Help and Understanding from Cingular Customer Service
I am a customer service agent for Cingular wireless and I have worked in my position for almost 2 years. This is by no means an official Cingular response and I am posting completely anonymously. I understand everyone's complaints and frustration here. I typically deal with, on an average day, 4-5 calls per day with upset customers who have what we call "Direct Bill" charges. That is to say charges from companies like Jamster and mQube (That is roughly 10% of the calls I take in a day).
Everyone is the same: they have these charges on their bill, they never signed up for any service from them, yet they get charged. I know that some customers may have unknowingly signed up for subscription services. But I believe that alot of the 3rd party providers are putting the charges on people's bills without even and kind of request from the customer. I know alot of people may not even realize they are being charged and just pay the bills. I believe these companies are the bandits of the future, as they steal money from these customers.
While Cingular does allow the charges to be put on your bill, it is with the belief that these companies have received genuine requests for service and so we do so in good faith and charge you for the service and pay the 3rd party for it. I agree that Cingular is allowing these companies to charge their customers way too easily. Charges can be put on accounts with no possible way of actually using those services, where all text and data and been blocked on the accounts. Even on accounts which have at one point had a subscription service and the customer has specifically requested with Cingular and with the 3rd party provider to have these services stopped, they still can get charged!
The most serious case I have encountered was with an account who had several lines of service, all data and text messaging capabilities were blocked—2 of the lines were each receiving $0.50 text message chat requests 3 times per DAY! This poor lady had been receiving these charges for over 4 months! It amounted to OVER $300.00 in charges. She had been trying very unsuccessfully and had made many attempts to have charges stopped. Eventually she got to me and I was able to get all the charges refunded. We do have VERY clear policy regarding these kind of charges and what we can do to help. If a customer service agent is not doing what I have outline below then they are not following our policy and you should ask for a manager or call back and get a different rep.
Customers are able to dispute charges on their own at "www.Cingular.com/db" no more than 2 charges per month, no more than $10, and no older then 60 days. For mQube subscriptions you may use this web site to cancel "http://www.m-qube.com/css_Cingular.html." If you call to customer service we are able to refund ALL disputed Direct Bill charges that have occurred within 75 days. (note the credit is not immediate, but will show up on your next bill). If your account shows sign of abuse of the refund policy, your refund may be denied. It is customer service, NOT YOU, who is required to assume the responsibility of handling all subscription cancellations.
All providers who charge through Cingular MUST, according to the agreement with Cingular, cease all subscriptions upon the receipt of a text message with the words STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE or QUIT. If you are getting unwanted text messages you may be getting charged for them REPLY immediately with STOP. NOTE: Removing Text Messaging and/or Media Net (GPRS) services does NOT prevent a user from being billed for 3rd party subscriptions. I have sent many complaints internally request more stringent requirements on 3rd party providers to be able to charge our customer accounts, it's a slow process but hopefully we can get the process changed so that less people are getting robbed.
Anonymous
[ February 12, 2006 ]
Project Zola
I received my T-Mobile bill and was surprised to see a charge of $9.99 for "Project Zola", which I never authorized and had no idea what is was for. I called up T-Mobile and get the normal run around..."It was for a charge which you initiated", "The charge is a valid charge", "You must call up the 3rd party and deal with them directly"....blah, blah, blah. I was on the phone for about 15 minutes with a "supervisor" named Pierre (operator ID #0458754). This guy is no help but finally I find out the name of the Company that initiated the charge "M-Qube", and after I hang up with him, do some research on the internet and come across this site. Armed with what I now know about "cramming" I call back and speak to another representative and when I mention all the information I learned from this site, they do a 180 degree turn-around and magically they are now able to give me my credit. Hope this helps. Somebody really needs to teach these guys a lesson, hopefully in their pockets, where it hurts.
