Sprint's texting extortion

I find it outrageous that SPRINT charges the customer for *receiving* text
messages even if they have not signed up for any of their texting plans. In
other words, if your cellphone is capable of receiving text messages and you
*do* receive one, if you do *not* have a text messaging plan with SPRINT,
you *will* be charged. Outrageous!

I'm sure some of you have taken SPRINT up on their deal where if you have
had your phone for 2 years, you can get a $150 rebate towards a new phone.
This is very common. If the phone you select is a Vision phone, you will
automatically be given all the Vision features for free ... for 2 months.
After which, you will have to pay $5/month to continue those features. They
will not make this very clear to you, by the way. If you have no interest in
the Vision features and don't want to pay the $5/month, you have to actively
call SPRINT and tell them that you are not interested in continuing with the
Vision package.

However, during the 2-month free trial period, you are given 100 free text
messages per month. So you send and receive a few text messages. Why not?
They're FREE!

But, after 2-months, you decide it's been fun, but you really don't need
text messaging and that it certainly isn't worth the $5/month to continue.
So you call SPRINT and discontinue it. But how it hell are all the people
with whom you've been test messaging with in the past 2 months supposed to
know this? They continue to send you text messages and you are now getting
charged FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEXT MESSAGE.

It's ridiculous that they charge you for INCOMING text messages. There is no
way to control that.

I called SPRINT about it and they said, "Just don't read them and you won't
be charged." Pfft! How ridiculous is that?

It seems to me the much more intelligent scheme is to only charge for
OUTGOING text messages. That is the only aspect that can be totally
controlled by the customer.

David Emerling
Memphis, TN

---

› See More: Sprint's texting extortion

David Emerling wrote:
>
> <snip>

EXTORTION - The use, or the express or implicit threat of the use,
of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to person,
reputation, or property as a means to obtain property from someone
else with his consent.

Notan

Notan wrote:
> David Emerling wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>
> EXTORTION - The use, or the express or implicit threat of the use,
> of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to person,
> reputation, or property as a means to obtain property from someone
> else with his consent.
>

How the heck did you get hold of SPCS's internal Mission Statement?


--
Mike

David Emerling wrote:
> I find it outrageous that SPRINT charges the customer for *receiving* text
> messages even if they have not signed up for any of their texting plans.

1. All US carriers do this, not just Sprint

2. you can always call up and have Sprint remove/disable text messaging, and

3. You can always disable text messaging yourself in the online account
system.

> I'm sure some of you have taken SPRINT up on their deal where if you have
> had your phone for 2 years, you can get a $150 rebate towards a new phone.
> This is very common. If the phone you select is a Vision phone, you will
> automatically be given all the Vision features for free ... for 2 months.
> After which, you will have to pay $5/month to continue those features. They
> will not make this very clear to you, by the way.

Actually, it's $15 a month for Vision ($10 if you ask nicely for the
pack without download credits), and this charge was made perfectly clear
to me when I signed up.


> the Vision features and don't want to pay the $5/month, you have to actively
> call SPRINT and tell them that you are not interested in continuing with the
> Vision package.

Or, you cn choose not to get the Vision pack from the beginning, and pay
full price for the phone. You can also opt to get a non-Vision phone,
which Sprint does still sell.


> However, during the 2-month free trial period, you are given 100 free text
> messages per month.

You're also given thsoe same 100 free text messages as long as you keep
Vision.

> But, after 2-months, you decide it's been fun, but you really don't need
> text messaging and that it certainly isn't worth the $5/month to continue.
> So you call SPRINT and discontinue it. But how it hell are all the people
> with whom you've been test messaging with in the past 2 months supposed to
> know this?

You tell them, THAT'S how they know. What do you want, for Sprint to
SMS everyone you've text messaged and say "Sorry, David Emerling is a
cheapskate who gets very, very annoyed if people send him text messages,
so please stop now KTHANX! ! !" ?


> They continue to send you text messages and you are now getting
> charged FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEXT MESSAGE.

