC and the CPUC. All of the sudden, T-Mo is calling me wanting to work something out, but still will not shut off the (dis-)service.