George
[ February 4, 2006 ]
Another Scammed Customer
I bought 2 cell phones last January. They do not have internet access which includes text messaging. I have been billed since March for Jamster and now M-Qube is charging me for ring tones. I am going to call the FCC to find out how Cingular can allow a charge to a phone which has no internet access. If M-Qube is billing for 200 companies then it must be a scam just changing its name every few months.
Barbara
[ February 4, 2006 ]
I Want
I really want to cancel Jamster really bad.
Rozlynn
[ January 31, 2006 ]
We Are All In The Same Boat
I had noticed charges amounting over $40.00 dollars in my daughter's account when I contacted Cingular. I was given the name for M-Qube and M-Blox and was told by M-blox they had no record of my "membership" and was referred by recording from M-Qube to a email address where I could cancel charges, which I did and decided to explore a little further and came across this site and read all the stories about this scam. I think Cingular is as much to blame. I would like to find out how to join other consumers in the class action suit if in fact there is one going on.
Marcia
[ January 31, 2006 ]
Ringtone From MQube Dirtyhippo
I was receiving ringtones that I dint ask. I would cancel them. I was getting charged monthly $10.00. I call the first time I was billed they said they will e-mail me never was e-mail second month came I was billed again after I was told from Cingular I shouldn't get charged because something to do with ewallets. So I try to get of hold of DirtyHippo hippo and I still don't get a respond back the Phone # that Cingular gave me doesn't work. It seems I just get the run around.
Veronica
[ January 28, 2006 ]
Very Disappointed
just recently I bought 2 ringtones off of Jamster. It never said that I was to join a club. I bought the ringtones indevidully. The next week, I checked my credit (because I am on a pre-payed account) and it went from $29.00 to $24.00. So I became very suspicious because I had not rang or text anyone. So for another week or so I didnt ring, text any one or use my fone/credit. as that week had past I rang up to to check my balance. Suprisingly my credit had reached $18.00!!! Ever since then I havnt't used my credit at all now I have no credit what so ever! today I went on the Jamster website and looked for a way to stop this money eating machine to stop. it said I have 2 send the word "stop" to 194000. I tried this but guess what?...I couldn't send this because I had no credit the money eating machine had already gotten to it!!! So as a result. to cancel this 'Jamster club' I would have 2 buy more credit!!! very disappointing news. And for a 12 year old girl, I am now put off buying ringtones for the rest of my life.
Bella
[ January 28, 2006 ]
The Truth About These Scams
Look! This is the truth:
- Names like katazo.com, ringaza.com, Jamster.com, are just "brand" names not real company names, the real company of Katazo.com is Opera Telecom USA based in Herndon, VA.
- They are fully aware of there marketing ploys to ensnare minors. They spam this site to emails www.katazo.com/combo, but there customer service department are trained to reference the site www.katazo.com, which convientley looks and conveys that this is a subscription and clearly posts it. This is not an accident, they do this so that when parents call in irate that the csr's are defending katazo.com because they are describing www.katazo.com not www.katazo.com/combo (which is much less obvious that you are signing up especially to minors)
- Next they say stop will stop the subscription. This is not true, over the past year they have done things in the programing intentionally , like not accepting Stop opposed to STOP yes seriously if all letters were not capatalized then it would not work. they have done multiple verisions of this.
- Further, the subscription is set up so that as soon as the pin number is entered, there is absolutely no chance that you can unsubscribe after getting the "free" tone, before being charged. They send the 1st charged ringtone sometimes before the free one has even arrived, and in any case you will be charged the entire month even if you do manage to stop the service,
- The good one though is the following. They target minors and they depend on parents not caring about "oh just one charge" as long as it is cancelled. It is this complaceny which makes them money. For example 10000 people signed up in a single day, if just ten percent call in and demand a refund they have still made retarded money. now the other 8k people don't have a clue until it's been several months and they have continuously been charged. so what is a parent to do? call customer service of course, however they specifically tell the poor souls that answer the phones to lie, distract, lecture, turn the blame around the parent, anything at all to prevent a refund, then only then after exhausting all possible arguements and the parent, offer a partial refund they'll start with a month then work there way up until you accept. now the whole catch is if you accept a "settlement" you can't sue!