OH THE SCANDAL!! Maybe you should tell them to stop? Or better yet,
not have used SMS in the first place if you didn't want to pay for it?

This folly isn't an issue though. You can also go online into your
account manager, click "text messaging" under Online Tools, and click
"Settings & Preferences." then, uncheck all of the boxes that are
checked, and then add all of the phone numebrs you don't want to receive
text messages from into the "SMS blocking" list. From then on, you
should stop getting those nasty SMS messages.


> It's ridiculous that they charge you for INCOMING text messages. There is no
> way to control that.

There is, actually. It's called guarding your mobile number, making
sure that people who have your number know not to text message it, and
using the above mentioend online tools.

It also helps to be, well... responsible.

--
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

Well said. :-)

"Isaiah Beard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> David Emerling wrote:
>> I find it outrageous that SPRINT charges the customer for *receiving*
>> text messages even if they have not signed up for any of their texting
>> plans.
>
> 1. All US carriers do this, not just Sprint
>
> 2. you can always call up and have Sprint remove/disable text messaging,
> and
>
> 3. You can always disable text messaging yourself in the online account
> system.
>
>> I'm sure some of you have taken SPRINT up on their deal where if you have
>> had your phone for 2 years, you can get a $150 rebate towards a new
>> phone. This is very common. If the phone you select is a Vision phone,
>> you will automatically be given all the Vision features for free ... for
>> 2 months. After which, you will have to pay $5/month to continue those
>> features. They will not make this very clear to you, by the way.
>
> Actually, it's $15 a month for Vision ($10 if you ask nicely for the pack
> without download credits), and this charge was made perfectly clear to me
> when I signed up.
>
>
>> the Vision features and don't want to pay the $5/month, you have to
>> actively call SPRINT and tell them that you are not interested in
>> continuing with the Vision package.
>
> Or, you cn choose not to get the Vision pack from the beginning, and pay
> full price for the phone. You can also opt to get a non-Vision phone,
> which Sprint does still sell.
>
>
>> However, during the 2-month free trial period, you are given 100 free
>> text messages per month.
>
> You're also given thsoe same 100 free text messages as long as you keep
> Vision.
>
>> But, after 2-months, you decide it's been fun, but you really don't need
>> text messaging and that it certainly isn't worth the $5/month to
>> continue. So you call SPRINT and discontinue it. But how it hell are all
>> the people with whom you've been test messaging with in the past 2 months
>> supposed to know this?
>
> You tell them, THAT'S how they know. What do you want, for Sprint to
> SMS everyone you've text messaged and say "Sorry, David Emerling is a
> cheapskate who gets very, very annoyed if people send him text messages,
> so please stop now KTHANX! ! !" ?
>
>
>> They continue to send you text messages and you are now getting charged
>> FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEXT MESSAGE.
>
> OH THE SCANDAL!! Maybe you should tell them to stop? Or better yet, not
> have used SMS in the first place if you didn't want to pay for it?
>
> This folly isn't an issue though. You can also go online into your
> account manager, click "text messaging" under Online Tools, and click
> "Settings & Preferences." then, uncheck all of the boxes that are
> checked, and then add all of the phone numebrs you don't want to receive
> text messages from into the "SMS blocking" list. From then on, you should
> stop getting those nasty SMS messages.
>
>
>> It's ridiculous that they charge you for INCOMING text messages. There is
>> no way to control that.
>
> There is, actually. It's called guarding your mobile number, making sure
> that people who have your number know not to text message it, and using
> the above mentioend online tools.
>
> It also helps to be, well... responsible.
>
> --
> E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
> Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

Isaiah Beard wrote:

> This folly isn't an issue though. You can also go online into your
> account manager, click "text messaging" under Online Tools, and click
> "Settings & Preferences." then, uncheck all of the boxes that are
> checked, and then add all of the phone numebrs you don't want to receive
> text messages from into the "SMS blocking" list. From then on, you
> should stop getting those nasty SMS messages.

