A Cellular First-Timer Gets Billed for Texts He Never Sent

After six years of holding out, I finally broke down and bought a cell phone. The Samsung t429 slider is a solid little device—small, light, with tactile buttons and a roomy screen. The problem isn't the hardware; it's how the carrier treats a customer who doesn't want SMS.

Text messaging isn't something I need. I've got email and IM, both of which are better suited for actually composing a message. But people my age are glued to it, and within two hours of unboxing the phone, I'd already received a text. The unpleasant discovery that followed: that 36-byte message cost me fifteen cents. A charge for something I never requested, with no way to reject it like I can with an incoming call. It's pay-per-receive, and the sender alone decides when I get billed.

My friends told me their providers allow opting out of incoming texts entirely—a reasonable feature, since it's a service I never signed up for. T-Mobile, it turns out, doesn't offer that. Their excuse is that their software can't handle the selective blocking. I can block texts that arrive as email, which presumably addresses the spam problem, but I can't prevent friends from costing me money accidentally. The network clearly knows my plan type, as it bills me instantly for usage. Why can't it also check whether I want the message before delivering a charge?

The "Solution" Costs More Than the Line

My only recourse was to pay an extra $5 per month for 400 texts. I'll probably use some of them now that they're there, but that doesn't change the core issue: customers deserve a choice. T-Mobile, you have made me a sad panda. And the situation has only gotten worse since writing that:

  • July 16, 2008: On a family plan, the $5/mo individual package isn't available. You're forced into the family pack at $15 a month—more than my line costs in the first place, and nobody else in the family wants it.
  • July 24, 2008: It looks like T-Mobile is facing a lawsuit over charging customers for unsolicited text message fees.
  • July 28, 2008: T-Mobile promised they'd block texts for me. They continue to arrive. I've also been told I won't be charged if I don't open texts—another falsehood. To top it off, I've been billed for 13 outgoing messages. I'm fairly certain I sent none of them; I've never even composed a text. Grr.