They specifically tell the reps that a full refund is NOT ALLOWED. However they also tell the reps that if it ever went to court they would have to refund all the money for obvious reasons. People have got full refunds for the simple reason that refused to take no for an answer or 10% back as a acceptable solution.
This can be proven very easily get a few "test" phones ones that you can use to sign up at katazo.com and katazo.com/combo, use different numbers and call their customer support 1.866.616.7067, first tell them that you are a just a "kid" and don't know anything about this, and "beg" for a refund or your mom will "kill" you, see how easily a refund does not come even though you clearly stated you are a minor and you did not ask parents permission. Then call back with another signed up number but this time play as the parent let the phone stay signed up for a good month or two for ALL SERVICES INCLUDING HOROSCOPE CAUTION THIS WILL COST MONEY BUT I PROMISE YOU WILL RECIEVE A REFUND. Call in as the parent and tell them what there doing is illegal and they know it and you know it, specifically state "a minor can not enter a contract" they'll say something like "well you gave them a phone to use, your responsible for there actions with that phone" this is how they try to distract you because "A MINOR CAN NOT ENTER A CONTRACT PERIOD!" they'll then say "we try our best to prevent this" and reference www.katazo.com not www.katazo.com/combo where you'll sign up. they'll place blame on you, and resolve themselves of any responsibilty persist and demand to speak to a manager, as the first person is only there to wear you down. The manager will give you a refund a full refund just berate him with how illegal this is and "AMINOR CAN NOT ENTER INTO A OCNTRACT"
They will give you a refund matter of fact a full one by check and send it in the mail. This is real.
Now my point, if only 10% of say 10k signing up in one day, get a partial refund BELIEVE ME THAT MAY BE MAY BE 1% OF THAT 10% GET A FULL REFUND, BECAUSE THEY DEPEND ON PEOPLE TO BE WEAK AND GIVE IN. THIS IS HOW THESE LEACHES MAKE THEIR MONEY.
imagine the thousands upon thousands of parents that don't say anytning and just cancel the contract. believe me there are thousands if not millions. these people must be stopped.
Previous employee Anonymous
[ January 27, 2006 ]
eWallet Scam AT&T /Cingular
Same story... Cingular phone bill in December—showing a $4.54 mystery ewallet charge by AT&T. I called for a credit—told I had downloaded a ring tone. I don't even know how to download a ring tone. They offered a credit. Told them to stop the service—since it was from AT&T. Next bill, it shows up again—I call for a credit & to request it be cancelled. Cingular rep was argumentative & not cooperative. I call the number next to the eWallet charge showing AT T Wireless—1-800-7600 & get the SAME frapping help line I'm already talking to. They know nothing about it. She then tells me to text "STOP" to the number showing under the description... 000236. Who knows if this will actually stop it. My phone is under a large employer plan—I have a hunch they are milking my employer for thousands every month. I am reporting it for follow up.
Frustrated in San Jose
[ January 26, 2006 ]
M-Qube Once Again
I get hit with a direct bill charge to my Cingular Wireless phone every month of 21.82 or 10.99. For some game called Blinko and text msgs from Billboard Music. So far Cingular has credited all the charges. It was a huge process to get them to do that but they have. I had any direct bill taken off my account and I have stopped all downloads on my phone but I still get the charge every month. For those of you who are not getting the credit from Cingular, call them every day if you can and dispute this. If you did not sign up for it then Cingular should be able to stop you from being charged for it.
Janet Morgan
[ January 14, 2006 ]
Rooked
The blinko.com has charged my cell phone for services which I have not applied for and when I tried to fix the matter, it was impossible to get Verizon to help with information to locate this company.