The issue is whether the OP was told of the terms of the Vision promo - I
was, I cancelled before the two months was up, and I was fine.

> There is, actually. It's called guarding your mobile number, making
> sure that people who have your number know not to text message it, and
> using the above mentioend online tools.

Well, not giving it out doesn't always help. If you happen to know a
telephone exchange belongs to Sprint PCS, and you know how to send email to
a Sprint text messaging addressare addressed to Sprint, you automatically
have up to 10,000 email addresses that deliver text messages to cell phones
("up to" because some of the numbers may have been ported out). The best
thing to do, if you don't want the messages, is to turn messaging off.

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: [email protected] Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

"Isaiah Beard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> David Emerling wrote:
>> I find it outrageous that SPRINT charges the customer for *receiving*
>> text messages even if they have not signed up for any of their texting
>> plans.
>
> 1. All US carriers do this, not just Sprint
>
> 2. you can always call up and have Sprint remove/disable text messaging,
> and
>
> 3. You can always disable text messaging yourself in the online account
> system.
>
>> I'm sure some of you have taken SPRINT up on their deal where if you have
>> had your phone for 2 years, you can get a $150 rebate towards a new
>> phone. This is very common. If the phone you select is a Vision phone,
>> you will automatically be given all the Vision features for free ... for
>> 2 months. After which, you will have to pay $5/month to continue those
>> features. They will not make this very clear to you, by the way.
>
> Actually, it's $15 a month for Vision ($10 if you ask nicely for the pack
> without download credits), and this charge was made perfectly clear to me
> when I signed up.

No, it's $5.

For $5 you get unlimited internet access, 100 free text messages, and a $10
credit toward downloads. This is all per month.

For another $5 you get all the above plus UNLIMITED text messaging.

At least, that's the package I have for two of my teenagers who are really
into the text messaging thing.

David Emerling
Memphis, TN

David Emerling wrote:

> No, it's $5.
>
> For $5 you get unlimited internet access, 100 free text messages, and a $10
> credit toward downloads. This is all per month.

I think you're mistaken.

Vision is $15/month if you want the download credits, $10 if not.

For free, you get 100 text messages with a Vision pack. Unlimited messages
are $5/month.

If you DON'T have Vision, it's $5/month for 100 text messages or $10/month
for unlimited. In other words, if you have a Vision pack, you save $5/month
on the text messaging packages.

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: [email protected] Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

In article <[email protected]>, "David Emerling" <[email protected]> wrote:

>For $5 you get unlimited internet access, 100 free text messages, and a $10
>credit toward downloads. This is all per month.
>
>For another $5 you get all the above plus UNLIMITED text messaging.
>
>At least, that's the package I have for two of my teenagers who are really
>into the text messaging thing.

your teens get Internet/Vision for $5/mo because they are on "sub" lines,
phones on a family plan other than the primary line.

your post complains of unfair charges (and many complain about being
charged for incoming textmsgs, but that is the US market standard right
now, it could change). But realize that your teens getting FULL Internet
access (and at Vision speeds which are twice the typical GPRS
data speeds of GSM carriers) for a mere $5/mo is the *best* deal in the
industry now, one that only Sprint offers. So I hope you recognize the
good things about Sprint, and not just what you are calling "extortion".

PCS Vision costs $10/month and you get a five dollar dowload credit for two ringers. I know on my last bill, sprint charged me 1.50/day for SMS text messaging and I had to call and argue because my phone was even working. It wasn't being used and it wasn't even turned on, but I was being chared 1.50/day for a month. TWO MONTHS IN A ROW!!! The still tried to make the point that someone was using the phone when that wasn't even possible. They are scamming people and I hate sprint because they are always trying to sneak extra charges onto your bill. My advice, get a DETAILED BILL!

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
> David Emerling <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> No, it's $5.
>>
>
> No, it is $15 (or $10 as stated). Each ADDITIONAL line is $5 for
> vision, which is why your teenager's phones are only costing you $5. You
> must have vision on your phone already.

