Contributor
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1 Message
Evil 3rd party Subscriptions!
Why isnt it illegal for these 3rd party companys to get your phone number and start slapping $9.99 charges on your bill? I think I finally got it blocked on my 3 lines so this will stop happening but how many people dont catch these charges? These companys must be making millions off unathorized charges on cell phones bills. I hope ATT is trying to get laws passed for this because it has to be expensive for them to constantly get customer service calls to remove these charges. I just wanted to climb up on my soap box! Hope noone is paying for these ridiculous charges! Good Luck
jamileh
Former Community Manager
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5.2K Messages
12 years ago
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.
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kelly/graham
Contributor
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1 Message
12 years ago
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...
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kdfederer
ACE - Expert
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13.1K Messages
12 years ago
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jamileh
Former Community Manager
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5.2K Messages
12 years ago
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
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Fireside111
Contributor
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1 Message
12 years ago
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kdfederer
ACE - Expert
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13.1K Messages
12 years ago
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wingrider01
Expert
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12.2K Messages
12 years ago
wonlt change anything, it is universal to all carriers - if you want to lower the chances of this occurring, call and put a free purchase block on the phone lines. BTW while being frustrating and time envasive, unfortunately it is not a scam - someplace some where in the link there was a buried agreement to be charged, if you downloaded a "free" ringtone, wallpaper, background, taken a quiz on facebook or twitter, reponsed to a unsolicited text message you gave permission for the reoccurring charge - also, there are a few that if you do not respond to the agreement you authorized by default.
Spare yourself the expense of changing carriers if this is the reason, it will happen there also, verizon, sprint, t-mobile, cricket, you name the carrier, it is a problem there also. Save yourself money and just call in and request a purchase block
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jamileh
Former Community Manager
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5.2K Messages
12 years ago
I am very sorry that you were charged by this third party service. Wingrider's suggestion of the purchase blocker is a great one and helps prevent accidental subscriptions that result in charges. As he noted, these companies often bury the cost associated with the service and it's not noticed.
Please let me know if you need assistance with the purchase blocker.
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wilcre
Expert
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13K Messages
12 years ago
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