Church
[ January 11, 2006 ]
Parent Company of Blinko/Dirty Hippo
I have a story similar to every one posted here, so I'll only give the highlights: $5.99 per month, three months, first Dirty Hippo, then Blinko, my phone service t-mobile. Here is a small piece of information I didn't see listed on this page (though I didn't read every word of every post). The parent company of these thugs is called Buongiorno, an Italian based company. They have offices world-wide and the actual perpetrators of this crime may be hard to pin down. I've informed my cell provider I will be canceling my account at the end of my contract period if they charge me again. Keep in mind, we don't pay the scammers directly. We pay our cell-providers and THEY pay the criminals. This makes them accessories to the crime. The Florida Attorney General's office has an active investigation of the Miami office of Blinko.
mickeydougal
[ January 3, 2006 ]
Should Cell-Providers Also Be Sued?
I've been scammed along with the others, but I'm wondering something. I don't pay Dirty Hippo/ Blinko any money directly. I pay t-mobile and they pay the scammers. Does this make them accessories? t-mobile all but accused me of being at fault and except for removing one month's charge, they informed me they won't do any more in the future. They know there is a problem, but they are refusing to do anything about it. Isn't this negligence?
Martin Dudeck
Daytona Beach FL
[ January 3, 2006 ]
M-Qube Is a Technology Company
What ever technology company. I work for m-qube "answering service" and I don't get very much information to help the customers out when they call in to unsubscribe from the service they didn't order. True some people do subscribe but alot of others do not. When customers call they need to know that they are not speaking to m-qube they are speaking to an answering service and we don't get that much info about how the customers get unsubscribed. I hate my job. I use to give the FCC number out to each and every customer that called me because this is not right, but I got in big trouble so I stopped. The direct number to M-Qube is (617) 673-2400. Ask to speak to Molly MAN "DO NOT CHOSE THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE IT WILL ONLY TRANSFER YOU TO AN ANSWERING SERIVCE". You know you speaking to a answering service when a csvr just ask you for the mobile#, your telephone company and a e-mail address.
M-Qube Rep
[ December 29, 2005 ]
Chilled by the M-Qube SCAM
I didnt trust any of those Jamster! ads to begin with and thought it was pretty catching for younger kids. The first thing I thought was oh great, parents are going to be getting huge bills as soon as kids see these. We I guess I was right but I didnt know however how it was such a huge scam and not just people knowingly downloading and ledgitimitly receiving charges. So my story is this... I am a current Cingular customer that doesnt text message hardly ever but on some occassions I do. I am on pay per use with everything and have a motorola v400 camera phone. I received my bill this month and happened to see an unusual charge. $14.99! it was listed as directbill from M-Qube. I had never heard of it before. I hadnt signed up for anything, hadnt even downloaded a ringtone! the only thing I could think of was maybe a text message that I received with pictures. I called Cingular and they told me those were 25 cents and I asked if there is a cost to download the pictures or anything on top of that 25 cents. She didnt seem to have a positive answer so I talked to someone else the day after and they said I had signed up for a subscription with MQube. I said the what?....I never did such a thing. Like others on here I was told I had to unsubscribe myself, how ridiculous!
The only other thing I can think of is that I may have opened up a text message from an unknown sender. it has happened a few times and there was never anything in the message. so all I can say is beware! and watch your bills closely...
dahlbackfan
December 26, 2005
We Are Just Doing Our Job
I have read through many of the stories on this web site and some of this is ridiculous. for those who honestly did not subscribe to any of the vendors subscriptions, I do sympathize w/ u b/c it is possible for the person who had the # prior to u to have subscribed...however we don't have a way to verify that. as far as the charges go, when u subscribe to this companies or send in requests for the "free ringtone" it does say on the bottom of the screen, whether it be done on the web or from commercials on tv, that it does become a part of the monthly subscription, weather that is read or not is another question. these are third party companies and the reason it appears on your Cingular, T-Mobile or verizon bills are b/c the companies bill us for whatever it is that you have received and we therefore have to charge you. in no way is it a scam to try to rip you off...removing the inet features and txt features from the phone doesn't stop the charges b/c those companies such as Jamster and dirty hippo don't have access to the billing systems. as a customer service rep I do sincerely apologize for the misleading information that I feel is involved w/ the third party companies but at the same time we as reps are just doing our job.
