Evil 3rd party Subscriptions!

Thanks for the feedback. These things can be extremely frustrating and is one of the reasons why I made a sticky post in this board about that topic. 

I'm glad you were able to take care of it on your accounts!

Is there a way to identify which applications are doing this before getting hit with subscription fees?

The challenge is that these subscriptions come from text messages, not applications you install on your phone. 

We are actively working to combat spammers but applying the purchase blocker as kdfederer suggested is the first defense and a great (FREE!) step you can take to prevent unwanted subscription charges. 

Here's a link with more information: http://forums.att.com/t5/Wireless-Billing/3rd-Party-Subscriptions-amp-Purchase-Blocker/td-p/3095123

Thanks!  Any info would be great.  I had this happen to me yesterday.  My concern is that a large HMO I work for recently purchased a bunch of iPhones and iPads.  I'm sure that what happened to me is likely to happen to someone else in our company, but they probably won't notice it since they never see the bills.  Anything I can do to proactively block these applications or to educate our user base would save a lot of headaches down the road.

Happy to help and welcome to our community. 🙂

My AT&T phone bill shows a monthly charge of $9.99 for Words/Definitions ale, provider: Mobile Plus, Inc.

Why is their not a Federal investigation into Mobile Plus, Inc.?

I have never sent or received a text from them or accepted any subscriptions.

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@user2212 wrote:

My AT&T phone bill shows a monthly charge of $9.99 for Words/Definitions ale, provider: Mobile Plus, Inc.

Why is their not a Federal investigation into Mobile Plus, Inc.?

I have never sent or received a text from them or accepted any subscriptions.

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Not really sure but call ATT and get that amount creditd back and get the service blocked from your account.

I'm very sorry that your spouse's phone received these text messages. 

Were you able to apply the purchase blocker to his/her phone to avoid these issues in the future?

It is extremely helpful for you (and your spouse) to report those text messages as spam. That is how AT&T is able to take action against spammers. Here is a link with more information about reporting text messages: http://forums.att.com/t5/Wireless-Billing/3rd-Party-Subscriptions-amp-Purchase-Blocker/td-p/3095123

Will you please please send me a private message with your name, account number, phone number and the best time to contact you? Let's see what we can do about your refund. 




To send a private message, you can either click on the link in this message or click on the little blue envelope in the upper right hand corner, click "compose new message" and type my username in the "Send To" field.

I am truly frustrated by these 3rd party charges and question their legality. My son's phone was being charged for services we could not even locate on his phone...or figure out how he "subscribed". The provider website listed on my bill for these charges was not a website in which I could contact or cancel the charges. How could a company as large as AT&T link their brand and name to such a shady company? AND why should I have to pay AT&T to protect/block such charges. AT&T must have better contact information as I am sure the $9.99 per month is being sent to someone? (right customer support person?) Tell me why you are associated with such companies and explain why you have to charge the customer to block them?? I am not convinced AT&T is doing this without making some of that $9.99...

I am sorry that you're seeing these charges on your bill. 

It sounds like your son subscribed to these services either through text message or online. If his phone does not have the Purchase Blocker on it, he is able to make those purchases. I understand though, that he may not have understoood what he was doing. These services are the ones you see advertised on television (backgrounds, ringtones, horoscopes) that you may purchase by texting a message to the code they provide on the advertisement. 

These subscription charges are not coming from AT&T, they are coming from whatever 3rd party service was subscribed to. As kdfederer noted, Purchase Blocker is a free and very easy way to ensure no purchases like this are made going forward. 

Here is some additional information about purchase blocker and about managing mobile purchases: http://forums.att.com/t5/Wireless-Billing/3rd-Party-Subscriptions-amp-Purchase-Blocker/td-p/3095123