From the CTIA NewsWire: "San Diego based consumer group The Utility Consumers Action Network has filed a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission that Sprint and Cingular Wireless are improperly charging consumers for wireless messages they don't want. The group claims it has received complaints from consumers that have been billed by the wireless companies for unwanted text messages, ringtones and advertisements. Sprint and Cingular Wireless have not seen a copy of the complaint and therefore cannot comment on the allegations. However, both companies provide subscribers with safeguards to help them understand downloads and methods to opt-out of further text messages. (Source: Wall Street Journal, New York Times)"
What I find odd in both of these reports, is that Verizon wireless is conspicuously missing. Yet it is Verizon that still charges it's consumers for incoming text messages, unlike other companies. I have been waiting for a wide-scale complaint or a class-action suit regarding this (after all, you do not have a choice whether you want to receive a message or not - text messages and media messages arrive in your inbox and you are charged the appropriate amount regardless of whether they are read). Wireless operators have somehow gotten away with charging for incoming calls (on a technicality, really - they claimed that you know who is calling by the number that your phone recognizes and should be able to make the decision whether you want to pay for the call or not based on this information... yeah right) in the US (this is not the case in Europe for example). However, only Verizon Wireless has been charging for incoming text messages (at least as far as I am aware). At $.02 per message, the price is not high, yet I think it's the principle of the matter that really means something.
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