Your airtime disappearing?

Cyberdude said:
I have recently implemented one of these wasp services, sending out SMS's charged at R5. We adhere to the waspa rules, and have things in place that should a billing attempt fail 3 or more times in a row the user is automatically removed etc. But it is vey easy to actually ignore the rules and just bill any cell number you can find. I'm not surprised that people do this. I fact I was billed by "loadin" something like R20 for three months. It was when that service started and I think I was "optet-in" as defult when they started. Are you aware that the cellphone operators pocket something like 33% of the charged amount? They must be making millions, and that is probably why they don't do more to prevent this sort of thing.
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loadin = Buongiorno, one of the scoundrels mentioned in the article. They've recently bought Itouch, can understand them wanting a bigger pressence in a country where it's this easy to milk consumers. ;)
 
Online Content 2008-08-10 21:09:06 R -40.00, I wonder how many times that has been going off...

These bastard WASP services should be banned. "GloMobi" I've counted, shows 5 consecutive ads sometimes about nauseating little babies singing, crying, laughing during morning cartoons. I can see daddy's cellphone being used to sign up to quite a few R5-per-day subscriptions...
 
Cadavre777 said:
Better to be safe and try avoid WASPs like STD's. I have found Vodacom and MTN quite helpfull in restricting all VAS rate facilities and services offered by 3rd parties on company contracts. An opt in and opt out facility at cellular service provider level (being defaulted as opt out when a number is recycled) could help stop abuse from WASPs and assist networks and clients in disputes over billing.
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This is the best method... I do not use my cell to "vote" on anything, or to download ringtones and stuff. It is just too risky at the moment that you will get signed up for some funky service that you never authorized.

Until the industry reigns in these unscrupulous people, treat them like an infectious disease.

Besides... it is super easy to load your own ringtones and wallpapers, why do you need to use a third party to do it for you?

...and check your cellphone bill EVERY single month... if you don't and are too lazy to do that... then you deserve the charges you get.
 
There should be a notifying SMS, giving a window period in which "subscribers" can cancel the service before any amount, original or recurring, is deducted or billed by 3rd parties.
 
Gatecrasher said:
There should be a notifying SMS, giving a window period in which "subscribers" can cancel the service before any amount, original or recurring, is deducted or billed by 3rd parties.
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And an SMS notifying you every time that these scam artists are deducting money from your account... But this won't happen as the majority of people would unsubscribe if they KNEW they were being billed continuously. All of these services revolve around how much money they can sneak/steal out of your account before you notice.

I just phoned Vodacom querying this R40 deducted from my account, apparently it's out of their hands they can't do anything, I have to phone the company that charged me: SMS NET?
 
Gatecrasher said:
There should be a notifying SMS, giving a window period in which "subscribers" can cancel the service before any amount, original or recurring, is deducted or billed by 3rd parties.
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+1

Also the Big 3 should have a section on their itemized billing (and online profiles) showing which WASPs are stinging you, how much, what periods, and how to kick them off the list. Surely a little bit of "nice-playing" by the corporates will go a helluva long way to keeping us satisfied with them, instead of smoking us every conceivable opportunity, thereby making us wish for guys wearing tea-cloths to pay them a visit.
 
What irritates me is that the networks are happy to act as billing agents for these companies and collect the money on their behalf yet when there's a problem they say it has nothing to do with them. If I for instance see an unauthorised charge on my credit card I can phone the bank that issued the card and they sort it out, they don't tell me to phone the merchant. It should be the network's problem to sort out, not the subscriber's.
 
Its not only wasps who are ripping people off. I know someone who had a contract with a 'reputable' ISP (ADSL account) who cancelled his contract, but the deductions resumed after a 'cooling down' period. The deductions were in the region of R100.00 pm and they were off his credit card.

Check your credit card bills/statements monthly.
 
We need heavy fines!

R100 for first offence from wisp,

R500 second,

R5000 third,

R50 000 fourth and everytime after
 
The cell companies should have a procedure too that when a wisp wishes to make its first charge against a cell number it should keep a list agaisnt the cell number of whats currently running.

IE.


I subscribe to service X from company X.

Comapny X inform vodacom that they will be taking their first charge from my account for serivce X, vodacom are now aware that company X are going to be debiting from my account and whitelist company X service X on my number.

I close my number.

Vodacom recycle it, and clear the whitelist.

Company X try to deduct for service X from the same number with a new owner, Vodacom block the transaction because company X/service X are not whitelisted on their list with my number
 
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