Well Spent: 'Wrong message' fees can add up fast- Mobile Marketing & SPAM

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Well Spent: 'Wrong message' fees can add up fast

Well Spent: 'Wrong message' fees can add up fast

Yes - I know that for most of us in the EU it is hard to believe that you could actually get charged for RECEIVING a text - but as is outlined in this article in some cases it's TRUE!(1)

The article points out that T-Mobile won't turn off text messaging because they want to be able to communicate with you themselves (they want to send you service updates AND marketing!). T-Mobile will apparently operate a BLACK list service where you can list numbers you don't want to hear from, but won't runa WHITE list service that let's you say that you want to hear from NO ONE except those on the WHITE LIST.

Follow the advice - call customer service!

At the end, the article suggests that you call T-Mobile and request to have charges reversed. I think this is a great idea and one that everyone should do - all the time!

On average a phonecall to customer service will cost T-mobile $15-$18. And if you are calling about a $0.10 charge to your phone bill and it costs them $15-$18 to deal with it -- it won't take many of those phone calls to make T-Mobile rethink their position!

What would be the best?

Well - Ideally - there would be 2 important changes:

1) T-Mobile (and all other US Carriers) would get in line with the rest of the GSM world and only charge consumers to SEND messages (FREE to receive)
2) T-Mobile (and all other US Carriers) would put together a WHITE list service so that you could block text messages from everyone except those friends and family that you want to hear from (Gee - would that include marketing?!? - YES IT WOULD!)

So - burn up those phone lines people! In cases like this you really CAN make a difference!

(1)And in other cases it all depends on your service plan. The US has so many different plans that it is virtually impossible to make any statements that cover 100% of the mobile phone users in the US.

1 Comments:

Bunny said...

Hi, thanks for the article! I called T-mobile about them charging me for receiving text messages that I cannot block and the ridiculousness of them refusing to remove text messaging as a service. I also told them to make a note as a customer service representative in my account that I will be calling EVERYTIME I get charged in my opinion, unfairly and that it WILL cost T-mobile 15-18 bucks.

T-mobile sucks ass on this front. I wish I had known about this before we got our phones and used Verizon instead.

9:42 PM

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A few words about why we're here

Since consumers first started to use SMS marketers have had the idea of text message marekting or marketing sms - also known as mobile marketing. And since that time marketing sms messages have grown and changed and new technology like bluetooth marketing, marketing bluetooth style to phones in close proximity to an advertisers.

And since the e-mail spam scourge took over the media, people have worried that there will be mobile phone spam. Spam is just another way of saying that advertisers send unsolicited text message marketing, marketing sms, bluetooth marketing or any other form of mobile marketing - it's mobile phone spam. There are even guides on how to spam phone s.

Consumer Preference is about permission based marketing, permission marketing solution. If, as an advertiser you can execute permission based marketing campaigns then you can certainly find ways to benefit from mobile marketing. And permission starts with understanding the consumer marketing preference. If you can understand consumer marketing preference, then you can execute permission based marketing. And permission marketing is not mobile phone spam.

There are many mobile marketing company listings that can be found on the Internet - and most mobile marketing company websites will tell you how they focus on permission marketing. Make sure that the one you partner with does more than tell you about it on the website. Opt-in marketing starts with your traditional marketing soliciting for permission.

Yes - Mobile marketing starts with traditional marketing - print, web, radio, television - all of the old standards. Because before you can send the first message to a consumer, you must obtain their permission... and that means that you understand consumer marketing prefernce.

Please enjoy reading consumer-preference.com - and if you feel that there is a point I'm making you'd like to share - then put a link to it from your own site. And always feel free to leave comments!

Troy Norcross

About Me

Name: Troy Norcross

Location: London, United Kingdom

I believe very strongly that consumers have a right to privacy. Just because it is getting harder to reach consumers doesn't mean that marketers should be (or need be) more devious or more forceful in their attempts to reach us. In fact, quite the opposite. Many of us are happy to be contacted with relevant, timely, meaningful offers. But it's going to be on our terms. No longer victims of aggressive marketing, we want to participate in the process with trusted brands and partners. Come and hang out with me here on Consumer Preference and learn how as a consumer you can have more control than you thought - and, if you're a marketer, how you can reach people in an effective and respectful way. You can reach me at the email link below.

Mobile Marketing & SPAM

Tuesday, February 28, 2006