I don't know if this is a quirk, but I was able to get Vision on
my second line for $5 without having Vision on my primary line.
It was ordered as an add-on long after my family plan had been
established.

--
John Richards

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> David Emerling wrote:
> > I find it outrageous that SPRINT charges the customer for *receiving* text
> > messages even if they have not signed up for any of their texting plans..
>
> 1. All US carriers do this, not just Sprint
>

Actually, not. US Cellular does not charge for incoming/received text
messages.

Otherwise, though, that's what I would have said.

--
RØß
O/Siris
-+-
A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
+Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792+

Daniel Tso wrote:

> your post complains of unfair charges (and many complain about being
> charged for incoming textmsgs, but that is the US market standard right
> now, it could change). But realize that your teens getting FULL Internet
> access (and at Vision speeds which are twice the typical GPRS
> data speeds of GSM carriers) for a mere $5/mo is the *best* deal in the
> industry now, one that only Sprint offers. So I hope you recognize the
> good things about Sprint, and not just what you are calling "extortion".

Indeed. T-Mobile is offering $20/month for GPRS internet access ($5/month
available too, but that limits you to a small set of websites available
using their "T-Zones" service, $20/month allows you to go anywhere), and
$15/month for unlimited text/pix/AOL instant messages.

That's $35/month, and you don't get the messaging for free with the data
plan unless you have a Sidekick, according to what I was recently told by
T-Mo CS.

Granted, I don't believe Sprint includes picture messaging with the $5
Vision text-messaging addon, but still, that's a big difference in price.

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: [email protected] Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

It is the way it is, but you can "block" or turn off text messaging. For
sure you won't like this: but you pay for a text message sent to your
phone; even if not delivered; EVEN if not read. It is just the way it is...
and you can change it or improve it by writing to Sprint and telling em what
you think by your $$$ dr.
--
dr.news Better Price? (not better than you deserve, just more than you are
used to)
If I can help: [email protected]te-the-obvious or thru this
notes forum.
home of the better priced phone and service:
http://free.better-price.biz

"David Emerling" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I find it outrageous that SPRINT charges the customer for *receiving* text
>messages even if they have not signed up for any of their texting plans. In
>other words, if your cellphone is capable of receiving text messages and
>you *do* receive one, if you do *not* have a text messaging plan with
>SPRINT, you *will* be charged. Outrageous!
>
> I'm sure some of you have taken SPRINT up on their deal where if you have
> had your phone for 2 years, you can get a $150 rebate towards a new phone.
> This is very common. If the phone you select is a Vision phone, you will
> automatically be given all the Vision features for free ... for 2 months.
> After which, you will have to pay $5/month to continue those features.
> They will not make this very clear to you, by the way. If you have no
> interest in the Vision features and don't want to pay the $5/month, you
> have to actively call SPRINT and tell them that you are not interested in
> continuing with the Vision package.
>
> However, during the 2-month free trial period, you are given 100 free text
> messages per month. So you send and receive a few text messages. Why not?
> They're FREE!
>
> But, after 2-months, you decide it's been fun, but you really don't need
> text messaging and that it certainly isn't worth the $5/month to continue.
> So you call SPRINT and discontinue it. But how it hell are all the people
> with whom you've been test messaging with in the past 2 months supposed to
> know this? They continue to send you text messages and you are now getting
> charged FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEXT MESSAGE.
>
> It's ridiculous that they charge you for INCOMING text messages. There is
> no way to control that.
>
> I called SPRINT about it and they said, "Just don't read them and you
> won't be charged." Pfft! How ridiculous is that?
>
> It seems to me the much more intelligent scheme is to only charge for
> OUTGOING text messages. That is the only aspect that can be totally
> controlled by the customer.
>
> David Emerling
> Memphis, TN
>
>

Why are so many folks too damn cheap to purchase text messaging? Sheesh!
Maybe they should get a pay-per-go phone.