Ringtone Ripoffs: Who Profits?
From WCBS-TV New York, April 13, 2006 by Kirstin Cole
Ringtones Often a Quick Way to Dial Up Trouble
Careful You Don't Get Lured Into Automatic service
(CBS)NEW YORK Downloading ringtones is a $2 billion business in the U.S., but consumer advocates are now saying when you sign on for some services, you may be dialing up more than you bargained for. It could cost you without you even realizing it.
With all the options out there nowadays, jazzing up a cell phone is easy. An online ad recently caught Alan Coughlin's eye.
"It told me to enter my phone number, and I'd receive a free ringtone. I did so, and my phone rang a minute later with the new ringtone on it," Coughlin said.
The new tune was music to Coughlin's ears until a mysterious fee appeared on his mobile bill.
"I never purchased anything in my mind," Coughlin said.
Alan unknowingly signed up for a ringtone service. Consumer advocate MichaelShames said new online ads, e-mails, and cell phone text messages areluring people in.
But once you accept that freebie ... "You're automatically charged and signed up for a subscripted service," Shames said.
Shames also said the information is all in the fine print.
For Coughlin, it was a double whammy. He's also angry the charge showed up on his cell bill, but that's a common industry practice. Content providers and carriers often partner, giving customers more options for downloads, and the cell company does the billing, Shames said.
"The phone company will then give a portion of that charge to that third party company and will keep a portion," he said.
Providers claim it's a matter of convenience, but advocates like Shames said it's ringing up headaches for consumers.
"We've seen a rather dramatic rise in the number of complaints about customers being unable to get these ringtone charges off their bills, " he said.
Domingo Garcia said he got the run around from his cell company when trying to get charges from a content provider removed.
"They said it was between us and a third party. So we wanted to know who's this third party that's charging us, and they couldn't tell us," Garcia said.
Shames said even if they do give you the company's name that may not be enough.
"You can't get through to the third party company, or you'll get through to them and say, 'stop this and take the charge off, reverse the charge',and they don't," Shames said.
But the Mobile Marketing Association's Laura Marriott said consumers are given clear subscription details at sign up in the site's "terms and conditions."
Or, if ordering by cell phone ... "they are sent the information in that text message about how to opt out, how much they're being charged, how to request help," she said.
Marriott said consumers can usually just text "stop," "cancel," "unsubscribe," or "quit" to the content provider.
Shames, though, said it might not be that easy. So to prevent costly surprises, ask your carrier to block third party charges.
"You have to authorize them in advance in order to have these things charged to your bill," he said.
That's just what Garcia did after Shames' organization helped him get the charges reversed. As for Coughlin, his fee was removed, but only after he filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
CBS 2 contacted leading cell phone companies. When it comes to the third party charges and customer complaints:
T-Mobile said, "customer care has also been instructed to refund unwanted service charges immediately in event of customer dissatisfaction."
Sprint said it offers a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee regarding any premium content.
Cingular said it makes sure third party providers receive two positive responses from a customer before selling any ringtone or service. The company said its goal is "no surprises."
Like what you see? Go ahead and show your support! UCAN is a truly independent non-profit watchdog organization, dependent on grassroots donations like yours!
Utility Consumers' Action Network
(619) 696-6966 or file a complaint about a company online.
Terms & Conditions
UCAN.org is made available by the Utility Consumers' Action Network to assist you in becoming what you always knew you could be, a consumer ROCK STAR! We take no corporate money, and are beholden only to you, the consumer. As such, the site is here for educational, advocacy, and empowerment purposes, as well to to give you general information and a general understanding of the law. Just remember this site is NOT here to provide specific legal advice. By using this web site you of course understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Web Site publisher, UCAN. The Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.
That said, get to digging on the site, inform yourself, speak your mind, and earn Watchdog Bones! This is YOUR site, and we mean it. So comment on any of the content, discuss the latest issues in the forums, file a complaint on a company with the fraud squad, and generally cut loose.