Cingular representative
[ December 26, 2005 ]
M-Cube/Katazo Scams
A few months ago our daughter downloaded a few ringtones without our approval on our AT&T Wireless phones. After we found the charges she was not allowed to use her phone for a month. During that time we were charged with the Ringtone/Image charges so we were able to confirm she wasn't doing it. We ended up paying for those fees, then we switched from AT&T to Cingular, she asked for some ringtones and we approved only after scouring the agreements on the web site where we found the ringtones. It did not state anywhere on there that by downloading a ringtone we would automatically start getting charged with$2.49 fees each week for nothing. I called Cingular this time to dispute the charges and they reversed them for me, filled out the online inquiry forms for me and are taking care of the problem for me! Somebody must have sued and WON!!!! Now if the Gov't could just take these leeches out once and for all.
Big_MARK
[ December 21, 2005 ]
Got Me Tooooo
Just got my Cingular bill...I am flipped out over 5 x $9.99 charges in my sons text messaging. Cingular is very little help gave me a 800# to cancel something from M-cube that we never order and an 866# that after I finally got someone said give me your e-mail and I will check in to it and send you an e-mail. Cingular told me they pay for these charges before billing me....WELL then I said I guess its your lose this is BS> Sorry this is just unreal. Last Month I got DVDs and a bill we never order....HELL what's next?!
Julie Ressler
[ December 21, 2005 ]
Same Story, Different Ringtone
My son also fell for the 'free ringtone' scam. When I noticed the problem on the bill I went the the Jamster web site and canceled the service. When it appeared next month I called Jamster and canceled via their phone tree system (after 20 min of waiting for an operator) when it appeared the next month I contacted Cingular, who referred me to M-Blox, who referred me to Jamster via a number that bypassed their 'tree'. Jamster 'searched' their files and reported had no record of me in their files so I was to sent them a fax of the bill. I did, no reply. I sent again (2 copies), no reply. I sent again (15 copies—it was a toll free number) and I received a call from their billing that a check was in the mail. Check never came. Next month I was billed AGAIN! I called and spoke to operator, manager and supervisor and was told they would look into the problem and call back in 3 to 4 days! Meanwhile I called Cingular and they reported that they get this all of the time, refunded me for the 5 MONTHS of charges and canceled my EWallet service. I am impressed with Cingular in their prompt response and would caution ANYONE from using Jamster.
JCB
[ December 19, 2005 ]
We Didn't Order Anything
I review all my bills online weekly. While reviewing my Cingular bill on 12/17/05 I noticed direct bill charges starting on Thanksgiving day, then again the weekend of 12/3 and 12/4. I immediately called Cingular to inquire what this was. They told me we had subscribed to a service to have ringtones. I informed them we had done no such thing. The difference for me as opposed to the other stories here is my charges were $10.95 each! I have successfully fought Cingular in the past over fraudulent billing practices. I involved the BBB and the FCC. Not an easy task. The charges are on my bill and Cingular informs me they make no money on the charges they are just the "middle man". I asked them why they spend so much money on manpower to bill for these subscriptions if they don't gain from them. They think we are all stupid. I am completely fed up. I am glad my contract is up in a few months. I have had the same 5 phones for 4 years. What a waste.
