Not too smart: confessions of a cell phone junkie

By Dempto Anda

Ok I admit it. At one point in my life, I fell for their ubiquitous ads and got myself to sign up for a ring tone. But that was really just a passing fancy, one that I would later regret. They say a sucker is born every minute. I think now most of them now own a cell phone, just like you and me.

Ever took time to read the full page telco ads? Try subscribing to one and if you are not paying attention to your phone bill or where your pre-paid loads are going, soon enough you will realize it’s like walking with holes on your pocket. All sorts of unwanted messages started coming in after I signed up for that silly ring tone – inspirational messages, trivia questions, calendar freebies, showbiz tidbits, to name a few. In not just a few instances, I took the time to follow the instructions on how to unsubscribe but I kept on getting them back. So what the heck, I learned to live with it somehow and deleted them the moment they came in. The others I know just discarded their SIM and bought a new one, which costs nothing nowadays anyway.

It took me almost a year thinking they were nothing but silly ads by Smart, until I realized they were charging me somewhere between P1 to P2.50 for every incoming text message from those 3-digit numbers like 232, 239, and I don’t remember how many more combinations they have because I just kept on deleting them as they came.

Last week, I decided I’ve had it when they took away the last remaining P10 load I had on my SIM when I didn’t even make a single text message. I called *888, Smart’s customer assistance and was attended to by a call center agent. Sure as hell, I realized I’ve been taken for a ride just because of that stupid ring tone.

Here’s how it works, as explained to me by their own call center agent.

The moment you sign up for any of those “value services”, their computer would automatically sign you up for “other value services” that you didn’t even ask for. Then they charge you for every incoming text message by debiting your load credits, if you’re on prepaid. You get these text messages every other hour or so, usually right on the hour. In my case they were charging me at least P10 a day even if I didn’t use my phone but just by receiving those 3-digit messages.

Once you sign up for any service, they don’t forewarn you they will sign you up for two or three more services that you didn’t ask for. None of those newspaper ads tell you those are not freebies and they don’t tell you how to properly unsubscribe.

How many of us suckers have the time or compulsion to talk to a call center agent and complain? The company takes you for a ride like you are in a taxicab, only in this case you don’t know where you’re going so they just drive around in circles while they fancy you with nice ringtones and the latest showbiz news from Lolit Solis. You think it’s free? Nah, you’re dead wrong.

So, if you’re one of those suckers who want to get rid of all those unwanted 3-digit text messages from Smart, do this – call *888 and bitch about those services and demand that they unsubscribe you. Or better yet, if you have time, file a formal complaint. There ought to be a law against milking suckers.