See our Privacy Policy and Copyright Policy, Some Rights Reserved
- Remember, if you have any questions about copyright law or need legal information regarding intellectual property, the internet, or new technologies, visit our affiliate New Media Rights at www.newmediarights.org. If you are in the San Diego region, you can also can apply to use our multimedia studio and equipment for free.
Ringtones
Why are people so quick to grab at anything with the word " FREE " attached to the advertizment...??
Why do people continue to willingly offer their personal phone number to websites that are being hosted by who knows and from no idea where??
This carelessness is seen everywhere the word "FREE" is advertized in someway or another..
Free ringtune download.. enter your cell # here... 555-555-5555...
click here to download..
your download begins......
Little do people know.. where did my cell number go??? how many million cell phone numbers did that site obtain??
People need to wake up!
Photobucket Signup Scam, Deceptive Form Brings $9.99 Spam
I recently opened a Photobucket account. I had no idea that I had to watch my back so carefully with Photobucket, because they have always seemed to be a reputable, aboveboard company. I was wrong, and I now consider them criminally deceptive.
In a yellow box, implying that it was REQUIRED information, Photobucket asked for my cell phone number. I'm ill and on medication, and I was not thinking clearly enough to differentiate between PHONE number and CELL phone number, or question a yellow box on a form. I gave Photobucket my number, assured by their deceptive "we won't call you!"
Immediately I got a spam text message from RingAZA, informing me that I was subscribed to get ringtones for $9.99. I closed my phone, but the message remained until I replied STOP.
I then got a message saying I was "unsub" from RingAZA.
I don't believe it. I believe I will be fighting a FRAUDULENT charge on my phone bill, courtesy of Photobucket's criminal scam partners, Ringtone Channel, or whoever they are. I blame this on Photobucket.
It has been extremely difficult to track down anyone at Photobucket who's willing to say anything. I went to their help forums and got a lot of doubletalk from low-level troubleshooters who simply gave me useless 800 numbers for the scamming company, where I spoke to a rude, ditzy phone worker who informed me "WE DON'T HAVE TO HELP YOU." I filed complaints online, and got form letters saying "We are sorry you do not like our associates' offers" and giving me the same useless 800 numbers from the scam companies. Photobucket's first tier offers nothing but resistance and false "help."
got their Palo Alto exec Kathryn Silverton's number from Directory Assistance, and she has assured me that a higher-up will call me tomorrow. She expressed total shock that this is going on, but you know... THIS IS NOT HAPPENING BY ITSELF.
Photobucket, at some high level, decided to partner with these scammers who attach fraudulent charges to users' phone bills simply for being stupid enough to enter a number in the yellow form box. The form is one of the most deceptive things I have ever seen on the Internet, and it is absolutely disgusting that it's being used by a "reputable" company.
I'm sick (stage IV cancer) but I'm VERY angry, and I am strong and resourceful enough to fight this. $9.99 is merely an annoyance to me, but I worry about nicer people, the elderly, for example, many of whom may be on very limited budgets. I worry about people who don't know how to pursue such things. Students, housewives, people whose first language is not English. Photobucket and its criminal partners must be making a killing by stealing from such people, who never intend to pay $9.99 for a ringtone, but may not have the ability to fight it when it appears on their phone bill.
Every time I think about this, I get angrier. I want Photobucket to PAY. I want to see this practice completely exposed.
I want every person who works at Photobucket to THINK about how these fraudulent $9.99 phone bill charges may hurt some little old lady who needs that money for food or medicine, and who can't begin to fight these creeps. They make it extremely difficult to track down anyone who knows anything about this, and the low-level techs I reached on the forums were obviously under orders to keep a lid on customer outrage.
Photobucket must be stopped. At this point, I want to see them fined heavily and publicly exposed for this practice.
I have time and energy and determination to expose and FIGHT Photobucket's signup scam. Now how do I form an army?
Post new comment