Connie
[ December 18, 2005 ]
Stealth Cram Charges
In looking through my Verizon wireless bills yesterday, I spotted now the infamous Blinko 42222 additional charge for 9.99. Before I called Verizon, I Googled Prem_sms 4222 Blinko, and this Jamster scam web site came up. There is NO WAY this cell phone "accepted" the charges initially, as both a Verizon billing clerk and a Verizon tech person tried to persuade me. In further research, I saw that you don't even have to "accept" the first message for the messages to continue, which is what happened to us. The reason I know this is a scam is the cell phone in question belongs to my husband, an individual who can barely dial and receive cell calls, and even has trouble working our land line phones, let alone his cell. He literally needed tutoring in how to operate the cell phone. And, this man is a practicing attorney! The cram text messages were benign, "fortune cookie" type messages. When I called Verizon again this morning, I fortunately spoke to an individual who was not only willing to remove the 9.99 monthly charges (which, in fact, had been going on for three months—READ YOUR BILL!),as well as all the 99 cent text charges. Now, I only hope he is true to his word. He also set the phone so that no texts can be sent or received, which is not an issue for my husband. And, he blocked our account for being billed for anything other than Verizon charges. I contacted MQUBE (partner of BLINKO) at 866-626-2823 and told them to stop the text messages. I also responded to the first message I found in the archive with the STOP response. AND, I also filed an online claim with the FCC. Now, I want everyone to get the word out about this. The media has not been airing this story, which will be the only way to put pressure on these scammy companies and the phone companies who pass the charges along.
Deborah
[ December 15, 2005 ]
Same Deal with Sprint
Same story here, got my new sprint phone and found a free ringtone ad. when I was charged $50 for my free ringtone on my first bill I called and complained to sprint. They said there was nothing they could do its a 3rd party thing :( so I cancelled all the web and text message services (cant get billed that way right?) wrong next month same thing. I called sprint back and they magically found the name Jamster for me. I just went through the phone call to Jamster and they said they would send me a refund check in several weeks... after reading these stories I don't have high hopes of seeing it. They said they couldn't credit my phone bill. I guess they only have all mighty power to remove your money without your permission, not credit you, with your full permission. If there is anything I can do to help this cause, you got it ! petitions, letter writing, screaming, yelling !!! I cant believe this is allowed. I feel like I was robbed at gun point. People need to here about this...
Misled in Michigan
[ December 15, 2005 ]
Help
My son unfortuately downloaded ringtones from Jamster and now my phone bill has all sorts of wallpapers charged to it. Help me...who do I contact?
Patty Branowitzer
branoteach@hotmail.com
[ December 8, 2006 ]
Direct Bill Charges
I have been fighting with Cingular about these direct bill charges I have had text messaging cut off and also internet media and am still being billed for past charges I can not seem to get this stopped even after calls every month with Cingular. How can this happen that a person can go online with only a cell phone number and get ringtones and wallpaper whatever the hell that is and it is charged through your cell phone without a signature or anything and the taxes that go along with the direct billing adds another 15 to 20 dollars a month on my bill. As soon as my contract runs out I am canceling this is a rip off.
peppermama
[ December 5, 2005 ]
Verizon Wireless is Guilty Too
I have read the postings at this site with great interest, as I was— unfortunately—introduced to this topic last weekend. I have read many of the same comments and responses that I experienced first-hand, so I do not feel alone in this issue. I am grateful that people have initiated action to stop this practice. The provider in question—M-Qube—has already been identified in several postings. But, the cell provider in my case is Verizon Wireless. It is striking that their response was almost identical to those I've read about Cingular, T-Mobile, etc. My point to Verizon Wireless was that there was no attempt on their part to verify the charges by contacting me, the account holder. Instead, they pay the provider first and then turn around and bill me. Like others, I was never contacted by my carrier to confirm (or refuse) the charges. Fortunately, I found a customer representative at Verizon Wireless who reversed the charges, although (she stated), it would only be for this one time... The same customer service representative said she had fielded many calls on this issue. She even said that she had heard cases of kids, at school, entering the phone numbers of their 'friends' on these web sites when backs were turned. Again, all they need is a number and a carrier—no verification required. I do not mean to preach to a choir which is familiar with the practices and the frustration. I do, however, intend to take this issue up with the New York State Attorney General and elected officials at state or federal levels. Although I was upset with M-Qube, as the primary offender, I was perhaps more upset that Verizon Wireless refused to address the issue. One representative washed his hands of the problem—saying there was nothing they could do ('we only pass on the bill) and that I should lecture my daughter on proper Internet usage.
Frustrated in Buffalo, NY
[ December 5, 2005 ]
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